LIKE barbecues and beer, crayfish is a welcome addition to the summer dining menu. The best time to taste this delicacy is between June and August, when the crayfish typically has the plumpest body and is oozing with juice.

Groups of people gathering around a table outside a street snack stall and devouring crayfish is a regular sight on hot summer's nights in places such as Shouning Road which has a reputation for its fresh seafood treats.

Although most local residents favor the traditionally oily, strong sugar and soy sauce elements of typical Shanghai-style cuisine, crayfish is a popular local delicacy, even with expats.

Breaking off the crayfish head, sucking out the supple flesh and licking the delicious juice from your fingers after is a dining experience not to be missed. Here are some places in Shanghai, where people can find clean, fresh and delicious crayfish.



Changshou Noodle Restaurant

Although its name suggests that noodles are its specialty, this restaurant is one of the most popular destinations in Shanghai when the annual crayfish season is in full swing.

Situated in Shouning Road renowned for its many crayfish restaurants, Changshou Noodle Restaurant devotes itself to offering customers bigger-sized crayfish with high-quality flesh.

The two-story restaurant has 20 tables, and is not only busy at dinner time and midnight but also at 2pm, when there is always a queue outside.

Diners can choose between lightly spicy, mid spicy and heavily spicy crayfish and according to the restaurant manager, there are some exclusive seasoning recipes which make their crayfish more tasty and attractive than others served in the street.

Their bittern crayfish and snail are also worth a try.



Address: 23 Shouning Rd, near Xizang Rd S.

Tel: 6336-6446

Price: 50-80 yuan (US$7.78-12.43) per person



FoMo Crayfish

FoMo is one of the most well-known crayfish restaurants in Shanghai with more than 20 outlets.

The chain's popularity is due to three factors - the head of the crayfish is cut very carefully, the backbone is totally cleaned and the flesh is soft, springy and full of delicious juice.

Shouzhua Crayfish (literally hand-picked crayfish) is the star dish at FoMo, and customers can adjust the spice levels to their personal tastes. It costs 40 yuan to 50 yuan per portion.

The crayfish rice cake is one of the favorites for many customers, because after the rice cake is mixed with crayfish it totally absorbs the crayfish juice and the dish has a shining golden appearance. Crayfish rice cake costs 40 yuan per portion.

Crayfish mixed with potato pie and stinky tofu is a new dish introduced in April and proving very popular with diners. It costs 40 yuan per portion.

Because FoMo's crayfish is so popular, customers should be prepared to wait in line.



Address:

? 172 Huaihai Rd M.

Tel: 6385-5152

? Lane 2002, Sichuan Rd N.

Tel: 6540-6108

? 1 Wanhangdu Rd

Tel: 6249-7030

? 692 Laoshan Rd

Tel: 5058-8987

? 2/F, 128 Tianlin Rd

Tel: 6484-0777

? 7/F, 1018 Changning Rd

Tel: 3372-7176

? 1685 Jinshajiang Rd

Tel: 5269-9175

? 601 Zhangyang Rd

Tel: 5137-9813

Price: 60-90 yuan per person



Duan Family Crayfish

Duan Family Crayfish distinguishes itself from the competition with its 13-flavor crayfish and its open-air kitchen.

Many people believe crayfish is given a heavy spicy flavor to conceal a loss of freshness, but the open-air kitchen here offers customers reassurance about the quality of their food.

Their crayfish are large and fleshy. Customers can choose their own crayfish and observe the washing and cooking procedures all the way to when it is served on the table in front of them.

The manager guaranteed that crayfish from Duan Family tastes better than others because some crayfish will become tasteless after the heavy spice-flavored shells are peeled, however Duan Family uses the freshest crayfish to assure the flesh maintains its quality once the shell has been peeled.

So even without any dips, their crayfish still tastes great.

The 13-flavor crayfish uses various kinds of spice to make the dish smell delicious and get diners' mouths watering.



Address:

? 1445 Changdao Rd

Tel: 6895-4693

? 234 Lian'an Rd E.

Tel: 131-2282-1680

? 156 Tongbei Rd

Tel: 159-2190-7998

? 971 Guohe Rd

Tel: 6556-3361

? 933 Jiangning Rd

Tel: 138-1783-3747

Price: 17-20 yuan per portion

Longquan Kung Fu Crayfish

An ideal location for hungry night owls, because it is located on Hankou Road near Raffles City where young people like to gather after dark.

With a competitive price and delicious taste, Longquan Kung Fu Crayfish has a lot of fans, even though the backbones of the crayfish are not totally removed.

Diners can wash down the tasty crayfish with the restaurant's homemade dark plum juice which costs 16 yuan per liter.

For people living close to People's Square and ordering more than 2 kilograms of crayfish, there is a home delivery service starting 10:30am to 4am everyday.



Address: 617-619 Hankou Rd

Tel: 6351-6686

Price: Crayfish 28 yuan per portion; shrimp 48 yuan per portion



Judian Crayfish

Judian Crayfish is known as one of the best crayfish destinations in Shanghai despite having some of the most unappetizing surroundings.

The size of each crayfish in Judian almost looks the same, with a full fleshy body, strong shell and fresh taste, while the head of the crayfish is very attractive due to heavy roe and a yellow color.

There is always a long queue at the entrance and normally people need to allow for a wait of almost one hour.

However, since the place is very small and usually filled with groups of people smoking, many previous visitors have suggested people coming here for the fragrant and delicious crayfish should wear a gas mask.

Apart from crayfish, the vegetable rice soup and hot spicy shrimp are worth trying.



Address:

? 689 Anlong Rd

Tel: 6291-3677

? 751 Hongjing Rd

Tel: 5476-2583

Price: 78 yuan per person


Tips for crayfish consumers:

? Do not eat too many at once.

? Do not eat crayfish with a soft body and abnormal red color, or crayfish that smells or tastes like it has gone off.

? Crayfish has high nutritional value and its soft flesh is easy to digest, helping improve recovery speeds for sick people.

? Crayfish is also rich in magnesium, which can reduce cholesterol and help prevent high blood pressure and heart attacks.