I’ve found a meatball & noodle place where taxi drivers eat said my friend Scott.
Ears instantly pricking up, I asked when we were going.
Hmmmm. It’s a bit of a dive. Not sure you’ll like it.
Really? Bring it on.
No, really. It’s a real Shanghai dive. It’s a greasy hole in the wall kinda place. But it’s tasty. You get two lionhead meatballs in a big bowl of noodles for 12RMB.
Excellent. When are we going?
This conversation has been going on for the best part of twelve months. Every time we go for lunch it’s been a toss up between the lionhead place or just about any other place you care to mention in the whole of Shanghai.
Until a couple of weeks ago when we met on the corner of Fuxing Lu and Wulumuqi Lu and I looked across the road towards the lionhead place. And my confidence almost faltered. Which is quite ridiculous given the amount of street food I have consumed without a second thought in the two & a bit years of living here.
Don’t get your hopes up. It’s really basic. But delicious.
Yeah, yeah, let’s get on with it.
Right opposite the wet market on Wulumuqi Lu look out for the huge red & yellow noodle flag. During the day there’s a sign in the display window but later in the afternoon you’ll find a selection of BBQ’d meats hanging up. Entering the doorway we walked through a spanking clean kitchen and up the very narrow and very steep stairs.
Between you and me, Scott was a little disappointed because it looked like they had cleaned the stairwell up between visits. My guess is that would have happened around New Year when most places get an annual spruce up. In any case, I’m pretty sure in a couple of months time it’ll be back to it’s default state of grime.
Reaching the first landing, to your right is the ‘kitchen’, what looks like a buffet and a few tables and chairs. They are all full so we are told to carry on up to the next level where there are two mahjong tables to sit at and about 10 chairs in a room. There are no airs and graces here – it’s plonk your bum down on an available seat and squish up.
The hotel poster of a tropical paradise is totally at odds with the surroundings…..
Scott does the ordering and we sit and wait.
The guy next to me is grunting and slurping his noodles down.
The guy opposite me burps mid slurp. There are many things I’ve gotten used to living here, but burping at tables isn’t one of them!
My bowl of noodles arrives with a slick of something or other on the top. And the woman who slops it down on the table has her finger in the bowl.
Every single thought going through my head at that point is obviously written all over my face.
Scott laughs. Don’t think about it, just eat it. It’s hot. It’s been cooked. Here’s some chilli for the soup. Just try it.
Am I feeling brave? Not really. I’m thinking, keep your meatballs, here’s your 12RMB and I’m going to the dumpling stall down the road.
Verdict? I have no idea what was in those meatballs, but Scott was right. They were delicious. The stock was tasty enough, the noodles were slightly chewy just the way they should be. The burping guy left, I finished the meatballs. Scott laughed a bit more.
In the wash up:
What can I say?
I survived. It was an experience.
We agreed it was definitely a place to avoid in the summer – especially the buffet.
If you’re after somewhere cheap and cheerful and want to scare the bejeezus out of your visitors or prove how local you’ve then go along for a laugh.
If you’re a tourist in Shanghai I’d say go for the best xialongbao in town at Lin Long Fang instead.
No English menu. No English spoken. Smoking allowed/encouraged.
Address: Opposite the wet market on Wulumuqi Lu, close to Fuxing Lu. Look out for the flag.
What do you think? Do you like a food challenge? Do you have a strong stomach?!