My food adventure to try as much Shanghai delicacies in a day
The first thing that comes to my mind when I think about Shanghai is Xiao Long Bao 小笼包 but wouldn't that be boring if I went on a food hunt only to have that? So I've decided to craft my own food adventure covering some of the must have Shanghai delicacies.
Read till the end to find out if I've managed to complete my very own challenge and some of the gems I've stumbled upon whilst completing this trail of mine.
They're known to only steam when you've placed your order 现点现蒸.
So it's "fresh off the steamer".
Price was reasonable as well. The good ol' XLB 纯鲜肉 was only 15RMB for 12 pieces. Like what! Whereas the XLB with crab meat 蟹粉鲜肉汤包 was 30RMB for 12 pieces.
We queued to place our order and proceeded to enter the store which had an extremely tiny space. No crowd control at all, nor anyone to help you get a seat.
Stand right behind someone and stare the shit out of them. Once they stand, you sit.
DO NOT HESITATE. Once you're just a second late, there goes your seat. No such thing as being courteous.
Apart from 汤团 tangtuan, they sell wontons too! But arghhh, my stomach can't fit them all. Plus, knowing I was only at item 3 on my list, I had to strategise what to order.
At a glimpse, here's the list.
- 煎饼 @ 无名档 (Jian Bing @ unnamed stall)
- 小笼包 @ 佳家汤包 (Xiao Long Bao @ Jia Jia Soup Dumplings)
- 汤团 @ 盛兴百年老店 (Tang Tuan @ Sheng Xing)
- Random snacks at 田子坊 Tian Zi Fang
- 拿铁 @ BREAD etc (Latte @ BREAD etc)
- 葱油饼 @ 阿大葱油饼 (Spring onion pancake @ A Da Cong You Bing)
- 小馄饨+葱油拌面 @ 弄堂小馄饨 (Small wontons + noodles tossed in onion oil @ Nong Tang)
- 年糕排骨 @ 鲜得来排骨年糕 (Pork ribs with rice cake @ Xian De Lai)
We stayed at Fraser Residence Shanghai so if you notice, the places were carefully selected making a perfect square-ish trail so we'll be able to start and end around the same vicinity. Yes, I'm extremely proud of my ability to plan it out using only Baidu and Baidu Map.
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| Trail overview (on Google Maps lol) |
Read till the end to find out if I've managed to complete my very own challenge and some of the gems I've stumbled upon whilst completing this trail of mine.
1. 煎饼 @ 无名档 （Jian Bing @ unnamed stall)
It's like a thin crispy crepe, texture similar to Apam Balik (reference for those familiar with Malaysian street snacks). Topped with an egg, spring onion, coriander and sweet/spicy sauce. Options to have add-ons.
Some Shanghainese actually have it as a meal.
The one I went was just a random stall I stumbled upon during my food trail but it was surprisingly yumsss! It was very light but that sauce really helped bring the ingredients together.
One of the many 网红 (online sensation) I found online when doing my research was actually 胖子煎饼店. Apparently good but just really out of the way.
Menu loosely translated as below:
Original - 6RMB
Egg yolk with meat floss - 12RMB
Chicken chop - 16RMB
Tenderloin - 12RMB
Bacon - 12RMB
add egg - 1RMB
add lettuce - 1RMB
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| 传统杂粮煎饼 (traditional jian bing) |
The one I went was just a random stall I stumbled upon during my food trail but it was surprisingly yumsss! It was very light but that sauce really helped bring the ingredients together.
One of the many 网红 (online sensation) I found online when doing my research was actually 胖子煎饼店. Apparently good but just really out of the way.
2. 小笼包 @ 佳家汤包 (Xiao long bao @ Jia Jia Soup Dumplings)
It was like my sole objective in Shanghai, to find the perfect XLB.
佳家汤包 has a few branch. The one that gets plenty of visits, naturally will be the one at 黄河路 Huanghe Road as it's close to one of the most popular shopping district, 南京路步行街 Nanjing Road.
But I decided to visit the one at 丽园路 Liyuan Road since it's supposed to be the HQ.
I believe it's just newly renovated? Environment was really comfortable. Going at 10.30am on a Tuesday morning was definitely a wise choice since there was no queue!
They're known to only steam when you've placed your order 现点现蒸.
So it's "fresh off the steamer".
Price was reasonable as well. The good ol' XLB 纯鲜肉 was only 15RMB for 12 pieces. Like what! Whereas the XLB with crab meat 蟹粉鲜肉汤包 was 30RMB for 12 pieces.
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| 纯鲜肉汤包 |
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| 蟹粉鲜肉汤包 |
Me and mum could barely finish it. So don't be greedy and end up over-ordering.
TBH the skin was still too thick to my liking but I must say, the soup in it, was by far the best I've had. 超级鲜甜! It was packed with flavour and so sweettttttt.
PSA: 南翔馒头店 (Nan Xiang) near 豫园 Yu Garden was a real disappointment. Story for another day.
3. 汤团 @ 盛兴百年老店 (Tang tuan @ Sheng Xing)
What's 汤团 tangtuan? It's slightly different from 汤圆 tangyuan. The core ingredients are pretty much the same, using 糯米粉 glutinous rice flour but the making of it and its water composition is quite different.
We decided to try it at 盛兴, located at a pretty interesting neighbourhood. Completely different feels as no tall buildings are in sight.
We queued to place our order and proceeded to enter the store which had an extremely tiny space. No crowd control at all, nor anyone to help you get a seat.
Stand right behind someone and stare the shit out of them. Once they stand, you sit.
DO NOT HESITATE. Once you're just a second late, there goes your seat. No such thing as being courteous.
Apart from 汤团 tangtuan, they sell wontons too! But arghhh, my stomach can't fit them all. Plus, knowing I was only at item 3 on my list, I had to strategise what to order.
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| 芝麻汤团 sesame fillings |
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| 鲜肉汤团 meat fillings |
A battle between the savoury and sweet. I definitely preferred the sesame fillings.
You either hate or love the savoury version. Not really my thing lah... Similar to XLB you'll find it bursting with "soup" inside but... my tastebuds just couldn't agree with it.
Cheap cheap at only 3RMB per piece. Size ain't puny!
The skin though, was quite chewy but soft. I approve.
4. Random snacks along the way @ 田子坊 Tianzifang
The route from here to the next stop, you'll pass by 田子坊 Tianzifang. I'll keep this for another post but just to illustrate how much food we ate that day, we actually had some squid skewers and massive soup dumplings 汤包!
5. 拿铁 @ BREAD etc (Latte @ BREAD etc)
Moving on...
To be honest, this was just a pitstop. We needed a break from all that walking and eating. What better way to take a break if not by having, you've guessed it, more food.
Coffee scene in Shanghai ain't too shabby. 咖啡不输人。
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| Carrot cake |
I personally enjoyed the carrot cake which really looks more like a muffin. But mum thought it was too sweet.
6. 葱油饼 @ 阿大葱油饼 (Spring onion pancake @ A Da Cong You Bing)
I'm sorry for I have failed. The line was too long, I had to abort my mission.
The sign in red was the owner's friendly reminders. Loosely translated as follows at my best effort. Some points are contradictory but it is what it is.
- Operating hours from 6am-3pm, or till sold out.
- Closes on Wednesdays.
- Each pancake at 7RMB.
- Waiting time is between 1-4 hours.
- Between 6am-3pm, per pax are limited to 5 pieces only.
- Upon that, will be limited to 2 pieces each until sold out.
- Due to long waiting time, please be patient and do not cut queue to avoid fights.
- Be courteous and have manners.
- If you have an emergency and need to leave the queue, inform the people in front and behind you.
- Please queue again if you leave beyond 30 minutes.
We gave up when the guy in front of us mentioned that he has waited for about 15 minutes and only 2 were served.
It's okay. No thank you.
But was a bit sad because this place was actually featured in TimeOut! Ah well...
7. 小馄饨+葱油拌面 @ 弄堂小馄饨 (Small wontons + noodles tossed in onion oil @ Nong Tang)
This was the reason why I resisted ordering wontons at any order shops throughout the day.
Please take note of their operating hours. They're only open between 6.30am-2.30pm and 3.30pm-7.00pm. It's more like a breakfast/tea time place rather than a dinner place.
Look for a seat yourself and once seated, ask for one of the waiter/waitress to place your order. It's almost like a norm now to share tables.
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| Wontons |
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| Noodles tossed in onion oil |
Personally thought the wontons were pretty decent. Thin wonton skin, served in a clear soup, topped with spring onions, corianders and strips of thinly sliced fried egg. Was surprised to find a whole braised egg, cut in halves hidden amongst the wontons. Braised eggs usually taste better when it's complemented with the black sauce itself but this was so well marinated, the taste was well defined, even without the black sauce!
The noodles were so damn good! Tossed in onion oil, topped with stir fry cabbage, caramelised onions and special made sauce that had potatoes in it. You can choose to have add ons like pork chop, or smoked fish but we had it just the way it was, yet it was already so satisfying. This was my personal favourite out of all the dishes we had that day.
8. 年糕排骨 @ 鲜得来排骨年糕 (Pork ribs with rice cake @ Xian De Lai)
This was my 2nd fail for the day. Pork ribs with rice cake is one of the many Shanghai must have but yet... At that point in time, I was just way too full to have any more food!
In addition to that, we've already clocked in more than 10km for the day. All I wanted was to sit down and have a drink.
Can you please check it on behalf of me? This place was featured in TimeOut as well.
I'm so full
And that's all folks! Happy eating. Hope my food trail will be as fun for you as it was for me.
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