Haocailou 好彩樓 @ Shanghai

As the saying goes, “食在广州，厨出凤城 ” or “Eat in Guangzhou, with chefs from Phoenix City,” this is very high accolades to Shunde, aka Phoenix City.

Haocailou 好彩楼 · 知味顺德 in the rejuvenated Fengsheng Alley 丰盛里 in Shanghai specialises in Shunde cuisine. Shunde 顺德, which was known as Phoenix City 凤城, is best known for producing some of the best Cantonese chefs out there.

In Shunde cuisine, nothing is more important than freshness and an umami taste – summed up in one Chinese word, xian 鮮. Cantonese cuisine is heavily influenced by the chefs from Shunde.

Chayote Stew With Duck 佛手瓜煲水鸭

In China, the chayote is known as the “Buddha’s palm” 佛手瓜 and is often sautéed in a casserole or cooked in a soup. The fruit is like a gourd and borrows the taste from other stronger tasting ingredients. Here, it is stewed together with a duck and took the flavours of the poultry.

Springtime Sea Bass Ceviche 春季鱼生

You’d probably be surprised to know that eating raw fish actually started in China, not Japan. The Chinese have been enjoying raw fish since the Zhou Dynasty, around 823 BC.  According to the Book of Rites compiled between 202 BCE and 220 CE, kuai 膾 or 鱠 consists of finely cut strips of raw meat 膾 or fish 鱠. These days Chinese style sashimi 魚生, also known as Yusheng, is still enjoyed especially in Guangdong, Singapore and Malaysia.

Shunde-style ceviche 順德魚生 is an older, simpler, traditional version of Chinese sashimi that originates from famous food city Shunde 順德: sliced fresh raw fish tossed with a bit of oil for smoothness, aromatics for fragrance and peanuts for crunch. 

Teochew-style Braised Goose and Foie Gras 卤水鹅肉、卤水粉肝

Braised goose Teochew-style has always been my favourite dish, and they have a pretty decent braised goose here, even though Shunde and Chaoshan are quite far apart. The goose liver (foie gras) was subpar though and they were quite hard from the braising.

Sautéed Green Eggplant with Sweet Basil and Fermented Bean Sauce 九层塔豆酱炒青茄

This is the first time I see green eggplants 青茄. This is quite a delicious way to cook eggplant, be it green or purple. The casserole gives the eggplant a nice smoky taste.

Sautéed Chopped Chives and Pork with Lettuce Wrap 如意生财包

This dish is known as “flies’ heads” 蒼蠅頭 because the chopped pork and chives looked likeable plate of flies heads with their green eyes. Since it doesn’t sound auspicious, it is given a better name here. Seasoned with soy sauce and full of wokhei, you scoop a spoonful and wrapped it with the lettuce and eat it like a burrito.

Ronggui-style Yellow Eel Claypot Rice 容桂黄鳝煲仔饭

Ronggui 容桂 in an islet township in Foshan 佛山 that is famous for this particular claypot dish – yellow eel claypot rice 黄鳝煲仔饭. Claypot rice is a traditional delicacy in Guangdong. Claypot not only refers to a cooking utensil, but also a cooking method. Generally, washed rice is put in a claypot, measure and add the right amount of water, cover it, add the rest of the ingredients when the rice is 70% cooked, and then switch to a slow-fire to finish it off. 

But their version has the eel chopped into really small pieces, so it wasn’t as shiok (enjoyable) as the original, even though this one mixed up more evenly and did not have the boney texture of the original. And you need a bit more of the soy sauce, it was quite bland.

Canton-style Double Skin Milk Pudding 凤城双皮奶

The milk used was buffalo milk, just like in Shunde. The high fat content of the milk made it the perfect diary to “knock” with ginger juice. The alkaline in the ginger will coagulate the milk, causing it to cuddle and form custard like pudding. The result was a really smooth and silky milk custard. This is the perfect sweet ending to a wonderful meal.

Steamed Sweet Rice Cake with Osmanthus 原味蒸伦教糕

When I was little, my mom would make these white sugar sponge cake 伦教糕 for us kids to eat as a snack after school. It is made up of four simple ingredients – white sugar, rice flour, water and yeast – and has a slightly sour taste because of the fermentation. These cakes brought back so much memories of a simpler time. Osmanthus syrup was an addition in restaurants to up the value of these cakes, but is actually unnecessary.

Overall, a very slick Shunde restaurant delivering good, authentic cuisine but not at a friendly price. Many of the dishes are overpriced but given the popularity of Shunde cuisine in recent times, this is going to be the case for some time. Service is excellent, and the place is very elegantly decorated, so it would be a perfect place for entertaining customers.

Haocailou Restaurant 好彩樓 · 知味顺德
上海市静安区茂名北路277号
No. 277 Maoming North Road, Jing’an District, Shanghai
Tel : +86 (021) 6288 8717, (021) 6288 8718

Visited Apr 2025