Breakfast at New Shanghai, Chatswood

We all know that it is especially hard to get up in winter. Your bed is toasty warm while everything outside of your bed is freezing cold. In winter, I always want to start off my day with something warm and comforting, something that would warm up my stomach and make my fingers and toes tingle. 

Steamed vegetarian bun - $2.00

The last time I visited Hong Kong, it was during winter and I still remember how comforting it was to wake up to a hot bowl of congee in the chilli mornings. Unfortunately, I am not in Hong Kong right now but New Shanghai has recently released a breakfast menu which is available between 7.30 to 10.30 am to satisfy those congee cravings. 

Left: Sliced fish congee - $4.50
Middle: Preserved egg and lean meat congee - $4.50
Right: Steamed vegetarian bun - $2.00

The sliced fish was very tender while the preserved egg and meat congee was very flavoursome. The best thing to have with congee is fried Chinese doughnuts (aka deep fried dough with a touch of salt). Besides the crunchiness of the doughnut, I think its because the doughnut isn't the healthiest thing out there but congee is considered to be a health dish so when you combine the two, its like one balances out the other right...? 

Savoury soy bean milk - $4.00

This was the first time I had tried a soy bean drink in savoury flavours. I had no idea you could even get soy milk as a savoury drink. I didn't mind this drink but it definitely had an interesting and an acquired taste so this isn't a dish for everyone. 

Fried egg pancake with pork floss - $4.50

Left: fried egg pancake with pork floss - $4.50
Top right: Glutinous rice roll with pork floss and fried Chinese doughnut - $4.50

Fried pancake is always a favorite of mine no matter what time of the day it is. You can have it with congee or a bun but I lovedemolishing the whole plate ... having it by itself. The egg pancake is plain but the oyster sauce and the fillings (whether it be pork floss, cheese or corn) makes it so much more exciting. The saltiness of the oyster sauce and the sweetness from the pork floss makes makes you wanting to reach out for more. 

Top left: deep fried Chinese silver bread - $3.00
Bottom left: steamed Chinese silver bread - $3.00
Top right: steam roll - $2.00
Bottom right: Sweet glutinous rice roll - $3.50

The steamed and deep fried doughnuts are basically like plain bread but the condensed milk definitely sweeten things up. The glutinous rice rolls are also another favorite of mine in the cold mornings because they come out piping hot. I remember when I was a teenager I would love to juggle the rolls between both my frozen palms hoping that the heat from the rolls would warm up my fingers. The rolls can be quite heavy because it is covered in sticky rice (which is heavier than just normal rice) so even though they look small, you do get full pretty quickly from these rolls. 
The best thing about the breakfast menu is that every item on there is under 5 bucks. You can barely get a coffee for half of that nowadays. The food can be heavy but it is definitely a great way to fuel up before a long day which is why I say it is worth a try. 
Gotta go eat!! 
Food is our religion dined as a guest of New Shanghai with compliments to Wasamedia.