Haolinju 豪林居 @ Shenzhen

Taking the homophone of the good neighbour in Mandarin, Haolinju is one of the best Teochew porridge restaurant in Shenzhen.

Haolinju 豪林居 is the place to go to in Shenzhen for Teochew cuisine 潮汕菜 and the late night Teochew-style seafood porridge 海鮮打冷, especially the marinated raw seafood 生腌.

Most of the marinated seafood stores in Shenzhen are quite unhygienic but this one, with its brightly lit counters and clean tops, gives the consumers slightly more confidence that this “Teochew poison” is less “potent” than the rest.

But do come early as the popular items do get sold up earlier in the evening. We were there around 11pm, and these were all that was left for the day. Luckily the kitchen was still whipping out delicious Teochew dishes.

生腌血蚶 Marinated Raw Cockles

These were the cleanest cockles I have eaten by far. Everyone was infused withe marinade made from freshly chopped aromatics like parsley, garlic and chilli, and a sauce made from rice wine, soy sauce and vinegar.

Before long, everything was wiped out from the plate. I was tempted to order more, but I had other dishes coming still so I shall resist.

生腌膏蟹 Marinated Raw Female Crab

I was surprised that even in off-season like now (Mar 2024), the female crabs were full of roe. Unlike Korean ganjang gejang, the traditional Teochew version used mud crabs, although the posher ones like this one do use swimmer crabs sometimes.

蚝仔烙 Oyster Omelette

And the must-order Teochew oyster omelette in every Teochew porridge supper meal, the essence of this dish is the freshness of the oysters that are cooke only so slightly in the crispy omelette thickens with potato starch. They had nailed it in term so taste and texture, but the omelette was quite oily.

酒煮花螺 Sea Whelks Cooked in Rice Wine

The sea whelks are tasteless, slimy molluscs that borrow the taste from the sauces that they are cooked in. There was too much ginger in my humble opinion, but the whelks were cooked just right. Any minute longer they would harden and become chewy. Now they were crunchy and easily removed from their shells.

蚝仔粥 Oyster Porridge

It cannot be a Teochew supper without porridge. And you can go for the simple sweet potato porridge or this oyster boiled rice. Unlike the Cantonese chuk, which cook the rice into a starchy slurry, Teochew porridge is runny and you can still see the rice grains.

They were quite generous of the oysters, but the taste was not quite the same as the ones we usually have in Hong Kong. Firstly there were no minced pork or dried sole fish, which was a bummer. And the stock was quite bland. I should have stuck to the sweet potato porridge.

清炒凉瓜 Sautéed Bitter Gourd

This is an acquired taste, bitter gourd that is. Imagine a bitter vegetable sautéed with nothing else but vegetable oil. The crispiness of the melon (yes, bitter gourd belongs to the melon family) with the distinct taste was much enjoyed as I don’t usually have bitter gourd at home.

糕烧白果芋泥 Taro and Ginkgo Nuts Paste

And for dessert, we ordered the classic 糕烧白果芋泥 Taro and Ginkgo Nuts Paste, the must-have dessert in every Teochew meal. Not too sweet but there was no lard in this version. Perhaps people are more health conscious these days.

There are many good restaurants along this short stretch of Bagua Road 八卦路, but there’s a good reason why Haolinju is constantly full. If not for the crab or whelks, the meal was less that ¥300. Not the cheapest in town, but tasty and hygienic are all that matter.

Haolinju Restaurant 豪林居餐馆
八卦一路鵬盛村8棟第一層8103-8105號
Tel : +86 (755) 8249 0389

Visited Mar 2024