We braved the infamous queues at 3 Shanghai cult food spots

Photograph: Yang Xiaozhe

There's no flavour enhancer like anticipation, is there? Long queues are an essential part of food crazes in China, with wanghong (internet famous) shops garnering attention that translates into hours-long waits. The end game? Great photos and (hopefully) a delicious snack. I try, and somehow fail/luck out, at three popular queuing venues across Shanghai and find, hey, the waits aren't so bad after all.

Ada Congyoubing

Photograph: Yang Xiaozhe

What’s hot? A Shanghai-style pancake stuffed with spring onion and pork, fried and grilled until crispy and brown. 

The wait Mr Wu (A Da) has been using exactly the same recipe since he opened the shop in 1982. Numbers are distributed from 5am and the shop opens from 6am. Pancakes (7RMB each) were once limited to two per person – now five – as Mr Wu does everything himself (with an assistant to chop and clean). Only about ten pancakes are made every 20 to 30 minutes. Don’t want to wait in line? Scalpers charge ten times the usual price. But you can get lucky: I arrive at 8.38am on a Thursday morning and there are fewer than ten people queuing. I get served a little over an hour later at 9.50am, but only because I insist on buying a single pancake when Mr Wu wants to sell two so I get sent to the back of the queue again. Don’t ask. 

Why queue? In a city where nothing is permanent, a pancake that’s stayed the same for three decades intrigues. ‘Ada reminds us not to forget why we started,’ a fashionably dressed tourist says, telling me that he found the place via social media. ‘It’s the trendy thing to line up for two hours and snap shots for five minutes for internet content, but [we] came to taste the old Shanghainese food,’ says a couple. 

Worth it? Mr Wu’s not stingy on the scallions or the oil, which means an overall quite bland pancake radiates with the smell of fresh spring onion. Definitive yes. 

📍Ada Congyoubing, 20 Ruijin Er Lu, near Yongjia Lu. 6am-3pm. Closed on Wednesdays.

Heytea

Photograph: courtesy Heytea

What’s hot? Originally tea topped with a thick layer of cheese, now queues are generally for seasonal drinks.

The wait First opened in February 2017, there was a time when people lined up for seven hours and scalpers charged 50RMB for a 17RMB tea. I went to the original Heytea near People’s Square on a Thursday evening during peak hour; and the queuing time was only 20 minutes. How the mighty have fallen.

Why queue? Who knows – the hours-long queue for tea topped with cheese has baffled everyone.

Worth it? I try two types of Heytea, jasmine tea topped with cheese and jasmine green tea mixed with orange juice and slices. Both great and worthy of a 20-minute wait. But seven hours...

📍Various locations in Shanghai.

Nan Da Men

Photograph: Amy Snelling

What’s hot? Korean-style sweet rice cakes, plus variations with osmanthus flower and red bean – all handmade with a family recipe and no sugar.

The wait Numbers (written on the back of your hand) are given out from 7am but the shop doesn’t open until 10am. The worst queue is said to have been four hours. I arrive at 11.20am on a Monday morning, get the number ‘254’ scribbled on my hand. It’s mostly grey-haired ayis, solemn-looking men and one or two listless couriers. I get rice cakes half an hour later at 11.50am.

Why queue? Rice cakes are nothing new to China, but this brand’s sugar- free handmade rendition feeds an ever-growing demand for healthier food with less oil and sugar and sans additives.

Worth it? I’m not a big fan of anything made with glutinous rice, but props to the owners for their dedication to high food standards.

📍Da Nan Men, 282 Ziteng Lu, near Qingshan Lu.

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