In Shanghai, there’s always a gem around the most unassuming corner. Huxiao is located that the junction of Wuyi and Dingxi roads and has been there for a long time. To serve the Shanghainese for so long, it must be good.

I was brought here by a business associate. It was a lovely dinner every time I was here.

The Dinner

The cuisine is downright Shanghainese, nothing pretentious and very homely. For a neighbourhood restaurant, it can be pricey.

熏牛腱 smoked beef shank terrine

 

Quite ordinary, served a dipping sauce of vinegar.

老上海熏鱼 Shanghai-style smoked pomfret fillet

Classic Shanghainese, very sweet appetiser.

醉膏蟹 drunken mud crab

In my opinion, the piece de resistance of the restaurant. Beautifully marinated in the wine and soy sauce, the drunken crab was succulent and full of roe. Served raw, you have to have a strong stomach to eat this these days.

油爆虾 oil-fried shrimps

Classic Shanghainese dish, well executed. You eat it whole, shell and all.

古法蒸花雕鸡 steamed Huadiao chicken

I loved this dish so much I came home and tried to cook it. I did a variation to steam the chicken on a bed of HK kailan. Remember to pour on the Huadiao at the end, and not right at the beginning as it can turn bitter. Yummy.

港式蒸海螺片 Cantonese-style steamed sea whelk

Ordinary dish, sea whelk served on a bed of bean sprouts. I enjoyed the bean sprouts more.

蒸大黄鱼 steamed yellow croaker

Yellow croaker is a native fish and used to be found in the rivers around Shanghai. These days, they are farmed. At the right season, they can be the sweetest, more tender fish. But this time of the year, they are not. Steamed with the scales on, you can remove the skin whole before eating.

菌菇浓汤泡饭 mushroom soup with rice

The soup is really rich and I could not just drink it on its own. Luckily it came with a bowl of steamed rice for you to add into the soup as a boiled rice dish. Very fulfilling.

酒香草头 Indian aster in wine sauce

The vegetable dish is the classic to Shanghai. The vegetable is a perennial vegetable found in Shanghai, almost like a weed with very herby taste. It is usually cooked with yellow wine, I have yet to eat it in any other way. It is sometime paired with pig intestines.

The Experience

The decor is quite typical Shanghainese restaurant in a colonial bungalow. Very bright lights let you see what you are eating very well, as well as everyone in the restaurant. Forget about a private dinner, it’s noisy and chaotic. There are private rooms with a minimum spend, but these are often booked in advance.

Service is typical Shanghainese, rude but prompt. They don’t waste time with you as their objective is to turn the tables as many times as possible for the evening. But because the food is good, you see a lot of regulars here – they don’t even need to see the menu and just order. So if you can, come with someone familiar with the place, or quickly pick a few hor d’ourves and then study the menu in peace.

Huxiao Restaurant 虎啸饭庄
369 Wuyi Rd, Changning District, China 上海市长宁区武夷路369号
Tel : +86 21 6212 7948

Date Visited : Apr 2016