[Shanghai] Hai by Goga (2)

Hai by Goga | gogarestaurants.com | Dianping
Address: 岳阳路1号7楼 – 7F, 1 Yueyang Rd (徐汇区 Xuhui District)
Date visited: 2013.09 for dinner
Total bill: RMB¥695 for two people; cash only
Will return: Definitely
What to get:
– Beef Tongue Tacos
– Wuxi Black Pig Pork Belly
– Vietnamese Ceviche
– Tuna Salad
– Scallops
– GoGa Sliders
– Chocolate Mousse
(Basically everything, why did I even bother listing.)

When I asked a friend (who had previously eaten through the entire menu during a birthday dinner) what is good here, he said everything. Thanks for being so specific, I thought. But he was right–everything here is good. And now I can back that statement up because we went completely ham on this meal. Two girls, six dishes, no leftovers. Many dishes here come in servings of two pieces, which is perfect for sharing with one other person. Any more people and you will all be fighting for the last (or just second) bite.

I arrived early before our reservation at 7pm and managed to get myself and my date a happy hour house wine (RMB¥40) and gin & tonic (RMB¥40).

My lovely date and instigator of more dishes for the night. No boys allowed tonight.

Beef Tongue Tacos (RMB¥80) with harissa chickpea puree, summer slaw
Recommend: yes
The beef tongue was sweet while the slaw had a slight kick to it and combined beautifully. Each taco was a decent size. Date was HMMMmm-ing the entire time.

Wuxi Black Pig Pork Belly (RMB¥80) with miso maple bourbon mustard, garlic tuna aioli
Recommend: yes
We pigged out. Literally. The pork belly and miso maple bourbon mustard were made for each other. And this dish was made for us two piggies.

Tuna Edamame & Potato Salad (RMB¥150) with enoki and golden thread mushrooms, wasabi aioli
Recommend: yes
Just like Goga’s salmon salad, so many components went into this complex mix. We liked this though we both weren’t crazy about the sprouts (we never are). The seared tuna was great.

Pan Seared Scallops (RMB¥130) with gulf prawn, thai lobster curry, crushed cashews
Recommend: yes
Scallops and curry sounded like an odd combination but turned out to be fantastic. Dishes here are not only good but they are interestingly so.

GoGa Sliders (RMB¥120) with wagyu beef, blue cheese, duck fat fries
Recommend: yes
We smelled the ones the guests two tables down from us got and of course we had to get them, too. These burgers may be small but they are very dense and intense in flavor. I recommend saving these for the end so you can fully taste the flavors of the other dishes first.

Bomb duck fat fries. I heard the other table comment that these fries were  greasy but these are drowned in duck fat after all so I am not too concerned with crispiness in this case.

After demolishing everything above, I tested the waters and asked date if she wanted dessert. Of course, she said. Didn’t even blink. Boom, soulmate found.

Chocolate Mousse (RMB¥65) with candy bar crunch, fresh berries
Recommend: yes
There are two desserts on the menu; one being this chocolate mousse and the other a lemon curd. I don’t like lemony desserts so I made us get the chocolate. The chocolate was so simple yet so right. It tasted more and more like nutella as we got down to the bottom where there was more crunch waiting for us.

Comments

comments