Some restaurants, like the Ning Po Residents Association, require a nominal annual fee (around 200 Hong Kong dollars), but in return you gain access to excellent food (in this case, recipes from the city of Ningbo, near Shanghai, such as delicate, juicy soup dumplings and sweet-and-sour fish), in an exclusive but usually unpretentious setting.

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Try the smoked fish starter and stewed pork in soy sauce or the sweetand- sour Mandarin fish.

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There was sweetness from the sauces, sour from the lime, saltiness from the fish sauce and spiciness from the chillies.

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WATER-COOKED FISH is a Sichuan preparation of poached white fish and wilted cabbage in a sweet-sour broth slicked with chili oil.

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Here, pungent fish sauce and plenty of lime juice keep the dressing pleasantly sour and sharp.

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At the first smell of fish, expect a 10 times valuation and if operations turn sour 8 times earnings.

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