Not Your Grandma's Cooking – Shanghai Grandma in Shanghai, China

Just kidding, probably close to it

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So if you've been following this blog, you know that I was trying to find a certain restaurant, walked in and was met with a barrage of bugs. Well, the restaurant I was trying to find was Shanghai Grandma, and it turns out it was right next to the one I went into. Winnie and I were out walking after eating at Da Hu Chun that day when we spotted the real Shanghai Grandma, on the way to the Bund. So the next day, right after getting out of the Oriental Pearl Tower, we ran straight for Shanghai Grandma on the opposite side of the Yellow River.Shanghai Grandma, at first glance, is a classic nice restaurant with velvet chairs and glass topped tables. When we went at about 2pm, it was understandably pretty empty, as it was after the lunch rush. We were quickly seated at a corner table and presented with a menu filled to the top with some Shanghai classics. The first thing I saw on the menu was the chaoniangao (炒年糕), which is essentially sticky rice cakes mixed with veggies and meat, then stir-fried. The flavors were delightfully balanced, as the salty flavor complemented the sticky texture of the rice cakes. That was probably the best dish there, as everything else was very…salty.



Yeah, sure maybe it was supposed to be salty, but this is next-level salt. This is like a Warriors fan (I’m one) after the NBA finals last year salt. This is Cleveland Indians fans during the World Series in 2016 salt. I probably consumed a week’s worth of sodium in that one meal. I don’t mean to sound salty (haha get it) about this, but I think they may have a bit too much of good old sodium chloride in that hongshaorou (紅燒肉). I took a bite of the nice and tender meat, but as soon as my tongue touched the meat, it recoiled like a snake from fire. I was a bit shocked, but I continued to eat and moved on to the next piece. I think I got mixed up and thought it was supposed to be sweet, but third parties (other Chinese people) have backed me up and said that there IS supposed to be some crystal resembling sugar added in there. Maybe they got the salt mixed up with the sugar this time, I don’t know. I’m a little salty though.


Overall, Shanghai Grandma was a decent experience – if you’re bored of Da Hu Chun or can’t afford Lost Heaven on the Bund, (I heard this one was great, didn’t get to go though) you might want to check this out. They also seem to be friendly to foreigners, as the night we passed by and looked in, there were a lot of Caucasians mixed in with the usual East Asian crowd. So if you’re from out of country and in town, you might want to give this a taste.

You can find me on Instagram as @stumpyeatsfood and on yelp at theplumpcat.yelp.com. You can also check out more of my photos on Flickr! If you've got a restaurant recommendation or even a recipe that you think I should try, send it to me at ryanjchen2@gmail.com! Thank you for reading!