Hello from Shanghai! ❤
The Shanghai trip has been filled with a lot of amazing gastronomical experiences which really blew my mind! Hence, sharing with you guys here some of my personal favourite Shanghainese local food, ranging from Michelin starred restaurants to the local street delicacies. Hope this guide is helpful for you!
SHANGHAINESE LOCAL FOOD
1. 萊萊小籠 Lai Lai Xiao Long
2. 人和馆 (本幫菜) Ren He Guan
3. 上揚府 (淮揚菜) Shang Yang Fu
4. 桂满陇 (杭帮菜) Gui Man Long
5. 新白鹿 (杭帮菜) Xin Bai Lu
6. 鮮得來 Xian De Lai
7. 蟹江南•蟹黄面 Xie Jiang Nan
8. 阿娘面馆 Ah Niang Mian Guan
9. 美味嘉老上海双档 Mei Wei Jia Old Shanghai Shuang Dang
10. 沈大成 Shen Da Cheng
SHANGHAINESE SNACK
11. 酥小蝶 & 老香斋 Shu Xiao Die & Lao Xiang Zhai
12. 小桃园 Xiao Tao Yuan
13. 小杨生煎 Yang's Dumpling
14. 哈茶福 Ha Cha Fu
15. 半酌烧烤小酒馆 Ban Zhuó Shao Kao
1. 萊萊小籠 Lai Lai Xiao Long
Location: Multiple branches
Xiao Long Bao is No. 1 must-have local delicacy in Shanghai but what makes it even more special here is the ultra thick and gooey crab roe filling in each of the delicately wrapped skin.
For first timer, the 纯蟹粉小笼 Crab Roe Xiao Long Bao (86元 / 4只) is definitely a must order!
Don't forget to add on the 姜丝醋 Shredded Ginger Vinegar condiment (1元) to elevate the taste too.
2. 人和馆 Ren He Guan
Location: Multiple branches
Ren He Guan is an excellent Michelin one-star Shanghainese restaurant with an average check of 250 yuan per person, serving authentic Shanghainese cuisine (known as 沪菜 / 本帮菜). We queued for more than 1.5 hours before we got a seat at this old Shanghai mansion-like restaurant. Dim yellow lights, nostalgic décor, 1930s memorabilia, golden oldies courtesy of singers in qipao... the ambiance was mind-blowingly beautiful.
❤ 米其林推荇 蟹粉捞饭 Michelin's recommendation - Crab Meat with Rice (199元 / 1-2人用);
❤ 青浦练塘茭白响油鳝丝 Stir fried shredded eel with wild rice stems in dark sauce;
❤ 舍得菜 Sautéed cabbage
The main highlight of the fish-centric menu is the unmissable crabmeat and roe on rice. So gooey, rich and bursts with seafood sweetness. Definitely the finest quality crab roe I had throughout the trip!
On the other hand, the stir-fried shredded eel with wild rice stems was a lovely combination of contrasting textures. Plus, the eel lent an unique sweetness to the aquatic vegetables.
We also had the famous sautéed vegetable dish called "She De", which means "willing to give" in Chinese. It is said that it uses only the most precious, tender leaves at the heart of a cabbage to serve the customers, hence the restaurant is "willing" to remove the outer layers of leaves.
3. 上揚府•淮扬小品 Shang Yang Fu
Location: 上海市 南京东路步行街479号五楼 (南京东路店)
❤ 扬府松露红烧肉 (红烧肉三分肥七分瘦) (98元)
❤ 明珠雪绒豆腐 (80刀手工切丝的豆腐) (39元)
Huaiyang cuisine, a subgroup of Jiangsu cuisine, is one of the Four Great Traditions in Chinese cuisine. It focuses on meticulous knife skills that have been passed down over the past 1,500 years and elaborated presentations of dishes, and we were glad to be able to experience such an art in Shang Yang Fu.
The Braised Pork Belly crowned with Truffle was the showstopper here, combining tender, melt-in-your-mouth pork belly with the earthy richness of truffles and a hint of sticky sweet sauce. How I'd wish the helping of sauce would be more generous as it went so well with the crisp base of rice.
My personal favourite goes to the Silk Cut Tofu Soup, a mind blowing creation which turned a normal block of tofu into a blossoming flower by making 6,400 (80x80) cuts. And each chef takes 3-5 years to master this skill! The tofu threads tasted extra smooth and was full of flavours from the broth.
4. 桂满陇 Gui Man Long
Location: 上海市 衡山路 932号太平洋百货8层 (徐汇店)
Another favourite of mine is the Gui Man Long's specialty Hangzhou cuisine (杭帮菜) which focuses on culinary techniques and aesthetics. The overall taste is mild but flavourful with a focus on fresh ingredients. It was, again, a mindblowingly great meal for us!
❤ 瘦西湖松鼠桂鱼 (168元)
❤ 海胆香精踏蛋 (45元)
❤ 东坡肉 (35元)
❤ 桂花冰酿 100ml/杯 (25元)
Huge efforts went to the presentation of the dishes, for instance the Sweet Sour Fish being presented as a squirrel while the Braised Pork Belly was beautifully plated too. Flavour wise, they were equally great. My personal favourite was the Sea Urchin Flavoured Egg which exuded a lovely seafoody eggy aroma.
5. 新白鹿 Xin Bai Lu
Location: 上海市 南京东路800号东方商厦九楼 (南京东路店)
Xin Bai Lu is a more affordable option for Hangzhou cuisine (杭帮菜), but the ambiance, food presentation and taste are never lacking at all.
❤ 蛋黄鸡翅 - 小份4只 (22元)
❤ 薄饼豉油肉 - 小份4只 (25元)
❤ 糖醋排骨 (9元)
❤ 干锅花菜 (19元)
The Salted Egg Yok Chicken Wing was so juicy and flavourful, while the Sweet Sour Pork Ribs had its own charm in terms of texture and sweet-savoury flavour. Overall, our lunch here was pretty pleasant, and the portion was just right for two.
6. 鮮得來 Xian De Lai
Location: 上海市 云南南路46号 (百年美食街)
Along the food street of Yunnan South Road (云南南路), there were plenty of traditional, hundred-year-old eateries lining the row of shoplots. But the most popular one is probably Xian De Lai which is famed for its Pork Chop with Glutinous Rice Cake (排骨年糕), a signature dish from the《繁花》.
❤ 排骨年糕 (15元)
❤ 鲜肉小馄饨 (9元)
❤ 桂花酒酿小丸子 (13元)
The pork chop was so well seasoned and tasted amazing with the sweet sticky sauce, served on a bed of chewy glutinous rice cake. Truly a local delight that you must not miss. For only RMB 15, we couldn't stop ourselves from ordering another portion because it was just so good.
While the Pork Dumpling Soup was tummy comforting during the cold weather, we were more attracted to the Sweet Fermented Glutinous Rice Dessert (桂花酒酿小丸子) which lent a strong flavour of sweet rice wine with a hint of aromatic osmanthus flakes.
7. 蟹江南•蟹黄面
Location: 上海市 黄浦区河南中路505号 (南京东路店)
❤ 招脾纯蟹黃金 + 蟹粉娃娃粟 (90元)
Xie Jiang Nan is famous for the crab roe noodles set, so we ordered a set to try and were pleasantly surprised that the quality of affordable crab roe was not bad after all. It definitely couldn't beat Ren He Guan in terms of the consistency and flavour, but at this affordable price point I think the crab roe noodles had nailed it!
8. 阿娘面馆 Ah Niang Mian GuanLocation: 上海市 黄浦区思南路36号
❤ 黄鱼煨面 白汤 (60元)
❤ 炸猪扒 (20元)
In Sinan area, we stumbled upon this unassuming noodle soup, and little did we know that it is actually an awardee of the Michelin bib gourmand for 8 consecutive years since 2017 until 2024!
The signature Yellow Croaker Noodles (黄鱼煨面 白汤) was so tummy comforting. As the soup made from yellow croaker and fish bones had been boiled for long hours, you could tell how fresh the yellow croaker is just by tasting the soup! Delicious!
9. 美味嘉老上海双档 Mei Wei Jia Old Shanghai Shuang Dang
Location: 上海市 黄浦区贵州路116-118号底层前间
❤ 双档 (25元)
❤ 老上海绿豆汤 (18元)
One of the must-have traditional Shanghai snack / breakfast is the Shuang Dang (双档)! It was a piping hot bowl of vermicelli, filled to the brim with various ingredients such as beancurd sheet, stuffed tofu puff, seaweed, fishball etc.
The minty green bean dessert soup is another traditional Shanghai delicacy, but we did not enjoy the overly cloying sweetness of it.
10. 沈大成 Shen Da Cheng
Location: Multiple branches
❤ 糟香鮮肉月餅 (5元)
❤ 蛋黄肉松青团 (10元)
When it comes to traditional snack / pastry, Shen Da Cheng definitely tops the list. It is a time-honored brand that has been producing traditional snacks (传统糕点), dumplings, noodles and Shanghainese cuisine since 1875.
Our favourite among all was the Fresh Meat Dumpling (鮮肉月餅) - so juicy and meaty on the inside, and so flaky on the outside! The Salted Egg Yolk and Pork Floss Rice Balls (蛋黄肉松青团) on the other hand was pretty unique with sweet-savoury taste. Highly recommended to bring some home as souvenir.
11. 酥小蝶 & 老香斋 蝴蝶酥 Shu Xiao Die & Lao Xiang Zhai
Location: Inside 上海第一食品商店 Shanghai First Foodmall (南京东路旗舰店)
We had a great time shopping for the Shanghai traditional pastries: 奶酥 (similar to a streuselkuchen) and the French Palmier (蝴蝶酥). The butterfly-shaped French palmier here was extremely crisp and rich in buttery goodness. I guess it was the authentic flavour of old Shanghai that kept people thronging for it.
12. 小桃园 Xiao Tao Yuan
Location: 上海市 複興中路1251號-1臨
Here we got to try the Taiwanese flavours with a Shanghainese flair. Xiao Tao Yuan is a popular breakfast and supper spot, and we could see the never-ending queue all the time. For below RMB 10, you can fill your tummy full and happy.
We tried the Egg Crepe (蛋饼), Salted Soy Milk (咸豆浆), Sweet Soy Milk (甜豆浆), Fried Crullers (炸油条) and Steamed Buns (小包子) - and it costed us only RMB 28 which was a super great value for money! Overall, we enjoyed the salted soy milk with crullers and egg crepe the most.
13. 小杨生煎 Yang's Dumpling
Location: Multiple branches
A little rendition from the usual steamed dumplings, Yang's Dumpling serves the pan-fried version which is equally juicy and meaty inside, while the exterior is more crisp and heavier on the palate. Our Chives and Original Pan-fried Dumpling Set (荠菜小杨双拼 - 12元) was pretty decent, and it went well with the spicy chilli flakes.
14. 哈茶福 Ha Cha Fu
Location: Multiple branches
Our travel in China would not be complete without having some authentic Chinese traditional tea. Here we had some Osmanthus Oolong Tea in a more creative and modern way. Not bad!
15. 半酌烧烤小酒馆
Location: (上海人民广场全季酒店店）
Interestingly, there is a late night drinking spot right at the ground floor of the hotel where we had a really great time tucking into the China’s famous grilled skewers and beer. The vibes here were super on point – funky decors filled up the space, full-house crowd during weekends. Recommended for group dining!
❤ ❤ ❤
Overall, our 5D4N Shanghai food adventure has given me a lot of opportunities to discover various cuisines from different parts of China. Each and every experience is mind-blowingly good, from the extravagant décor to the beautiful food presentation and impeccable services. Such gastronomical experience is just so memorable and I definitely look forward to visiting China again!
❤ ❤ ❤
- FiSh | Shanghai | Spring 2024 -
No comments:
Post a Comment
Comment here!