The restaurant Zengo specializes in Latin - Asian fusion, and every few months it selects the cuisine and spirits of one Latin and one Asian country and mixes it up.
This week, the restaurant introduced a Shanghai-São Paulo menu that highlights the affinities between Chinese and Brazilian cuisine through six creative interpretations of traditional dishes.
For appetizers there are Xiaolongbao Soup Dumplings which are traditional Chinese dumplings prepared with pork, crab and linguica sausage except that they are enhanced with Brazilian flavors. Crispy Shanghai Spring Rolls, filled with chicken and shrimp are accented with the Brazilian spice, tempero baiano. Bacalhau, or salt cod - a staple of Brazil, is crusted with coconut and served with Chinese-influenced sweet and sour sauce.
The appetizers are paired with Pomegranate-Kumquat Cocktail made with Cachaça, the hot new Brazilian spirit made from fermented sugarcane muddled with kumquats, ppomegranate and ginger. Also offered is spiked Acai Tea made with green tea vodk, acai liquor, acai berry juice and lychee.
Main dishes include Picahna Steak & XO Style King Crab featuring Brazilian dry aged sirloin with Asian-style King Crab, served with Chinese XO sauce.
Also on the menu is Brazillian feijoada made with black beans, shredded pork, Linguica, tasajo beef and bacon - all making for a very dense, complex taste. The dish is appropriately paired with a peppercorn cucumber martini made with gin, sake, muddled cucumber and Szechuan peppercorn.
For dessert there's a creamy coconut tapioca accented with mango-kumquat gelee, lychee sorbet, shaved coquito nuts and micro shiso. Complementing it is a coconut caipirinha made with fresh coconut water, cachaca and muddled lime.
All the dishes are a la carte so you can pick and choose and mix and match as you wish.
The special menu will be offered at Zengo Santa Monica: February 15 – March 31.
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