SHANGHAI RESTAURANT

Yuan Yuan

This fourth Puxi branch of the successful Yuan Yuan chain seems at first glance to be confused about its identity, with the European-style wallpaper and pastoral oil paintings clashing oddly with the Chinese-style tables and chairs. However, one look at the menu and you’ll be reassured that this latest Yuan Yuan has stuck to its mission of serving Shanghainese cuisine in its most genuine form (although it’s worth noting that Cantonese makes it way onto the menu too.) We started with their famous hong shao rou (braised pork in brawn sauce), a guilty pleasure made of half-fatty pork braised in heavy salty-sweet sauce. It was delightful, and even the pork fat was too good to leave. On the advice of the waiter, we also had two eggs with the hong shao rou, which worked very well at soaking up the sauce. The interesting-looking stewed beef in red wine sauce ultimately tasted more like tomato sauce, but the beef was soft and well done, mildly complementing the tender chunks of carrots. Stir-fried celery and nuts with asparagus was a palate-cleansing mix of veggies, while yellow croaker soup with preserved vegetables, a common sight on local dinner tables, outstripped the best efforts of most Shanghai grandmothers. The milky white soup was moderately flavored and nourishing, with the two yellow croakers adding flavor. To finish the meal off, we tried baked abalone and turnip pastries, both pleasantly crispy and tasty. The new Yuan Yuan is, in short, a chip off the old block.


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Venue Details
Address: Yuan Yuan, 550, Shanghai, China
Phone: 6438 1015
Website: www.yycy.cn
Price Range: BBB
Opening hours:
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