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Tasting the delights of old Shanghai
September 25, 2010, Saturday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
THE history of Shanghai is filled with culinary delights. Generations have enjoyed favorite dishes and drinks just as their ancestors did. Food bridges the past and the present in the hearts of Shanghai residents.
With so many restaurants in the city serving so many cuisines from China and abroad, it is easy to miss what is truly Shanghainese. So for a day out sampling the true old Shanghai, here's a gustatory roadmap that is tasty to follow.
Breakfast: Liujiacun Soybean Milk
Located in the pedestrian street of Jinping Road, Liujiacun Soybean Milk Restaurant specializes in breakfasts and lunches. Although the restaurant's owner isn't a native, the establishment has taken great pains to serve dishes in the typical Shanghai style. For breakfast, there are the "giant four" of traditional eating: soybean milk, fried dough sticks, Chinese pancakes and rice rolls.
In Liujiacun Restaurant, authenticity is meticulously followed. The soybeans it uses come from the northern provinces of China, and while some restaurants may cheat and use alum in the fried bread sticks, Liujiacun uses only eggs. A bowl of sweet soybean milk costs only 2 yuan (30 US cents) and one fried bread stick costs 1.5 yuan.
It's enough to satisfy a modest appetite.
The decoration of the restaurant is typical of the style found in canal towns, and the furnishings are reminiscent of the Ming and Qing dynasties. There are tables for two, four and eight people, and the restaurant is planning private rooms on the third floor. Chinese ink paintings adorn the walls.
The waitresses of the restaurant are mostly middle-aged women, all decked out in blue and white uniforms. They give the impression of mothers serving meals at home. It's a nice touch.
Sitting in these surroundings, enjoying a Chinese breakfast will indeed make you feel like you are in a traditional Shanghai home.
Address: 412 Jinping Rd
Afternoon Tea: Lin Restaurant
Afternoon tea suggests the delicate finger foods common in Britain or Hong Kong. But who can beat the taste and fun of Shanghai-style dim sum?
Lin Restaurant, located in the Zhongshen World Shopping Mall in Xinzhuang, offers a large array of Shanghai dim sum, including some that are actually pretty hard to find nowadays.
For example, one dim sum called "cimao tuan" is a very classic Shanghai food. It is made of a meat stuffing surrounded by a sticky rice skin. Lin's "cimao tuan" is a little bigger than common varieties and its skin is softer. It's a favorite for many restaurant patrons.
There's plenty of traditional dim sum, too, including rice rolls, fried noodles and sweet cakes. To bite into them is to conjure up the memories of old Shanghai.
If you choose to have afternoon tea in the Lin Restaurant, you may also try some classic Shanghai drinks, including one that is a bit like malted milk.
Address: 3/F, Zhongsheng Shopping Mall
Supper: Lusi Seafood
Shanghai's name comes from its proximity to the sea, and its culinary culture reflects a long harmony between residents and their marine environment. There's no better place to taste the fruits of that union than Lusi Seafood.
Located on Qinchun Rd, Lusi Seafood is not a big restaurant but it's always a big hit with diners. Getting a table or even a reservation can be difficult during popular eating times.
The biggest advantage of Lusi Seafood is the freshness of its food. Waiters often recommend simple steamed fish to guests, which is an exquisite dish when the seafood is fresh. Pacific saury, a variety of mackerel, is one of the house's specialties, and clams here are always much plumper than elsewhere.
The restaurant also offers a delectable menu of special dim sum, including seafood dumplings made with mackerel. You have to be quick. The restaurant often runs out of them at night. Seafood soup rice, which comes in a big bowl, is a satisfying meal by itself. It incorporates sea crab, clams and cuttlefish.
Address: 327 Qinchun Rd
With so many restaurants in the city serving so many cuisines from China and abroad, it is easy to miss what is truly Shanghainese. So for a day out sampling the true old Shanghai, here's a gustatory roadmap that is tasty to follow.
Breakfast: Liujiacun Soybean Milk
Located in the pedestrian street of Jinping Road, Liujiacun Soybean Milk Restaurant specializes in breakfasts and lunches. Although the restaurant's owner isn't a native, the establishment has taken great pains to serve dishes in the typical Shanghai style. For breakfast, there are the "giant four" of traditional eating: soybean milk, fried dough sticks, Chinese pancakes and rice rolls.
In Liujiacun Restaurant, authenticity is meticulously followed. The soybeans it uses come from the northern provinces of China, and while some restaurants may cheat and use alum in the fried bread sticks, Liujiacun uses only eggs. A bowl of sweet soybean milk costs only 2 yuan (30 US cents) and one fried bread stick costs 1.5 yuan.
It's enough to satisfy a modest appetite.
The decoration of the restaurant is typical of the style found in canal towns, and the furnishings are reminiscent of the Ming and Qing dynasties. There are tables for two, four and eight people, and the restaurant is planning private rooms on the third floor. Chinese ink paintings adorn the walls.
The waitresses of the restaurant are mostly middle-aged women, all decked out in blue and white uniforms. They give the impression of mothers serving meals at home. It's a nice touch.
Sitting in these surroundings, enjoying a Chinese breakfast will indeed make you feel like you are in a traditional Shanghai home.
Address: 412 Jinping Rd
Afternoon Tea: Lin Restaurant
Afternoon tea suggests the delicate finger foods common in Britain or Hong Kong. But who can beat the taste and fun of Shanghai-style dim sum?
Lin Restaurant, located in the Zhongshen World Shopping Mall in Xinzhuang, offers a large array of Shanghai dim sum, including some that are actually pretty hard to find nowadays.
For example, one dim sum called "cimao tuan" is a very classic Shanghai food. It is made of a meat stuffing surrounded by a sticky rice skin. Lin's "cimao tuan" is a little bigger than common varieties and its skin is softer. It's a favorite for many restaurant patrons.
There's plenty of traditional dim sum, too, including rice rolls, fried noodles and sweet cakes. To bite into them is to conjure up the memories of old Shanghai.
If you choose to have afternoon tea in the Lin Restaurant, you may also try some classic Shanghai drinks, including one that is a bit like malted milk.
Address: 3/F, Zhongsheng Shopping Mall
Supper: Lusi Seafood
Shanghai's name comes from its proximity to the sea, and its culinary culture reflects a long harmony between residents and their marine environment. There's no better place to taste the fruits of that union than Lusi Seafood.
Located on Qinchun Rd, Lusi Seafood is not a big restaurant but it's always a big hit with diners. Getting a table or even a reservation can be difficult during popular eating times.
The biggest advantage of Lusi Seafood is the freshness of its food. Waiters often recommend simple steamed fish to guests, which is an exquisite dish when the seafood is fresh. Pacific saury, a variety of mackerel, is one of the house's specialties, and clams here are always much plumper than elsewhere.
The restaurant also offers a delectable menu of special dim sum, including seafood dumplings made with mackerel. You have to be quick. The restaurant often runs out of them at night. Seafood soup rice, which comes in a big bowl, is a satisfying meal by itself. It incorporates sea crab, clams and cuttlefish.
Address: 327 Qinchun Rd
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