Douglas Williams/Shanghai Daily news

Before departing for China, one of the most common questions family and friends would ask me was: "What are you looking forward to the most?" To which my stock answer was: "The food."
Like many other Westerners, Chinese food was very much a part of my life, probably as much as any other style of food, and my local delivery service I considered to be a dear and valuable friend.
So it was with some dismay, and not a small amount of disappointment, that I discovered that the food in Shanghai was nothing like the food I consumed by the carton load back home. Moreover there was a blindingly simple reason for this: Most of the food eaten and thought of as Chinese in the West is, in fact, cooked by people whose origins are Cantonese.

Simple, tasty Cantonese food, just like you used to get back home.

Canton with its own language, traditions and a long way from Shanghai not surprisingly has its own cuisine. Why hadn't anybody pointed this out?
All is not lost, however, because in Shanghai, just as in almost every town and city in the world with more than 10,000 inhabitants, there are Cantonese restaurants.
One of the better ones in Shanghai is Heng Shan at 308 Yan'an Road W. which opened a couple of months ago following the success of its sister restaurant, Heng Shan on Hengshan Road.

Master of the realms at Heng Shan - Michael Leung

Michael Leung, the charismatic and frenetically busy owner, started cooking 42 years ago. His skills and passion for food took him across the world to dear old London. Honing his skills there it wasn't long before awards arrived in the shape of Michelin stars and he opened the renowned Zen restaurant, widely regarded as one of that gastronomically advanced city's finest. Leung went on to open another Zen in Hong Kong before landing in Shanghai three years ago to open the first Heng Shan restaurant.
Heng Shan is sophisticated, unpretentious, modern and informal, billing itself as a cafe. Light woods, white walls, lots of real flora, an aquarium with alarmingly large fish and smart casually dressed staff give the place an easy ambience.
Refreshingly free of any music, the gentle hub-bub of the diners drifts up to the high ceilings where the small spotlights contribute enough light - but not too much - to the tables and diners below. There's even a special cordoned-off couple's area.
The quiet atmosphere in Heng Shan is in stark contrast to the unbelievable noise levels and garish strip lighting found and endured in many local Shanghai restaurants. My Chinese friends tell that "hot and noisy" is how Chinese like their restaurants to be and having now dined in eateries that fall into that category as well as those that are practically in darkness with elevator-type jazz-style music, I have to say that Heng Shan gets the balance about as right as anywhere.
The food is simply presented and modestly priced. Baked and skewered prawns, mixed barbecued meats including goose and pork, the pork bone soup and one of my back-home stalwarts - Singapore fried noodles - were devoured with unconcealed relish. The menu is broad and varied though, alas, that culinary colossus, lemon chicken, appears to be absent.
The aquarium is practically a mini sea-world but unless the idea of spending a half-hour or so watching the fish appeals to you, booking a table is strongly recommended (6226-5517).

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