[Shanghai] Lao Sheng Chang 老盛昌

老盛昌 Lao Sheng Chang | Dianping
Address: 剑河路465号(近甘溪路) – 465 Jianhe Road near Ganxi Rd (长宁区 Changning District) (other locations available)
Date visited: 2013.04
Total bill: RMB¥18 for two people (I swear)
Verdict: So cheap and good
Will return: Definitely
What to get:
– 小馄饨 Little Wontons
– 蟹粉汤包 Pork with Crab Meat Soup Bun

老盛昌 Lao Sheng Chang serves Suzhou style food. Suzhou is so close to Shanghai I really couldn’t tell you what Suzhou specialties are that aren’t also Shanghai specialties. We all like to eat the same thing south of the Yangtze River.

This is one of those places where you have to wait for your own table and possibly share a table with other people during peak hours. It is meant to be a place to grab a quick bite to eat, not to sit down and count a hundred digits of pi. I’m not really sure how this place makes money because the food is cheap even for local standards. On top of that, the food tastes even better than the price you paid.

小馄饨 Little Wontons (RMB¥4)
RMB¥4 is not a typo. 4 yuan/yen/dollars/pounds/euros/any currency is cheap. While many chains have moved to using pre-made frozen wontons, these wontons were made fresh. There were at least 15 wontons in the soup, which is a super generous portion compared to most places, especially for the price. The soup tasted slightly gingery (I am ginger-averse) but it wasn’t enough to bother me. I like 沈大成 Shen Da Cheng’s wontons better but this is not far behind.

蟹粉汤包 Pork with Crab Meat Soup Bun (RMB¥10)
These are called soup buns on the menu but are essentially xiaolongbao. The meat was extremely juicy with plenty of soup inside the bun. The opening at the top was larger than most of the xiaolongbao I have had (most xiaolongbao is sealed shut or has a very small opening at the top) so be careful with the soup when eating. Very delicious.

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