When people want recommendations for delicious food, they don’t often look to their cabbies. That’s understandable. After all, your cabbie probably can’t comment on the food at Laris or give personal insights into the wine list at Franck. Still, if you’re searching for something basic -- say a big bowl of freshly prepared noodles for under RMB12 -- or more basic still -- a place that will feed you at 3 in the morning -- there are few better resources than your cabbie, whose job depends on knowing every itty bitty corner of this town.

We talked some taxi drivers into sharing their prized noodle pitstops with us and were amazed at the quality these taxi driver-invaded shops offered.

Shanghai noodle shop: Xiang He Mian Guan (祥和面馆)

Xiang He destroys the idea of mood lighting with a ceiling full of bright IKEA lights and a fluorescent visual display of the house special noodles. Though this shop doesn’t have much going in terms of ambiance, it is one of those rare establishments where you can get a meal for two for less than RMB20 before zipping off. Of course, taxi drivers have been taking advantage of this for years.

Order your food upfront and be sure to augment your noodles with a beer mug (yes, a beer mug) of sweet soy milk (warm or cold, RMB 3), a surprisingly fitting accompaniment. There are around twenty varieties of noodles to choose from, we like the la rou mian (RMB 6.5), a saucy noodle with lots of chili-flecked pork cubes, and the cilantro-topped beef curry noodles (RMB 5.5).
Xiang He Mian Guan (祥和面馆), Lane 1235, No. 1, Dingxi Lu, near Anhua Lu 定西路1235弄1号, 近安化路, +86 21 6212 7097, open 24-hours

Shanghai noodle shop: Chun He Mian Guan (春和面馆)

Chun He is well-loved among cabbies for cheap beer (large Suntory, RMB 4) and huge portions. How huge? We ordered a bowl of the tasty la rou hong shao mian (a red-braised, five-spice flavored beef and pork noodle, RMB11) with a request for less noodles and the serving was still bigger than any other noodle bowl on this list. The leftovers of the su jiao da pai fan, a dish of wheat gluten topped with sweet-glazed pork steak with rice (RMB13), required three takeout boxes.

It’s all about the toppings here -- namely meat. Expect beef noodle bowls that are canvassed with thin sliced meat, baby-fist sized meatballs and random metal bowls of protein sitting on all available kitchen counter tops.
Chun He Mian Guan (春和面馆), 1081 Changde Lu, near Anyuan Lu 常德路1081号, 近安远路, no phone number, open 24-hours

Shanghai noodle shop: Peng Fu Mian Guan (鹏福面馆)

This small noodle joint is a relative newbie to the game, having been around for just two years. The decor is non-existent (plastic orange seats, looks like a Hong Kong cha canting) with cabbies who are simply focused on slurping from their deep noodle bowls and watching the game. Still, the vibe is friendly, mostly due to the laid back owner who seems to know every cabbie who walks through his doors.

This mian guan is all about fresh noodles, cooked until they are just a bit al dente, and paired with moderate toppings that don’t take over the bowl. We like their rich san si mian or sauteed eel noodles (RMB 13).

If you’re feeling adventurous, the sauteed pork intestines noodles (da chang mian, RMB11) are particularly good here.
Peng Fu Mian Guan (鹏福面馆), 332 Xietu Lu, near Mengzi Lu 斜土路332号, 近蒙自路, +86 21 6302 7736, 6am-3am