Shanghai restaurant(s)
 

I thought I might begin a thread on this subject to complement the one on Beijing dining. I just got a recommendation for a place named Chun on Jinxian Road..shall I add this to my list?

Other names I have so far include:
DTF
South Beauty
Jia Jia Tang Bao
Ye Shanghai

Good?

Not been to any you have there, but my fave resto in Shanghai is

Guyi
87 Fumin Road

It's not Shanghainese, but spicy Hunanese cuisine. It's excellent.

DIMSUM
1. Bi Feng Tang across Ritz Carlton Portman

ASIAN DISHES WITH FRESHEST VEGGIES
2. Element Fresh in American Arcade beside Ritz Carlton Portman

T8 in Xintiandi

Brazil.

Maboonkrong Thai

I will be at Fudan University for several weeks. In that area of Shanghai, what are some good inexpensive restaurants for daily lunches and dinners?

We are desperate here..need recommendations, please!

You go to Shanghai to eat the local cuisine: Meilongzhen, Xiaonanguo, Lubolang, all delicious.

Yes, yes, the local cuisine only. And the ones I mentioned? Sorry for my ignorance..first time visitor to China, in case you could not tell!

Sorry, haven't been to any.

Well if you have not been to them I am imagining that I should check out the ones you mentioned first!

Thanks, yet again, for your endless patience and your help!

Shanghainese, if you can stand another question from me (probably not the last), I have been noticing that there are privately run restaurants and state-run restaurants and some "critics" favor the former for service and soemtimes for food as well. Do you notice any difference?

Example: Lu Bo Lang is state run
Xiao Nan Guo is private

I realize I am overplanning..just curious..

I haven't noticed the difference. Also I have a different palate, don't care for spicy foods.

Been to MeiLongZhen - the food was good, the surroundings interesting. Clientele mostly tourists.

Sorry can't recommend any other specifics, honestly I ate loads in Shanghai and it was all soooo delicious!

Local Shanghai cuisine tends to run towards the salty/braised/seafood

vs. "western" dishes which feature hot chilis

vs. "northern" which features flour-based, such as dumplings, noodles

vs. "southern", mostly Cantonese, which features seafood

Shanghai "dim sum" should be different from Cantonese "dim sum" - altho everyone has borrowed that great Shanghai dim sum dish, the "Little Dragon" dumplings which are supposed to be eaten whole so as not to lose the delicious juice. (It's technically, "Little Steaming Basket Bao" - but who's going to remember "Little Steaming Basket"? :) )

There's a place in Shanghai Old Town which caters to the locals and sells only Little Dragon Bao. There's a restaurant upstairs, but, the usual long lineup is downstairs. If you see a long line and see people slurping their baos, you've found the place. Best Little Dragon baos in Shanghai, IMHO.

Oh, yes, also in Old Town, there's a tea house over the lake/pond. Have some tea there and get a flavor of what "having tea" really meant in the old days. (Ignor the Starbucks - or is it a MacDonald's? - that has planted itself in the square).

Otherwise, follow Shanghainese's advice. She speaks fluent Shanghainese, as far as I know, which helps a lot! Hi, Shanghaiese!

One thing I've done in China is to ask the working people where they eat: the maid, the bellboy, etc. After several opinions, I have generally a good feel for what are good restaurants in the area. When my niece spent a summer studying in Beijing and we went to visit her, she took us to these holes-in-the-wall where we had incredibly tasty local cuisine at incredible prices. The locals always know the best places. Trust them.

Once when I was in one Chinese city (somewhere in the interior), the maid called in her cohorts, they all had a long confab and they recommended two restaurants. One we couldn't find and the other we did. Absolutely fantastic hot pot dinner! Don't ask me for the name!

Go ask a local! Bon Appetit! :)

The Little Dragon Bao are usually called Xio Long Bao. Eat them whole and burn your mouth or take a bite and squirt soup on your clothes. How you eat them: Pick up with chop sticks and place in soup spoon, then bite off piece of top and simultaneously slurp in the soup. Dip in black vinegar and and place somme ginger atop and finish off--sometimes one bite if small, 2 bites if larger.

I'll be there in less than 2 weeks and I can't wait. Visiting family who say the food in Shanghai is wonderful. We're going out to one fancy restaurant and the rest will probably be local, but in/near tourist areas, so any other suggestions would be great.
BTW soes anybody know how to print a thread without copying and pasting into a new document?
Also, will I be able to recharge my US camera battery or do I need a special plug and converter? Thank you all!

Thanks, all. Easy, great idea bout asking the maids. I don't speak any Chinese language, but can probably get my point across to someone! I can already see that the language problem is going to be an issue on the eating front.

I keep reading about that dumpling place; can you give us the name of it?

Also wondering about the voltage..

Also, what exactly is red-cooked? I know it is a braise, but with what? Isn't that a Shanghai method?

Yes, red-cooked (R-C) is a Shanghai special. R-C is always with a lot of soy sauce. R-C beaf is a very common Shanghai dish, so is r-c bean curd.

Thank you.

ekscrunchy: The dumpling place IS Lubolang in Old Town, the lines are always long, go upstairs.

Easytraveler! When do we gtg again? We'll have to go to Yank Sing, altho cantonese, they go thte dumplings to taste shanghainese.

Sory, I meant got the ......

Thanks! Again!!

There is a nice article on "red cooking" in the current Saveur magazine if anyone is interested.

Hi, All!

Sorry, I was away all day hiking and, boy, am I sore all over! But it was a glorious day and the view once I had huffed and puffed my way to the top was really fantastic!

mvpl: I usually just highlight what I want to print out. The other method is to email the thread to myself at another email address and then print out the thread from that other email address.

Yes you are going to need a converter for China. I don't know where you can get one here as mine was acquired in Hong Kong and resembles a rubik's cube in that I can fiddle around with it and have the right plugs show up somewhere on the cube. China used to have a crazy quilt pattern of wall plugs, but it's getting better.

ek: red cooked, if I recollect how my family used to do it, was to cook meats, etc. very slowly in a mixture of soy sauce, wine, ginger, five spice powder (?) and just stew away on low heat for hours. The "red" comes from the soy sauce, it's actually more of a brown color. Don't put so much soy sauce that your hair will fall out from the saltiness. :)

I envy you! Sounds like a great trip in the making for you!

Shanghainese: any time you want to drive around SF and environs and do a Little Dragon Bao comparison - any time is fine with me. My preference is Koi Palace in Daly City. I'll get ahold of Faina and ask her for your phone number so we can GTG. See you soon!

Thanks, Easy.

The dumpling place I was thinking of is:

Nan Xiang..85 YuYuan Lu (2nd and 3rd Floor)

Ekscrunchy:

I believe you are right: that "famous" dumpling place near Yu Graden is Nánxiáng Mántou Diàn. According to my research (I'll be in Shanghai in May), it is more "famous"than "great".

If you don't mind "hole in the wall" places, the top spot for Xiaolong Bao (Little Basket Dumpling) is Jia Jia Tang Bao. One branch is close to the People Square (Remin Square) and the address is 90 Huanghe Lu (near Fengyang Lu).

Almost as well-loved and more often indulged in (being a true street food) than xiaolong bao are shengjian bao, which Shanghinese sometimes refer to as "their" pot stickers. At their best, they are crunchily charred on the bottom, soft and savory on the top, and full of tasty pork and dribble-down-your-chin juicyness. Although good examples can be found all over the city, the place to go has long been Xiao Yang's, as witness the takeout line. 54 Wujiang Road, north end of Shimen No1 Road.

I have updated my map to include these places; if you still have time to print it and want it, just send me an email (I think I have deleted your email address).

John this is all wonderful information and I have duly added Jia Jia Tang Bao to my list..

Thank you for your kind offer about the map...I will send you the e-mail later today..

And I will do my best to make notes on places that I eat so that I can post some semblance of a trip report when I return in the latter part of April...

I've been to a few of these, so here's my opinion...

1. DTF (Ding Tai Fung):Taiwanese-based dumpling chain. I go to the XinTianDi branch a few times/month and usually take visitors here. I love their xiaolongbao! Usually need to wait in line. If we're too starving we go to the highly regarded Crystal Jade which is on the same floor (turn right off the escalator instead of left). They tend to have a line too though.

2. South Beauty: Shanghainese and Szechuan food. Pretty good. I don't go there often though. I like other places better.

3. Ye Shanghai: I was just there last weekend. They have a weekend all-you-can eat special for 98rmb. Lunch kitchen closes at like 230 so don't go too late. It's another place we take visitors. A colleague refers to it as "expensive Chinese".

4. Xiao Yang's (johnmango's suggestion): I always call it Yang's Fry Dumplings. It is really really good! A meal will cost you like $1 including soda. You probably won't be able to sit at a table because they're so busy. They have two seating areas as they've taken over the space next door or one door over. I don't think the menu is in english (there's like 5 things on it and you order outside anyway) so just point and hold up your fingers for the number you want. I just pay whatever they say.

5. Pinchuan (47 TaoJiang Lu between HengShan and Wulumuqi Lu..near O'Malley's and South Beauty): Another favorite restaurant I took a visitor to this weekend. Same colleague refers to this as inexpensive Chinese. Good food but quite spicy for me. English is ok.

6. If you happen to be in the area, my favorite baozi (steamed bun..I like it filled with pork aka Zhu Ro) is on Gao'An Lu by the public library between Huaihai Lu and HengShan Lu. It has a yellow awning and is the only food place on the block. It looks scary but trust me it's good. Only 6 jiao each! (8 US cents or so.) No english. They only sell baozi - no drinks even. Just point and they'll put them in a little baggie. Our drivers get them for breakfast.

7. Guyi Hunan is great too, but very spicy (I know...hello? Hunan.) I've had to wait for quite awhile everytime I've gone. It's worth it.

8. Lost Heaven is our newest discovery. Yunnan folk cuisine. Really good food in an interesting space. Not bright, loud and cafeteria-like as some of these places can feel. 38 GaoYou Lu near FuXing Xi Lu. Old French Concession/library area too. Phone 021-64335126.

easytraveler: Starbucks is the one in front of the Huxinting tea house in Old Town, unless you're thinking of the Dairy Queen 2 doors down. I don't think you're thinking of the Haagen-Dazs. Both McDonald's are outside the square as is KFC. Shocking to see how packed these places are!

Thank you, Nag..I have made note of these in my TimeOut Guide. Very helpful.

You mention waiting in line at a few places..I am guessing there is no such thing as reservations at the cheaper places like DTF, right?

I am sure I am overthinking all of this but it does help to have the recommendations..now if only I can manage to read the menus.

Sounds like quite an adventure is in store!

Some places have pix on their menus, or you can look at what's nice on other tables and point them out to your waitperson.

Just back from long weekend in Shanghai and can second the recommendation for Jia Jia Tang Bao. DTF is excellent, too, though - EK - it is not a cheap option!! This is a swank operation with prices to match. I'm sure they take reservations. At Ye Shanghai I enjoyed minced chicken stuffed into sesame pockets. Yongfoo Elite had serviceable food and a gorgeous interior. Crystal Jade was buzzy and fun on a Sunday morning -- standouts included the fried pork dumplings and chilled mango pudding.

Also -- forgot to mention -- I was very, very disappointed by the xiaolongbao at Nan Xiang. They had no soup inside!

Easytraveler -- xiao long bao actually does mean little dragon dumpling, no? The "long" character in "xiaolongbao" is dragon. "Long" is also a homonym for steamer basket, but that's another character entirely. I noticed in my Time Out guide to Shanghai they got this wrong, too!

PP..thanks so much for the updates. When you say "not cheap" what kind of prices are we talking about..?? More or less how much for a meal for one?

I think it's RMB 80 per basket of xlb at DTF -- but you'll want to order other stuff too like noodles, or fried rice, other dumplings, side dishes like stir-fried green veg -- could add up to around US $20 per person? That's cheap by American standards but quite pricey in China, especially when you consider that a basket of xlb at Jia Jia Tang Bao is only RMB 6!

Thanks, quite a difference. 80RMB is more expensive than here in New York!

Hi, Petitepois!

Well, "little pea", I'm usually pretty confused, so hardly the one to clarify what it actually means. I've had it explained to me both way: "little steamer basket" or "little dragon". For sure, it's "little" LOL!

The Shanghai pronunciation is "xio lung bao" and it could mean either aas it is pronounced.

Maybe someone with better food knowledge than I could explain all this.

There's also been a lot of discussion of exactly how thin the skin has to be. I've always thought that the thickness of the skin was the last of the three things to consider: the taste of the juice/soup and the meat should be primary. Of course, if the skin is too thick, it detracts from the other two, but some people want it to be very very thin and yet strong enough to hold the juice inside.

There is also some disagreement on how the bao is supposed to be eaten. I like to stuff it whole into my mouth and bite down on the bao, then feel the wonderful "unadulterated" taste of the juice. Others, however, want to bite a small hole on the top (horrors!), then insert vinegar and sliced ginger inside and THEN eat the bao. By then, some of the juice has flowed into the spoon and so become adulterated with spoon taste (hehe! am I not being fastidious here?).

There's also disagreement on what kind of vinegar to use. Some insist on "black vinegar", by which I suppose they mean "chinkiang vinegar", which is too strong for me. I actually prefer the bao without the vinegar. If the bao is too hot, then I'll dip the bottom of the bao in vinegar to cool it down a bit.

ekscrunchy: Of course, talking about Shanghai cuisine, you have to try the "nien kao" = "rice cakes". These should be cooked with thinly sliced pork and chopped vegetables, preferably cabbage. I like the parts of the rice cake that's been stuck to the pan during cooking, so crunchy and yummy!

Then, there's fish head soup, not the fish head itself, but the vermicelli sheets - omigosh! I've got to get to a Shanghai restaurant soon!

Thanks, Easy..one more dish to put on my list. Nien Kao.

Ok..yet ANOTHER question. Do you eat the food sold by hawkers on the street, if the stall/stand looks ok and if there are others eating there? My inclination is to do so but just wanted to make sure.

And what about breakfast? Are there any typical early morning things I need to try?
Doujiang and what else?

Sorry I didn't mention reservations. Making a reservation is always better.

1. DTF - accepts reservations.
2. South Beauty - probably.
3. Ye Shanghai - probably. I've only been for lunch and have never needed them.
4. Xiao Yang's - nope. I don't even recall seeing a phone.
5. Pinchuan - probably, but we've never needed them.
7. Guyi - nope. Wish they did because we've always waited a long time.
8. Lost Heaven - probably takes reservations. I've never tried nor needed them.

We eat at some scary looking shops sometimes, but we won't let visitors do so unless the food is heated to boiling/steaming and we're real familiar with the place. We'd never let them have anything with water/ice in it. Thus soups are out because it's certainly made with local water. A friend even told us of seeing a cook washing a head of lettuce in the canal of a water village. That's healthy!

Xiaolongbao's translation comes from the written character "long" for steamer, the character is a dragon with bamboo on top, the dragon for the pronunciation "long" and the bamboo for steamer, quite clever. Just like the "hao' (good) character is a female on the left and a male on the right, so it must be good?!

Haven't seen the "bite the top first" way of eating a XLB, the dark vinegar is from the town of Zhenjiang not far from Nanking. The other kind used is from Zhejiang province which is light red. I don't care for chewing on ginger slivers.

Be careful about eating at street stalls, the locals have stronger stomachs than you. I've seen piles of bowls/plates rinsed in the same bucket of tap water for hours.

Doujiang (soy milk) can be drank sweet or savory with yioutiau, a long fried twisted piece of dough I found too greasy and doughy. Unflavored rice porridge with small plates of fermented tofu, fried peanuts, preserved veggies, preserved eggs, etc. is an acquired taste, you may want to try steamed buns or pan fried flat cakes stuffed with veggies or sweet red bean paste.

Hi, ekscrunchy!

Street food - never in China. The only place I eat street food is Singapore.

Once when on a business trip to China, a colleague (ex-pat from Canada) took me to a local restaurant - really cheap food and copious amounts of local beer. I ate, only because it was fully cooked and I figured the beer would kill the germs, hopefully.

On the other hand, I've see backpackers eat anything anywhere - must have cast iron stomachs!

Oh, one more story - another colleague of mine who travelled to Korea often ate some raw beef. Ever afterwards he had stomach problems - which is a huge price to pay for "just trying something".

Oh, yet one more story - you know the old saw about how the transcontinental railroad in the US was built with Irish whisky in the east and Chinese tea in the west - well, the reason the Chinese survived all that wilderness was because they boiled their water for tea and cooked all their food.

Hope I've scared you enough to stay away from street food and to eat only well-cooked food in restaurants. :)

In some of the better hotels, for a buffet breakfast,there's a Western breakfast section and a Chinese breakfast section - why not try out the hotel breakfasts? I've seen Asian businessmen eat ham and eggs piled on top of small pickled cucumbers, thousand year old eggs and rice porridge (yuck!) - to each his own. If you keep them separate, there's no reason not to enjoy both.

Shanghainese: Thanks for the detailed explanation! You're the best! :)

Easy..you did it!!! Scared me, that is! I will promise to stay away from street foods. I have heard a few too many stories of vendors washing plates in drainage ditches and so on!!! Good way to put it: Not worth the
price for "just trying something."

Easytraveler: Thanks for the comment, you are soo sweet! Can't wait to gtg!