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The Roaming Dad and his family follow Shanghai’s food scene from a Yunnan restaurant to noodle shops and shengjian bao stalls. They try black phoenix chicken, small-pot Yunnan rice noodles, mashed potatoes with chili and lard, and goat cheese compared with halloumi. The route continues through shops serving spicy sesame paste noodles, shredded eel noodles and hand-pulled beef noodles. They watch shengjian bao being pan-fried and steamed, then queue at a Michelin-recommended restaurant for hairy crab xiaolongbao with ginger sauce. The family also visits Shanghai’s oldest shengjian bao shop, where The Roaming Dad shares pork and prawn buns with his son, Finley. Conversations with shop owners and patrons accompany the family’s stops across the city.
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Yunnan dishes and noodle shops
The Roaming Dad and his family begin their Shanghai food tour at a Yunnan restaurant. They try black phoenix chicken, a lime salad with coriander, garlic and chili; small-pot Yunnan rice noodles; mashed potatoes with chili and lard; and goat cheese that he compares with halloumi. Their next stops are noodle shops, where he samples spicy sesame paste noodles, shredded eel noodles and hand-pulled beef noodles. He talks with shop owners and other diners about the food and how it is prepared.
Shengjian bao and hairy crab xiaolongbao
At a shengjian bao shop, the family watches the pork buns being pan-fried and then steamed, leaving a crisp bottom and soft top. They later queue at a Michelin-recommended restaurant for hairy crab xiaolongbao, which The Roaming Dad describes alongside the ginger sauce. A final stop takes them to what the source calls Shanghai’s oldest shengjian bao shop, where they try pork and prawn options. He shares the meal with his son, Finley, and reflects on the different foods they have tried, from the Yunnan dishes to handmade buns and dumplings.
The Yunnan meal gives the family several different preparations to compare. Black phoenix chicken is served as a lime salad with coriander, garlic and chili, while small-pot rice noodles and mashed potatoes with chili and lard add other flavors. The goat cheese is semi-hard and does not melt; he compares its texture to halloumi and tries it with sweet chili dip, salt and Sichuan pepper. At one noodle shop, described as 87 years old, he orders spicy sesame paste noodles and shredded eel noodles. Later he tries hand-pulled beef noodles and talks with the people serving the food.
The shengjian bao are first fried in a pan and then steamed, leaving the bottom crisp and the top soft. At the Michelin-recommended xiaolongbao restaurant, he waits in a queue and tries the seasonal hairy crab filling with ginger sauce. The last shengjian bao stop is described as Shanghai’s oldest; the family samples pork and prawn versions. The tour includes chain restaurants as well as smaller local shops, and The Roaming Dad comments on the quality of food and his conversations with shopkeepers and other diners. Finley joins him for the final stop, making the food tour a family outing as well as a series of tastings.
FAQs (From the traveler's perspective)
- Q: What foods did The Roaming Dad try in Shanghai?
- A: The stops included Yunnan dishes, goat cheese, spicy sesame paste noodles, shredded eel noodles, shengjian bao, hairy crab xiaolongbao and hand-pulled beef noodles.
- Q: What is shengjian bao?
- A: The video shows these pork buns being pan-fried and then steamed, giving them a crisp bottom and soft top.
- Q: Why did they wait at the xiaolongbao restaurant?
- A: They queued at a Michelin-recommended restaurant that is popular with tourists and local diners for hairy crab soup dumplings.
