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Chefs battling it out for crayfish customers
By Xu Wenwen |
July 5, 2012, Thursday
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Print Edition
THE battle begins when night falls. In the dim light, shrouded in smoke from the cooking, a chef produces his knife and dices cucumbers with a flash of the blade; nearby, another chef casts his hand and sprinkles special spices; a third slowly stirs a simmering pot of soup, patiently waiting and waiting ...
The subject of their attentions is crayfish, the glowing, shimmering, mouth-watering xiaolongxia that always occupies the top spot in midnight snack menus this time of year.
Yes, they all look the same red after being cooked, but they taste diversely because of different recipes, and the battle among crayfish restaurants and sidewalk stalls is to seize more customers by offering savory crayfish.
In Hangzhou, the leisure city where citizens love to take a night stroll and night snacks, crayfish is something that cannot be missed in nightlife. Shanghai Daily speaks to some crayfish restaurant and stall owners doing well in the summer battle.
Wangjiangmen Crayfish Restaurant
This restaurant, open from 5pm to midnight, does not have a name but is so well-known for "Hangzhou-style" crayfish that locals name it by its location, Wangjiangmen block.
Crayfish is a recent addition to Chinese cuisine, so "Hangzhou-style" refers to typical Hangzhou taste, which is delicate and mild.
Established nine years ago and run by a local family - involved in everything from cooking to accounting - it cooks crayfish in the most common way, stir fried and then boiled. And customers can order slightly hot, medium hot and very hot.
"I don't have any secret recipe, just ordinary seasonings," says uncle chef Zhou Hongwei, adding scallion, garlic, ginger, mushroom, sugar and pepper. Cucumber is also used, to remove the grease.
Staff clean the crayfish outdoors so customers can see them pick up and peel the crustaceans. This ensures the quality of cooked crayfish, of which the meat is tight, tender and a little bit sweet - truly Hangzhou flavor.
"The sweetness is attributed to the breed we choose," says Wang Xiaojing, the daughter of the family. "Many crayfish restaurants pick dark brown crayfish which have thick shells, but we choose the thin-shell breed which has more tender, sweet meat."
That explains why the small stall of only around 30 chairs sells more than 150 kilograms of crayfish a day.
Prices starts from 78 yuan (US$12), with the average customer spending 100 yuan. Customers should call for reservations, or face a wait of around an hour to get a seat.
Address: 227 Wangjiang Rd
Tel: (0571) 8180-0131
Zhang Huli Crayfish Restaurant
In 2005 a 180-square-meter crayfish restaurant opened in Baijingfang Lane in Hangzhou. Now there are five branches, selling almost 3,000 kilograms of crayfish every day.
The owners put this down to its diverse recipes - it offers 16 crayfish dishes, including spicy crayfish, curried crayfish, crayfish braised with turtle, crayfish braised with pork ribs, barbecued crayfish with garlic and crayfish with sweet and sour fried rice cake.
The price of each dish is from 68 yuan to 88 yuan, and other ordinary local dishes and BBQ foods are also listed in the menu.
Some chains in downtown
? Address: No. 32, Baijingfang Lane
Tel: (0571) 8505-7733
? Address: 123-127 Gaoyin Street
Tel: (0571) 8781-1928
? Address: 83-87 Gaoyin Street
Tel: (0571) 8783-2330
Liangda Mama Restaurant
This restaurant enjoys a high profile because several celebrities have dined here, such as singer Han Hong and actor Ge You - a photograph of whom, tucking into crayfish, hangs on the restaurant wall.
The restaurant only sells two types of crayfish, the specialty crayfish (148 yuan per kilogram and 198 yuan for 1.5 kilograms) and "super crayfish" priced at 998 yuan, which must be ordered in advance.
Sure, the price is higher than others, and the crayfish is not served de-headed as in some other restaurants. But there must be reasons why people queue in front of the gate.
The specialty crayfish is sprinkled with white sesame, and smells delicious. They are fresh thick-shell dark ones, with tight and thick meat and slightly hot, due to plenty Sichuan pepper in the soup.
Diners are supplied with plastic gloves and an apron, to keep clothes clean during the sometimes tricky process of cracking open the crayfish.
Address: 98 Hedong Rd
Tel: (0571) 8592-9877
The subject of their attentions is crayfish, the glowing, shimmering, mouth-watering xiaolongxia that always occupies the top spot in midnight snack menus this time of year.
Yes, they all look the same red after being cooked, but they taste diversely because of different recipes, and the battle among crayfish restaurants and sidewalk stalls is to seize more customers by offering savory crayfish.
In Hangzhou, the leisure city where citizens love to take a night stroll and night snacks, crayfish is something that cannot be missed in nightlife. Shanghai Daily speaks to some crayfish restaurant and stall owners doing well in the summer battle.
Wangjiangmen Crayfish Restaurant
This restaurant, open from 5pm to midnight, does not have a name but is so well-known for "Hangzhou-style" crayfish that locals name it by its location, Wangjiangmen block.
Crayfish is a recent addition to Chinese cuisine, so "Hangzhou-style" refers to typical Hangzhou taste, which is delicate and mild.
Established nine years ago and run by a local family - involved in everything from cooking to accounting - it cooks crayfish in the most common way, stir fried and then boiled. And customers can order slightly hot, medium hot and very hot.
"I don't have any secret recipe, just ordinary seasonings," says uncle chef Zhou Hongwei, adding scallion, garlic, ginger, mushroom, sugar and pepper. Cucumber is also used, to remove the grease.
Staff clean the crayfish outdoors so customers can see them pick up and peel the crustaceans. This ensures the quality of cooked crayfish, of which the meat is tight, tender and a little bit sweet - truly Hangzhou flavor.
"The sweetness is attributed to the breed we choose," says Wang Xiaojing, the daughter of the family. "Many crayfish restaurants pick dark brown crayfish which have thick shells, but we choose the thin-shell breed which has more tender, sweet meat."
That explains why the small stall of only around 30 chairs sells more than 150 kilograms of crayfish a day.
Prices starts from 78 yuan (US$12), with the average customer spending 100 yuan. Customers should call for reservations, or face a wait of around an hour to get a seat.
Address: 227 Wangjiang Rd
Tel: (0571) 8180-0131
Zhang Huli Crayfish Restaurant
In 2005 a 180-square-meter crayfish restaurant opened in Baijingfang Lane in Hangzhou. Now there are five branches, selling almost 3,000 kilograms of crayfish every day.
The owners put this down to its diverse recipes - it offers 16 crayfish dishes, including spicy crayfish, curried crayfish, crayfish braised with turtle, crayfish braised with pork ribs, barbecued crayfish with garlic and crayfish with sweet and sour fried rice cake.
The price of each dish is from 68 yuan to 88 yuan, and other ordinary local dishes and BBQ foods are also listed in the menu.
Some chains in downtown
? Address: No. 32, Baijingfang Lane
Tel: (0571) 8505-7733
? Address: 123-127 Gaoyin Street
Tel: (0571) 8781-1928
? Address: 83-87 Gaoyin Street
Tel: (0571) 8783-2330
Liangda Mama Restaurant
This restaurant enjoys a high profile because several celebrities have dined here, such as singer Han Hong and actor Ge You - a photograph of whom, tucking into crayfish, hangs on the restaurant wall.
The restaurant only sells two types of crayfish, the specialty crayfish (148 yuan per kilogram and 198 yuan for 1.5 kilograms) and "super crayfish" priced at 998 yuan, which must be ordered in advance.
Sure, the price is higher than others, and the crayfish is not served de-headed as in some other restaurants. But there must be reasons why people queue in front of the gate.
The specialty crayfish is sprinkled with white sesame, and smells delicious. They are fresh thick-shell dark ones, with tight and thick meat and slightly hot, due to plenty Sichuan pepper in the soup.
Diners are supplied with plastic gloves and an apron, to keep clothes clean during the sometimes tricky process of cracking open the crayfish.
Address: 98 Hedong Rd
Tel: (0571) 8592-9877
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