![[Where To Eat:] Four Must-Visit Hunan Restaurants in Shanghai](http://hillsshanghai.com/cdn/shop/articles/hunan_cuisine.jpg?v=1722097208&width=1100)
The eight major Chinese cuisines include Sichuan, Guangdong, Shandong, Jiangsu, Fujian, Zhejiang, Anhui and Hunan. Each of these cuisines has its own characteristics, reflecting China's rich geographical and cultural diversity.
As one of them, Hunan cuisine has a completely different taste from Shanghai cuisine.
Shanghai food is rich in red sauce and heavy in sweetness, while Hunan food is bright in color and heavy in spiciness, which is slightly different from Sichuan food. Sichuan food tends to be anaesthetic and spicy (má là) and Hunan food tends to be hot and spicy (xiāng là). Visitors who are interested in learning about Chinese food can experience different Chinese food culture in the metropolis of Shanghai.
The representative dishes of Hunan cuisine are steamed fish head with chopped chili, Maoist pork braised, stir-fry beef, stir-fried pork with chili peppers, Spicy crayfish, stinky tofu.Below, please browse and enjoy some of the top picks from Hills Shanghai:
1.Sister Tan Hunan Restaurant
Rating: 4.1/5 (2851 reviews, Source: Dianping)
Per capita: 120 RMB
Business Hours: 11:00-22:00
Address: No. 1028 Pudong Avenue (176 meters away from Exit 3A of Yuanshen Road Station)
(1) Google Map (2) Apple Map
An authentic Hunan restaurant operated by a pair of Hunan's sister, the owner has a very good personality and has become a home canteen for workers in Shanghai.
Perilla, dried green bean, Chaotian pepper, preserved beef... they insisted on bringing the ingredients from their hometown to ensure the authentic taste. The taste of spicy crayfish is no difference from Hunan night market, even if it is far away in Shanghai, as long as you take a sip of soup, you can dream back to your hometown in a second.
Recommendation: Beef stir fry with coriander
is a classic Hunan dish. Beef must be fried very tender, with garlic and chili, and coriander stir-fry together, richly flavored.
Money eggs
which means "get rich", is the top1 order in the store. Boiled eggs knife cut into large pieces, then fry eggs till putting on a layer of golden crispy skin. The second time in the fryer, add garlic sprout and small chilli pepper. The taste is amazing, changing the egg from plain and simple.
Fried cured meat (Chinese bacon) with bamboo shoots:
Hunan cured meat has profound cultural significance in Hunan area. It is not only the daily food of the local people, but also carries a strong nostalgic and festive atmosphere. During the Spring Festival, every family will cook cured meat or give to relatives and friends.
Hunan cured meat is usually selected with fresh pork with thin skin and medium fat, after a long time of low temperature smoking and roasting, to achieve a bright red surface color, fat but not greasy, thin but not wood taste. Fried with fresh spring bamboo shoots, this is the mountain taste of spring and summer.
Stinky tofu:
Chairman Mao's favorite, mouthwatering and smelly, dry and crisp, very juicy, bite carefully in case choked, very Hunan people's taste, even though you may feel hot that nose and tears run, but still cool.
2.Spicy June Hunan Xiangxian Restaurant (Kerry Center)
Rating: 4.7/5 (5838 reviews, Source: Dianping)
Per capita: 220 RMB
Business Hours: 11:00-14:00, 17:00-21:00
Address: Room N2-20, Jing 'an Kerry Center North Mall, 1551 Nanjing West Road
(1) Google Map (2) Apple Map
A good place for banquets and appointments, in the mall, the dining environment is very elegant with floor-to-ceiling windows of the scenery. The restaurant has a deep understanding of food, art, design and fashion, combining Chinese cultural elements with Western restaurant style to create a unique dining atmosphere.
Chopped pepper bullfrog & fish head is the store's signature dish, with more than 5 pounds of fresh spotted silver carp fish head and bullfrog legs steamed together, with chopped pepper, black bean, onion, ginger, garlic and other spices, perfect combination of color, aroma and taste.
The fish head is delicious, the chopped pepper is spicy and delicious, and the bullfrog leg is tender. The two complement each other and are must-try delicious. It's been made to a moderate level of spiciness for the public. Chopped pepper soup with noodles or rice is perfect.
Stir-fried yellow beef:
The aromas of coriander, pickled pepper, chilli and garlic blend together, it’s so delicious when served. Large pieces of beef, full of weight, beef is very delicious, the choice of fresh refined beef, eat delicious and tender, one after another simply can not stop. The ingredients are celery and white embroider coccus, crispy taste, it goes well with the beef and gives it a richer texture.
Golden garlic and red oil cuttlefish rolls
Gold garlic red oil as the base, the upper layer is placed with cuttlefish, cut into crosshatch patterns, rolled with red and green shredded vegetable. The looking is excellent, also taste good.
Sweet rice wine with pumpkin:
Sweet rice wine is a local dessert in Hunan, known locally as "sweet wine" (tián jiǔ), made by fermented glutinous rice. The restaurant has modified the pairing, serving it as a sweet soup with sweet pumpkin.
3.Gai fan Bang · Changsha fried dishes and rice
Rating: 4.4/5 (1324 reviews, Source: Dianping)
Per capita: 63-81 RMB
Business hours: 10:00-21:00
Address: Wanhangdu Road 119 along the street shops (lots branches, pick one near you)
(1) Google Map (2) Apple Map
The dishes used in the restaurant are the red happy(“囍”xǐ) word dishes of the 80-90's, which is very retro, can make you feel the happiness of eating after the struggle or during the festival. The store made a lot of bold wordy memes, feel like a very humorous boss, opened a down-to-earth young people's canteen.
Stir-fried pork with chilli pepper:
Authentic Hunan specialty, screwy pepper with rural streaky pork classic stir-fry collocation, you can eat a bowl of rice with it.
Brain roll (steamed sweet folded roll):
It is folded like a human brain, hence its name. It's actually a sweet, soft steaming bread. It is one of the local snacks in Changsha (A must-try).
preserved egg meatballs:
A new way, if you want to try the preserved egg, but don't want to eat it directly, you can try this combination, which is steamed, very savory, not spicy.
Fried sweet potato noodles with Chinese sauerkraut :
Dried turnip inside, very chewy. Sweet potato noodle is kind of glutinous. Taste interesting.
4.Changsha Rice Noodle Shop
Rating: 4.1/5 (287 reviews, Source: Dianping)
Per capita: 22 RMB
Business hours: 08:30-21:30
Address: 79 Kangfeng Road
(1) Google Map (2) Apple Map
A rice noodle restaurant, opened by a couple of Hunan husband and wife, making fresh rice noodles every day, learning from a 40 years of history of Changsha rice noodle breakfast bar.
The biggest highlight of the store is the rice noodle, pure handmade, is a Hunan fellow freshly made and sent to Shanghai. The rice noodle is very thin, it only takes 2-3 minutes to cook through, and it is flexible, smooth and not easy to break.
Even if it is one bowl of plain rice noodle without adding anything, mixed with the shop's homemade pickles, pickled radishes, chopped peppers, that’s enough and filling.
Recommended: flat noodle + fried egg + (side dish you want)
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