Shanghai 2009
Tuesday, 14 July 2009 09:07
Written by Anna Greenspan

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These choices veer towards the cheap end and towards Xujiahui, but they are places we like to eat and are happy to recommend.

Ajisen Ramen 味千拉面 is a Japanese noodle chain that serves quick, cheap and tasty food in a pleasant and family-friendly environment. It has branches all over town and is everything international fast food should be.

Bao Luo 保罗 is a place that we agree with everyone else about. Its low prices, delicious food and bright, noisy atmosphere make it a natural choice for Shanghainese cuisine.

Dongbei Ren 东北人 serves some of the city’s best Dongbei cuisine, hearty meals that are especially welcome as the weather turns cold. The restaurant is is colorful, comfortable and – thanks in large part to its singing waitresses – hugely entertaining.

Crystal Jade 翡翠酒家 offers outstanding dim sum in a reasonably-priced restaurant located in the heart of Xintiandi. Its fabulous noodle chefs are on show through a glass partition, so you can watch as they work.

Han Tong 汉通 is a Ningbo-based seafood chain whose vast aquarium makes ordering your meal half the fun.

Hengshan Café 衡山咖啡 is a great eat-in restaurant, but it’s even more valuable as a source of take-out, where crispy and succulent barbequed pork, chicken, duck and goose can be bought by the jin (half kilogram), making the perfect supplement to boring left-overs.

Lilian Cake Shop 莉莲蛋挞 sells the custard tarts that, when baked properly -- with light pastry and smooth sweet fillings – constitute one of Shanghai’s true delicacies. When our local branch of Surprise closed down (a chain that has perfected the city’s best dessert) we turned to this popular alternative in People’s Square.

Nanling Restaurant 南伶酒家 is a local favorite and a great place to take guests. Located in a historic villa, it mixes French concession atmosphere with an abundance of classical dishes.

Shu Di La Zi Yu Guan 蜀地辣子鱼 might be the best place in town for laziji (spicy fried chicken) and nangua bing (hot and sticky melon cakes, served here with a bowl of custard for dipping).

Taiwan 台湾 is a chain has perfected the art of breakfast cakes (bing), one of Shanghai‘s great delicacies. These perfectly flaky pastries are served in various combinations, such as folded over a fried egg and (optional) bacon.

Xiao Tou Yuan 小桃园 is a neighborhood diner, specializing in home-style cooking, that delivers. Everyone living in Shanghai has one – or should. This is ours -- we’ve been living off the mala dofu (spicy tofu) and dao dou (sliced green beans) for years.

Shanghai Uncle 海上阿叔 has built a niche for itself serving creative dishes in a classy but unpretentious atmosphere. It gets onto a lot of lists – and deserves to. Its East-West fusion experiments are best experienced after living in the city for long enough for familiarity with Western flavors to fade.

Shanghai Xinjiang Fengwei Restaurant 上海新疆风味餐厅 is the best imaginable ambassador for the Uighur culture of China’s west, specializing in spicy stacks of roast lamb, Central Asian salads, delicious Xinjiang beer and heaps of renao. For anyone in search of upbeat dining, this is a place not to be missed.

Ya Wang 鸭王 is basically indistinguishable from the famous chain Quan Jude, but this Beijing duck restaurant is located right in our neighborhood. Outside the capital, this is the best place to feast on the world’s most delicious dish.

Zhending Chicken 振鼎鸡 outlets can be found everywhere, for a good reason. Foreigners may be initially disconcerted by the idea of steamed chicken, but it’s definitely worth overcoming preconceptions and giving it a try. A plate of steamed chicken per party plus a bowl of noodle soup per head is the standard order for a meal.

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