Beijing and Shanghai dining help.

Travel, Wine Tourism, and Restaurants Forum
41

Thanks all! Trip getting closer so any more comments would be very helpful!

David Li; Thanks for your input.

Cheers!
Marshall [berserker.gif]

42

You are welcome, Marshall

Let me know if you have any more question about Shanghai.

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David; Thanks again…Any more specifics about Shanghai would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers!
Marshall

44

My view on Shanghai:
Spend as little time as possible (or as you need to) there, and move on to other parts of China. You can pretty much throw a blindfolded dart onto a map of China and end up in a more interesting place than Shanghai. A day to see the night lights, eat some food… is plenty.

My Shanghai-nese wife may disagree… :wink:

45

I have to agree with your wife neener
Shanghai is one of the best cities in China for foodies. There are a lot of restaurants that offer Chinese regional cuisine. Hongkong and Sichuan food are very popular in Shanghai and you can find a lot of places that are top notch. If you are into Sushi, there are also a lot top sushi bars that are as good as most of of the top spots in US and the price is a little cheaper (top spots cost about 250-300 us per person.)

46

Marshall

I will also suggest you try some local small restaurants that carter to local people. You have to try the famous soup dumpling (xiao long bao zi) at Jiajia Tangbao and the fried bao zi (shen jian man tou) at Xiao Yang sheng jian. Both are local small chains. You can find them pretty easily if you ask around.

If you are really adventurous, I would suggest you check out the “Dark cuisine”. These are street vendor that specialize and perfect in one particular dish. There is a place sells shanghai style dumpling (Hun tun). People call it Er Guang Hun Tun. It literally means that you will not stop eating even if people are punching you in the face. And they are right…it is that delicious! [highfive.gif]

47

Almost forgot…you are very lucky to visit Shanghai in the fall. This is the season for local hairy crab. It is a real delicacy. (you can check out Bourdain’s shanghai episode). The best place in Shanghai is called Cheng Wang Fu. They offer some set menu to give you a full experience of the crab. If you decide to go, I can give you some recommendation on the dishes that you should try there. [cheers.gif]

48

Ah that i would agree with… the food is excellent in Shanghai. :smiley:

I guess i view it more from a tourist perspective… where presumably you’d want to see some culture/history…
cities like Xi’An, Beijing, even Chengdu, Yunnan, (heck even SuZhou/HangZhou just outside of Shanghai) has shanghai beat for that…

but yah for food, Shanghai is excellent, and if you can get your hands on some of those hairy crabs… .
My MiL buys them from the market and cooks them at home… dear god… you can take in a lot of cholesterol in one seating! :wink:

49

David; I would love to hear about the hairy crab as my sister in law is planning for us to try it. I do realize that it is a seasonal delicacy.

Cheers!
Marshall :slight_smile:

50

Marshall

If your sister in law can read chinese, I would suggest her to check out this place
http://www.dianping.com/shop/500102

Following this link you can reserve table and buy a groupon like voucher for a set menu (at 60% off). Also, there is another little secret you will love. You can bring your own wine. Just ask for glasses. You should try to pair it with tradition Shanghai rice wine. (Huang Jiu). They are sweet and resemble sweet sherry. Also a nice bottle of chablis pairs very nicely with the rich crab. The best part of the crab is its roe. They also have a dish which the fat part of the roe is extracted and served on rice. If you bring a bottle of bubbly, it will be heavenly. I hope you enjoy champagne.gif

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thumb.jpg
This is a meat ball stuffed with crab roe and steam for hours. It is very tender and delicious. Just be aware it is made from hand chopped pork belly with added pork fat. [snort.gif]

52

Marshall

If your sister in law can read chinese, I would suggest her to check out this place
http://www.dianping.com/shop/500102

Following this link you can reserve table and buy a groupon like voucher for a set menu (at 60% off). Also, there is another little secret you will love. You can bring your own wine. Just ask for glasses. You should try to pair it with tradition Shanghai rice wine. (Huang Jiu). They are sweet and resemble sweet sherry. Also a nice bottle of chablis pairs very nicely with the rich crab. The best part of the crab is its roe. They also have a dish which the fat part of the roe is extracted and served on rice. If you bring a bottle of bubbly, it will be heavenly. I hope you enjoy champagne.gif[/quote]


David; Thanks again and my SIL is totally fluent in a couple of different Chinese dialects. My brother, Andrew, who is also on this Board, is certainly monitoring this thread and will point her to that website.

Thanks again!

Cheers!
Marshall [cheers.gif]

53

wow $30 for a hairy crab feast… that’s pretty cheap… good reviews too.
mmmmm the roe… is… ridonkulous…

54

so good. so little suckers are expensive. But that roe.

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She’s the good looking one on the right… flirtysmile

I will make sure she sees the link! She was born in Shanghai and our family is there. Thanks much!

Andrew

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The preserved roe in pork fat and served over warm rice…Heaven…
I am trying to come up with a recipe without using the pork fat…so I can bring in into states.

57

Yes, this gal will become my wife.

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Congratulations! champagne.gif champagne.gif Any food tips to add …very quickly! [rofl.gif]



Cheers!
Marshall [berserker.gif]

59

flirtysmile A little fun update from Shanghai. We have been on a bit of a dumpling quest and had a lot of fun! I have to admit that I am not a real “chain restaurant” guy. So, we did try Din Tai Fung, ( I have been to the one in Arcadia) and it was quite good. Very clean and actually rather antiseptic. For me, it did not hold a candle to Nan Xiang in Old Shanghai or Tai Kang Tang Bao on Nanjing Road. They were both great experiences and believe it or not, actually full of Chinese people! [rofl.gif] Tai Kang was also the soupiest of the dumplings and had a bit of a smokey flavor to the filling.

Anyway, things have gone amazingly well and I will eventually get some pix up on FB.
Thanks for all the tips, more comments to come!


Cheers! [berserker.gif]
Marshall

60

Best duck I had in Beijing below. Have no idea what it says; I had handlers :smiley:
Non_dong1.jpg
I really liked this place. Again, need someone to translate. Probably better with a local, but hey, it was good enough for Joe Biden :smiley:
Non_dong2.jpg
They say cleanliness I next to godliness; you’ll need to forget about that when eating at the above place (and quite a few others). That said, food was great.
Non_dong3.jpg