Best Shanghainese restaurants in Shanghai
Nothing polarizes Shanghainese diners more swiftly than a discussion about Shanghainese food.
Some people love the sweet undercurrents and the saucy, braised meats while others can’t stand the strong flavors of iconic dishes like hong shao rou, sautéed eel and drunken chicken.
But you’re in the city now and well-cooked Shanghainese food is literally on your block.
If you wonder where to start, here are our standbys for great Shanghainese fare.
Hong Rui Xing (鸿瑞兴)
Hong Rui Xing is a bit of a mind trip.
First, there’s the location in a non-descript building within the Shanghai Stadium. Once you spot that, follow the neon entrance signs (they really do need those) into a three-story restaurant decked out like a Chinese teahouse with mahogany furniture and temple lanterns.
The first floor is a raucous cafeteria serving snacks. We like the eight-treasure rice, the sesame-covered meat-filled pancakes , the saucy, pliant Suzhou tofu and the bowls of hand-pulled noodles.
The second and third floors (all private dining rooms) are quieter. Instead of a menu, diners go to the open kitchen cum showroom to order from an island-like display of samples, which are plastic replicas of dishes, some eerily well-made.
Unlike most Shanghainese restaurants, waiters are actually helpful with selections and will point you towards what’s seasonal.
Good for lighter palates as Hong Rui Xing’s menu is Jiangsu-Zhejiang-Suzhou influenced, meaning less sweet, less oil.
We also like the extra touch of creativity in many dishes such as the signature xiaolongbao served in with a light teapot soup, mini glutinous dumpling with sesame inside every pellet-sized dumpling and yellow croaker casserole.
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Hong Rui Xing, 1500 Zhongshan Nan Er Lu, inside Shanghai Stadium 中山南二路1500号东亚体育宾馆1-3楼, 上海体育场运动员之家内, +86 21 6427 5177, +86 21 6428 0079, 6 a.m.-9 p.m.
Lan Ting (兰亭餐厅)
“Here's how you decide whether you should open a Shanghainese restaurant," says restaurant consultant and chef Anthony Zhao.
"Ask yourself: how is your stir-fried huangsan [eel]? Do you do a terrific hongshao rou [braised pork in soy sauce]? Can you fry up a tasty xun yu [deep fried then braised fish]? And finally, are your crystal shrimp truly sparkling?
“If you can't get these four dishes just right, don't bother. Shanghainese people will never go," he continues. "This is the rule. And Lan Ting doesn't fall short on a single point.”
Lan Ting has no ambiance to speak of, but it is perpetually full of locals stuffing themselves with its Shanghainese home-style cooking.
This isn't the place to introduce your boss to the local cuisine, but where you go when you want cheap, delicious, no-fuss Shanghainese food.
Zhao recommends the ji gu jiang.
“It's tiny pieces of chicken in a very thick, very flavorful sauce made with fulu [fermented tofu],” explains Zhao. “With this one dish, you can demolish two bowls of rice.”
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Lan Ting, 107 Songshan Lu, near Taicang Lu 嵩山路107号, 近太仓路, +86 21 5306 9650, 11 a.m.-10 p.m.
Hai Jin Zi (海金滋)
Hai Jin Zi is a tiny lane house restaurant and the reason why there are BMWs blocking up the streets nearby.
It’s a handful of tables plus a fridge for drinks and red boxes of Maotai displayed proudly at the back.
More Spartan than homey, but then there’s the food, which is completely homestyle and tastes as if it was made by your Shanghainese grandmother.
Expect ample portions for cheap -- big chunks of meat, seafood and vegetables that have never heard of garnish, usually served up in pools of umami-laden soy braise.
Only come here if you have a solid faith in Shanghainese cuisine and its flavors plus a tolerance for noise (hacking coughs, “ganbei!” and constant chair shuffling).
The signature dish here is the pork chops which look like they got into a fight with a tangle of green onions and lost. You’ll know which ones.
We also like the creamy crab roe scrambled eggs to balance the saucy pork chops and yes, the kungpao chicken with peanuts.
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Hai Jin Zi, 240 Jinxian Lu, near Shaanxi Nan Lu 进贤路240号, 近陕西南路 ,+86 21 6255 0371, 11: 45 a.m.-1: 45 p.m., 5 p.m.-9:30 p.m.
