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Cheap Eats: Noodle Shop by Day, Bar by Night

ShanghaiWOWeng 2018-11-30


Located on the old street of Yandang Lu that connects the buzzing area of Huaihai Zhong Lu and Fuxing Park, Dixiashi Jitang Huntun (地下室鸡汤馄饨) is a wonderful wonton spot that is surrounded by history and other delicious restaurants, including Weixiangzhai (味香斋) and Qiangdiao Mian (腔调面) on its left, the dumpling outlet North Wanxin (北万新) over to the right, and the restaurant Axin Eatery (阿鑫面馆) that serves freshly-cooked ribs and rice cakes across the street.



Their Chicken Wonton Soup is the signature dish that attracts most of its local Shanghainese clientele, and caught our curious attention to come try it for ourselves. I would say we felt excited over the idea of finally getting one, but that would be an understatement…



We struck up a conversation with the owner the minute we set foot into Dixiashi Jitang Huntun in the hope of getting our hands on some of their soups. As fate would have it, we ended up ordering our bowls for the following day.



The woman who owns this place kindly told us the story of how her son’s father-in-law raises chickens on his farm in Qidong and sends them any spares that they can use for their soups. “Wontons are very popular among Shanghainese families, so I would often make chicken wonton soup at home,” she said. “The first time I made it, everyone loved it - it was a huge success! So I decided to open my own shop. You really need to try it to see how different it is from everyone else’s!” We loved her confidence. 



She wakes up before the sun rises and starts preparing the soup at 4am which, despite having no seasoning, always comes out delectable. So much so, in fact, that she has imposed a limit of 50 bowls served per day! So yes, things work on a first-come-first-served basis here.




The broth is a light yellow and sprinkled with some seaweed and an egg, thus creating a mesmerizing luscious aroma that will surely knock your socks off. 




Each bowl of soup contains 10 large saturated wontons full of vitality, and every other ingredient present has been selected with just as much passion. The dried scallops taste very fresh, the chicken is tender, the leeks crispy, and the skin of each wonton is both slippery and chewy. It’s a myriad of sensations in every bowl.



Although it does look a bit oily, the soups served here are very fresh, warm and guaranteed to fill you up until your next meal. It’s one of those dishes that you can’t stop eating and where you keep telling yourself “Just one more spoonful… OK, one more…” and before you know it, it’s all gone!


P.S. We recommend you drink the soup first and then ask for their homemade sesame sauce to mix with your wontons. 


Babao Hot Sauce Chicken Noodle Soup (八宝辣酱鸡汤面)



This chicken soup is prepared using a very generous spoonful of “Babao” (Eight Treasures) sauce to escalate the flavor as well as your levels of satisfaction and excitement, but it gets even better: when you drink it, it feels like you’re applying lip balm to your lips!



This dish includes an array of toppings that include diced meat, potatoes, dried beans, bamboo shoots and gingko, to name a few. This Shanghainese Babao sauce will likely taste familiar… and a little bit sweet too!



Of course, let’s not forget about the thin noodles that absorb a lot of the broth to create a smooth and refreshing feeling when sipped. A must-try!



The exact location of the restaurant is quite hard to find. Despite being surrounded by popular areas in Fuxing Park and Huaihai Zhong Lu, one cannot simply stumble upon this restaurant by walking along Yandang Lu because it is hidden in the basement of a building on that street.



It’s a noodle shop by day and a bar by night with dining options still available in the evening - that is, unless the wonton soups have all been sold out by then and considering they are usually gone by no later than 3pm, you would have to seriously luck out to get your hands on one of those after that. 



From an interior perspective, the restaurant does look more like a bar with its blurred blue-violet lighting and stools set along the bar. Three small tables are also at your disposal, should you feel like sitting with a group in a friendly setting.



The whole setup does feel a bit odd, but it doesn’t affect how wonderful their wonton soups are. Old Shanghainese locals know it and come down to the bar to eat it. If you want to try one for yourself (with a cold beer, perhaps?) then it’s definitely worth the effort of getting there early. 



Dixiashi Jitang Huntun 地下室鸡汤馄饨

Where: 6 Yandang Lu, near Huaihai Zhong Lu, Huangpu district

How much: RMB 25

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