Shanghai, like every major city in the world, is filled with restaurants and it would take a few lifetimes to eat at each and every single one in the city. There’s a beef noodle restaurant I ate at that I couldn’t get the name due to my inability to speak and read Mandarin.
I walked past it twice and noticed there was a lot of people in the restaurant at 9 AM. The aroma from the boiling pot engulfed the street corner and down the little street. It had a very comforting smell to it and it drew me in like love-inspiring eyes from a fair skinned woman. I was starving and needed to eat.
The restaurant sits on the corner of Renmin Road and Jinmen Road in between Kedi and Renmin Supermarket. It’s right across from the Yu Garden station. It’s a small family operated shop with no more than 3 tables with seating on the sidewalk, but each seat in the restaurant was taken as the owner’s sons delivered bowl after bowl to its patrons. The restaurant is a no frills establishment with tiny tables and plastic chairs. There’s a menu on the wall with all their items and a large bowl of beef noodles will run in the neighborhood of less than 4 USD.
For non-Mandarin speaking patrons, I utilized Google Translate to order my food and converse with one of the waiters. Of course, you will need a VPN to use any Google product in China. Check out our Essential Travel Apps entry to find out the best travel apps. Now, the beef noodles.
The beef noodles were simply amazing. It came out piping hot and the size of a large bowl of pho in Westminster, California. The semi-thin white noodles had a chewy texture and perfect firmness to it. It soaked up the broth and was easy to eat with the succulent beef morsels. The chunks of beef were tender and tasted like fatty briskets.
The broth was oily and fatty. It was bold and robust with a perfect balance of spiciness, sourness and saltiness. It was a cross between the Vietnamese Bun Bo Hue and Taiwanese Beef Noodles. It’s seriously one of the best bowl of beef noodles I’ve ever eaten in my life. I wish I gotten the name of the restaurant cause this place definitely deserves to have more visitors.
Check out our other Shanghai articles here.
- Service - 6.5/106.5/10
- Presentation - 6.5/106.5/10
- Flavors - 9.5/109.5/10
- Decor - 6/106/10
- Ambiance - 6.5/106.5/10
Summary
This little restaurant is like the girl who got away. I had a brief encounter with her, but I never gotten her number or name. She provided me with one of the best beef noodle experiences of my life and now I can only tell people about her.
