Great Cuisines Meet Shanghai Classical Hotel
百川归海·上海老饭店

In the City God Templc area, at the corner of Jiujiaochang Road & Fuyou Road, you will see a magnificent five-storey tall building in the Ming-and Qing-Dynasty style. The magnificent building features black roof tiles, red balustrades and curved roof. This is Shanghai Classical Hotel, a premium restaurant specializing in native Shanghai style food.

In the beginning, being a Small-timer, that compared with other China's major cuisines, restaurants served local food were small-scale, low-class businesses that made a little profit. In the 1930's edition of "Shanghai Miscellaneous Records", it was said that there used to be only three types of culinary style, Su(Suchou), Ning(Ningpo) and Hui(Anhui) Cuisine in Shanghai. Then other types of regional cuisines quickly sprang up like Beijing food, Cantonese food, Yangzhou food as well as Western-style foods. More recently, Fujian restaurants and Sichuan cuisine are most trendy". Shanghai food originated from a common street food sold by vendors who carried around pots and pans on their shoulders or from the sidewalk stalls. The serving was usually very simple, which involved a couple of tables and chairs, a pot of cooked rice plus a wok of fried food, some cold dishes with wine; or occasionally the owner would fry some hot dishes according to customer's order. The majority of the customers of the sidewalk food stalls were usually from the lower social class. The current Shanghai Classical Hotel started as a tiny restaurant with only two tables, and the name of the restaurant was actually given by its patrons.

The hotel was founded in 1875, which marked the first year of Emperor Guangxu's reign during the Qing Dynasty, Shanghai Classical Hotel was formerly called Rongshun Restaurant (Glory and Prosperity Restaurant). At that time, a man from the town of Chuansha of Pudong District named Zhang Huanying opened a restaurant named "Rongshun Restaurant" at 11 Jiujiaochang Road, north of the City God Temple. The original setup only occupied a single-unit storefront, with the seating area at the front and kitchen in the back. Owner Zhang Huanying was a chef specialized in Shanghainese cuisine which was characterized by excessive use of cooking oil and brown Soya sauce. Moreover, with low-price and friendly service, the restaurant was liked by the farmers, the average city residents and the visitors to the City God Temple. As a result, business thrived with each passing day and it also developed a group of fixed target clienteles. In groups of three or five, the royal patrons often came to Rongshun to enjoy a square meal and they would eat to their hearts' content. If someone asked for a good place to dine, they would answer: "The (same) old restaurant (referring to Rongshun)". Over the course of time, reputation of the name "old restaurant" even surpassed its real name Rongshun. Gradually it became the customary name or the substitute name of the restaurant. However, 1965 was the time when the restaurant officially took the name of "Old Restaurant".

After the founding of New China in 1949, the restaurant progressively expanded its operating area and grew with prosperity. In 1965, after negotiating with several parties and following the public opinion, the 90-year-old Rongshun Restaurant officially changed its name to Shanghai Old Restaurant(Shanghai Classical Hotel). In 1978, the restaurant moved again from Jiujiaochang Road to the north gate of the City God Temple, featuring gorgeous decorations and also equipped with air conditioning system. In terms of culinary quality, the restaurant sought to promote the specialties of Shanghai cuisine by focusing on cooking freshwater fish, shrimps, crabs and eels from the southern regions of the Yangtze River, and making seasonal gourmet dishes. Starting in 1999, the restaurant went through another renovation and remodeling project, and presented itself to the people as a spectacle of the ancient architecture of Ming and Qing Dynasty. With 600 seats and more than 30 private rooms, the Rongshun Hall on the second floor is capable of serving well over 1000 guests simultaneously. Each of the 30 private rooms is individually decorated in different themes, such as "New Lilong (Shanghai Alley Neighborhood)", "Shanghai Shikumen House (Stone-gate house)", "English Villa". The 8 "Shikumen House" themed rooms are named after the "Eight Scenic Places of Shanghai City" of the Qing Dynasty, boasting the character and style of Shanghai. The "New Linong" private rooms used distinct decorating themes, among which the "Jixian(Gathering of Sages) Room" was based on a theme inspired by the movie stars of the 1930s. By displaying a collection of movie stars photographs, including Ruan Lingyu(阮玲玉), Hu Die (胡蝶), Wang Danfeng (王丹凤), Zhao Dan (赵丹), the room conjures up a sense of nostalgia for the guests.

Today, it seems the best of Shanghai cuisine finds its manifestation in this restaurant. During the Spring Festival of 1989, the famous movie director Xie Jin invited America-residing Chinese movie star Chen Chong here. One of the dishes was Zhoubotou (Pork Intestines in broth). At first Chen Chong was hesitated of trying, but finished half of the dish at the end. The dish was originally from Shanghai's rural area as a way of reducing waste after slaughtering a large number of pigs after the Chinese New Year, a wedding or a funeral. Because of the cooking wine used in the process as an aid agent, it was also named Zhoubotou. The chefs at the restaurant had turned this dish into a culinary wonder. Mr. Chou Yingnan, vice chairman of World Association of Chinese Cuisine, prominent business manager from Singaporean food and beverage industry, noted scholar, praised Zhoubotou as "an excellent dish with a distinct charm."

The signature dish developed by the restaurant is "Eight-treasure Duck". Legend has it that the restaurant got the idea from 'eight-treasure' chicken, a popular dish from another restaurant. At the time, chef of the restaurant is Mr. Wang. He had made some major improvement; first of all, duck is used instead of chicken. A small incision is made under the wing to the duck cavity for cleaning and stuffing. The stuffing is made from lotus seeds, ham, dried shrimp, winter mushroom, chestnuts, sticky rice and other complementary ingredients. The duck is then steamed in a covered vessel. The resulting duck had rich tasty skin and soft tender meat, a celebrated signature dish.

Famous movie star Bai Yang once visited the restaurant. The chefs specially prepared a gourmet dish called Three Shreds. When it was brought to the table, Bai Yang was so impressed by the presentation and didn't want to touch it. After tasting the dish, Bai Yang could not help admiring it. Upon returning to her residence, she was greatly inspired by the aromatic flavor that lingered in her mouth and started to write an article in praise of the food, "...in which she exclaimed: a seemingly endless aftertaste lingered forever and left me with an unforgettable impression." Through Bai Yang's vivid words and detailed description, this famous Shanghai dish Three Shreds became even more appealing and mouth-watering.

In recent years, Indonesian President Megawati, Singaporean President Nathan and Russia's First Lady Mrs. Putin dined at Old Restaurant one after another. They all said: "Very good! Very good!" and "The taste is excellent indeed!"

Fried Shrimp 油爆虾

The large-size shrimp used in this dish is from the freshwater rivers and lakes of the region. Prepared through multiple processes, the rich brine sauce of the dish has bright red color and a well-balanced taste of savory saltiness, and the shrimp is surprisingly tender.

Braised Channel Catfish Mouth with Brown Sauce 红烧鱼下巴

This dish is made from Channel Catfish's lips. It features brilliant red color and the fish gives a pleasant flavor of saltiness mixed with a hint of sweetness.

Eight Delights in Wine Sauce 糟八珍

The dish is a mixture of dried scallop, ham, chicken, sea cucumber, bamboo shoots, sharks fin, fish lips, Chinese cabbage, and dregs of wine. It is characterized by its tempting aroma of the wine dregs and the rich savory flavor.

Braised Tofu with Crab Meat 蟹粉豆腐

This dish uses Chinese mitten crab, tofu, ginger, Chinese cooking wine and broth. The dish is golden yellow with velvety soft texture, and the crab roe complements each other perfectly.

Fish Head in Wine Sauce 糟卤大鱼头

It is prepared using carp head, dregs of wine, broth, Chinese cooking wine, soy sauce, scallion, ginger slices and green garlic. Carp head is fried lightly on both sides and stewed in a pot with clear broth, Chinese cooking wine, soy sauce, scallion and ginger. It is simmered until the soup thickens and fish head is tender. Then dregs of wine and seasoning are added and garlic is sprinkled on, resulting in tender fish head in a creamy, full-flavored soup seasoned with aromatic wine dregs.

Steamed Yellow Croaker with Pickled Vegetable 雪菜蒸黄鱼

This dish uses Yellow Croaker, fresh pickled vegetable, bamboo shoots, Chinese cooking wine, scallion and sliced ginger. The fish is steamed with the pickled vegetable which makes the fish meat very soft while the pickled vegetable adds an intense aromatic flavor and refreshing taste.

Address: 242 Fuyou Road

Telephone: 021-63552275

Hours of Operation: 11:00 - 14:30

17:00 - 21:00