David’s Restaurant

I had wanted to dine at David’s for many years, my interest being piqued by the fact that some of David Zhou’s dishes blend Shanghai cuisine with traditional chinese medicine. An interesting concept – one can have a great meal and perhaps cure a couple of ailments too!

The restaurant exudes an interesting funky vibe, helped by the high ceilinged warehouse conversion. This gives one room to throw some rather big features around – cherry blossom lamp shades the size of barrels, an interesting giant bamboo light wall feature and giant vases spiked with bamboo lengths. But it does retain some of the traditional – white tablecloths, timber floors and furniture, and the most magnificent old style shelving system that backs onto the bar (complete with sliding ladder to help one reach the top).

The service was a little hit and miss though. It was efficient, but had the manner of wanting us to “hurry up”. I hate being rushed when it concerns food – so I found this a little disconcerting. Also, I would have liked a little guidance as to how much we had ordered. As it was, we probably had enough food for 3-4 people. It was bloody great food though, so it wasn’t too much of a hardship to bear.

We decided our first course should be a dish that has been used as a traditional tonic for hundreds of years. Whilst it didn’t look pretty, the Double Boiled Duck Soup had nourishing “Ying” or cool energising properties. This soup was especially good for alleviating dryness of skin and increasing my “Chi“. It also enhances mental clarity and intelligence. I certainly need some of that..so bring it on! The soup was very gentle – it tasted healthy and temple-like.

An unctuously spiced lamb with a “good taste and strong bouquet” arrived cradled in a crisp lettuce leaf. Apparently lamb is meant to increase the warming energy or “yang” – which meant by this stage, I had been cooled and warmed in equal measure. So was I back to where I began? I digress.

Anyway, this was a winner of a dish – satisfyingly good in a sweet, salty and spicy way.

My tastebuds were surprised by a cold entree of Shanghai style fish, sliced in pieces and marinated/smoked with sweet soya sauce. It had an unusual texture and mouth feel, almost tasting candied in a way. This particular dish should enhance my digestion and provide beautifying properties. Bring that one on too!

X.O. Chilli Scallops also enhanced my digestion – that is because it tasted so bloody marvellous. Plump little scallops were sauteed with snow peas, zucchini, spring onions and chilli and a wonderful little X.O. sauce that punched you right in the tastebuds.

The next dish almost required a standing ovation. A very satisfying plate of stirfried chinese broccoli with assorted mushrooms was just wonderful. As I may have mentioned previously – I am always overjoyed when it comes to a good plate of greens. And this one was a superior example. Well done.

With the mains being dispatched and devoured, we made our way to the dessert menu. This is where a little help from the ol’ wait staff would have been greatly appreciated. We ordered two dishes, and really – one would have been more than ample considering they were both DFGs (deep fried goodness), cooked for our artery clogging pleasure.

Golden Almond Pudding with black sesame powdered sugar was quite an interesting dessert – something I have not seen on a menu before. The only way I can think of describing the texture is chewy rubbery custard. It is not as unpleasant as it sounds – just somewhat bizarre in mouth feel. And I’d love to know what the setting agent was. Perhaps tapioca flour?

Red bean pancakes wiped every notion that what we had consumed to this point was a somewhat healthy (if you don’t count the chewy custard – but then the first dessert never counts). But dare I say it (as if there weren’t enough calories to start with), this would have been really great with ice cream and/or a syrup. Both desserts are designed for sharing – they are way too big to eat on your own.

By this stage both EG and I could hardly move we’d eaten so much. Luckily David’s is in partnership with Ay Oriental Teahouse – so there was a delightful selection of teas to aid the digestion. Our choice was a lychee jasmine brew (top photo), which was a hand-made tea ball with antioxidant properties. It was lovely to watch as the ball slowly unfolded into a beautiful flower. Good for the visual, taste and olfactory senses.

With an extensive menu of over ten pages, this place has the potential for numerous repeat visits to sample the many dishes on offer. I very much look forward to my next adventure there.