Bo Wang Po 博望坡 @ Shanghai

This restaurant is so authentic in their Yu cuisine that it is unofficially considered the “official” restaurant of Henan Provincial Government Shanghai Office 河南驻沪办.

“Provincial Office in Shanghai”, or 驻沪办, is a liaison office of the different provinces of China in Shanghai to facilitate official business in the financial capital. And often, they will have a restaurant that serve authentic cuisine from their province, eg. Anhui Provincial Guest House. Of course there’s no official restaurant for 河南驻沪办, but because the food here is so authentic, fans christened it an “official” restaurant of Henan province in Shanghai.

Bo Wang Po 博望坡 gained its fame as a Three Kingdoms battle location as well as an authentic Yu cuisine 豫菜 (official cuisine of Henan Province) restaurant located in Shanghai.

They were originally closer to downtown, but because Yu cuisine is not a mainstay in Shanghai, they moved to this location further out recently.

Tong Ling 仝玲 is the founder and owner of this restaurant that was opened in 1999 in another location. She comes from Fang Cheng 方城 in Henan Province, and came to Shanghai in 1995 with her brother to seek their fortune.

We threw a dinner here for some business guests from Henan that had been living in Shanghai for years, and they were quite excited to explain to us what we were eating.

Tongbai Mountain bean curd skin 桐柏山豆皮

Tongbai Mountains 桐柏山 in Henan is famous for its pristine water, and when you have good water, you make good tofu. And bean curd skin from Tongbai Mountain is sought after for its good taste and nutrition. Here it is made into an appetiser, cut into strips, mixed with shredded cucumber and dressed with vinegar and chilli oil.

Salad of foraged vegetables 凉拌野菜

Springtime in Henan heralds a special dish made from foraged vegetation of all sorts. Clockwise from the purple colour vegetable – wisteria 紫藤花, alfafa 苜蓿菜, fat hen 灰灰菜, and wild vegetable 山野菜.

Cow hide salad 涼拌牛皮

For me, cow hide can be made into nice bags and wallets, but cooked and tossed in a salad? The gelatinous outcome was quite chewy and rather tasteless if not for the condiments and the rest of the herbs in the salad.

Golden century egg 凉拌变蛋

CNN once described it as the world’s most disgusting food. But Chinese would disagree. It’s really just a matter of taste, just like blue cheese, whose strong smell either delights or repels people. But this Henan delicacy called “changing egg” 变蛋 is a delight to look at with its golden appearance and crystal clear egg white. The “changing egg” is a typical street food of the Henan province and is served with some wild Japanese catnip 荆芥 and red onions with a vinegar dressing in this case. Japanese catnip is a special vegetable in Henan. It tastes like mint and is fragrant and refreshing.

Nanyang steamed vegetable platter 南阳蒸菜拼盘

“Steamed vegetable” 蒸菜 is a dish from Nanyang City 南阳市 in Henan. Chop vegetable is mixed with flour and garlic and then steamed. From left, paper mulberry 构树穗, wisteria 紫藤花, and Chinese elm 榆钱.

Deep fried meatball mung bean noodles soup 小酥肉粉丝汤

Luoyang is famous for its soupy dishes. This deep fried meatball mung bean noodles soup 小酥肉粉丝汤 seems to be a combination of 焦炸丸子 (deep fried meatball in spicy and sour soup) and 洛阳不翻汤 (a mixed stew with pig tendons, deep fried pig skin, leeks, bamboo shoots, wood ear fungus, bean curd skin).

Beef offal stew 牛气冲天

Presentation was great, with the offals bubbling away in the copper casserole. It was quite delicious and did not have any of the funky smell of offals.

Sautéed crown daisy 清炒茼蒿菜

A simple sautéed crown daisy, slightly bitter and laden with MSG goodness.

Salted duck soup casserole 咸鸭一锅鲜

Compared with the rest of the dishes, this salted duck soup casserole 咸鸭一锅鲜 was quite bland, despite using a salted duck.

Crispy cumin garlic beef rib 酥炸孜然蒜香牛肋骨

Crispy cumin garlic beef rib 酥炸孜然蒜香牛肋骨 is not exactly from Henan, but these days restaurants would offer some Szechuan dishes to complement the menu.

Braised pork belly with fermented muichoy 梅菜扣肉

Braised pork belly with fermented muichoy, also known as 梅菜扣肉, is a classic Hakka dish featuring tender pork belly braised in a rich, savoury sauce with the unique flavor of preserved mustard greens (muichoy). It’s a popular and beloved dish, known for its melt-in-your-mouth texture and the harmonious blend of sweet, salty, and savoury flavours. 

Baked sesame bun 吊炉烧饼

The baked sesame bun 吊炉烧饼 uses a puff pastry that is cut into strips, rounded up and flattened into rounded buns. A layer of sesame is sprinkled on the surface and the bun is baked on the inside wall of a tandoori oven until golden. The crust is golden and crispy, and the inside is soft and flaky.

This was not a recommended way of eating the braised pork, but I couldn’t resist. This “Chinese hamburger” with the braised pork belly sandwiched between the baked sesame bun is an artery-blocking delight. The dry, fragrant bun absorbed all the fats from the greasy, savoury pork belly, a perfect match made in heaven.

Vegetable lumps 菜疙瘩

Vegetable lumps 菜疙瘩 is served as a main course, and is made from mixing chopped vegetable with flour. They are moulded into shape of buns and steamed, usually served with a salty condiments like this fermented spicy bean sauce 豆瓣酱.

Mutton braised noodles 生呛羊肉烩面

Tong Ling regards braised noodles 烩面 as a must-eat from Henan, a culinary representative of her hometown Fangcheng 方城. Because she couldn’t find anyone that can do this properly, she founded “Bowangpo” in 1999 in order to let Henan people in Shanghai find the flavour of home. This was a wonderful main course with chewy noodles and a flavourful broth.

Food portion was quite generous and the taste according to my guests was authentic. The service was outstanding, the servers were all from Henan and were eager to share their specialties with us. It’s the best thing other than going to Henan, and even so, you may not get the same quality.

Bo Wang Po 博望坡
195 Hongqiao Rd, Xujiahui, Xuhui District, Shanghai, China, 200030
Tel : +86 21 6407 5681

Visited Apr 2025