The 2025 edition of our annual gathering at Xinguang, something I look forward in my autumn calendar of culinary journeys.

「秋风起、蟹脚痒」When the autumn winds start to blow, gourmets around Shanghai know that it’s time for hairy crabs. Xinguang Restaurant was the originator of Shanghai’s innovative Fang Liang crab feast 方亮蟹宴, named after Mr Fang Liang, the inventor of the crab feast and owner of Xinguang. 

We celebrated the retirement of one of them, and we brought out the 20 year old Shaoxing wine that we bought together the last time we were there. The wine is definitely more than 20 years old, and the mellow taste of aged yellow was perfect with the hairy crab. We also brought a bottle of Pinot Noir, but that was nothing compared to this yellow wine.

Appetisers

These are not included in the hairy crab banquet, but everyone order these appetisers anyway. If you have a smaller party, at least order the drunken crab (limited availability) and coriander with smoked bean cured (if you do not have an unaltered chromosome-11 in your DNA).

Drunken Crabs 绍兴醉蟹

Even Xinguang has to conform to authority and served cooked marinated crab instead to the usual raw ones. These crabs were smaller ones that did not make the grade to be steamed.

But still, the drunken crabs were really delicious. The crabs were marinated in Shaoxing wine and the lovely sweet sherry-like wine had penetrated every crevice in the small male crabs.

Drunken Yellow Croaker 糟黄鱼

Usually only the filets were served, but Xinguang served the entire fish. 糟黄鱼 Drunken Yellow Croaker was made with the entire fish, and not just cut pieces, so the presentation looked as good as it tasted.

Chinese coriander with smoked bean curd 香菜拌香干

This may seem simple, but to get it as fragrant as they do, it requires lots of experience. Most are overpowering in sesame, they have got the proportion all perfect. However some really hated this dish and I just read about the chromosone-11 that caused this hatred. You are missing out something nice.

Salted chicken homestyle 家乡咸鸡

Poaching the chicken in a brine with aromatics, the salted chicken was flavourful and still a bit rare. But what matters most was that it was tender and moist, and not overpowered by the brine.

The Crab Banquet 方亮蟹宴

Xinguang Restaurant was the originator of Shanghai’s innovative crab feast 方亮蟹宴, and now it bears the name of the founder Mr Fang Liang. We started with what Mr Fang called the “Four Dharmas” 四大金刚 of the banquet – the four main highlights of the meal. The taste of the four courses ranges from light to heavy, and the texture changes from firm to intense.

Steamed Crab Claws 清蒸蟹钳

This has been nicknamed 佛手托天 “The Buddha holding the sky” by gourmets from how it was presented. The taste was light, you can taste the sweetness of the craw; the texture of the meat was firm that confirmed the freshness. The middle soft bone that hold the flesh of the craw together was also removed through a secret technique. The craw remained in shape and did not disintegrated as it often would when we do it at home. The waitress secretly told us it involved quickly cooling down the crab after steaming to dislodge that piece of bone.

Crab Legs with Asparagus 芦笋蟹柳

This course has been nicknamed “Green and Black Jades” 翡翠墨玉, after the two most sought after types of jade from Qaraqash and Khotan in the Uyghur Province as the two distinctly coloured ingredients danced around each other.

The taste was very delicate, with the crisp freshness of the asparagus and the sweetness from the crab legs. The crab legs were slight more intense, but more tender like a piece of tofu. Lightly sautéed together, it was meant to be the palate cleanser before what was to come.

Sautéed Crab Meat 清炒蟹粉

Nicknamed the “Unveiling of the General” 将军显身, this course features the different texture of different parts of the crab. Just like a battle weary general removing his armour, the crab meat together with the roe and fats was removed and sautéed together. The meat was removed from the belly of the crab and combined with the roes and fats from the shell. The colder the autumn, the fatter the crabs.

Crab Roe with Mung Bean Noodles 蟹膏银皮

Next came the piece de resistance of the “Four Dharmas” – “The Dragon Across the Galaxy” 银河龙液. A plate of crab milts and roe sautéed with mung bean noodles glistening with the crab oil, this was a cholesterol bomb. The bright orange oil extracted from smaller crabs that did not make the grade from the owners’ own crab farm in Yangcheng Lake was added to the sautéed process to give the finishing glisten.

And because this was after October, the plate had more milt than roe, which explained the sticky feeling. Strange texture aside, each mouthful was full of the umami of the crabs sexual organs, which sounded gross but absolutely heavenly when consumed.

Steamed Noodles with Crab Meat 蟹粉拌面

The last time I was here, I found the Steamed Noodles with Crab Meat 蟹粉拌面 to be bland in the first mouthful, and then I came to appreciate the intention of the chefs. As I chewed, the umami from the crab oil filled my mouth, and the noodles became secondary. Yet when I thought it was too intense, the noodles helped to bring back the balance. 

Crab Meat Soup Dumpling 蟹粉小馄饨

And the finale to the crab banquet was Crab Meat Wantons 蟹粉小馄饨 (wantons in Shanghai are dumplings) with a filing of crab meat and pork. The soup base was chicken and pork stock, and the crab meat filling in the wantons provided the umami.

九雌十雄 September Female, October Male

The hairy crab is famed for its orangey roe (female) and rich milt (male). It’s conventional wisdom to have the female crab before the lunar month of September, and male crab after the lunar month of October. Male milt is softer and smoother than the female roe, but some like the female roe more because they could not stand the idea of eating milt (which is a nice way to call crab semen).

The best way to enjoy these hairy crabs was to use your own hands to crack open the crustaceans and deconstructs the parts you have enjoyed previously in reverse order – crab shell, flesh, legs and finally craws.

And promptly after one has finished the crab, the customary ginger tea with brown sugar was consumed to drive away the “coolness” of the crab.

Xinguang Restaurant 新光酒家 is located in a street that is parallel to the Nanjing Pedestrian Street. From the exterior, one would not expect this to be one of the best place to have the seasonal delicacy. Even the tableware used has seen better days, and yet the price is not exactly friendly. When the season for hairy crab is here, diners from all over the world rush to Shanghai and Xinguang has been the No.1 choice. The waitresses and chefs have been here for many years, so as long as 25 years. It’s always good to see a familiar face every time I come here.

Xinguang Restaurant 新光酒家方亮蟹宴(黄浦店)
中国 上海市 黄浦区天津路512号
Tel : +86 21 63223978

Visited Nov 2025