Huaiyang Flavor Laobanzhai Restaurant
淮扬隽味·老半斋酒楼

Huaiyang cuisine is one of the eight major regional cuisines in China. Typically represented by Yangzhou food, it is a cooking style from the Huai River and the Yangtze River regions. It relies on carefully selected ingredients and meticulous preparation. Huaiyang cooking is best known for braising and stewing, and focuses on retaining natural juices and flavors of the ingredients. The food pleases both "northerners" and "southerners" for its well balanced flavor. Former Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai, who was from the region, liked to treat foreign dignitaries with Huaiyang food. Former Japanese Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka, former U.S. Presidents Nixon and Regan all tasted the delights of Huaiyang Cuisine during their visits to China.

Founded in 1905, during the Emperor Guangxu's Reign of the Qing Dynasty, Laobanzhai Restaurant was recognized as a place where Huaiyang flavor reigned supreme. The restaurant became well-known in Shanghai in the 1920s. And by the 1930s, it had already established a great reputation at home and abroad. The 1929's edition of "Old Shanghai" rated Laobanzhai as number one in all the restaurants that offered Zhenjiang and Yangzhou food. The flavors of the mixed meat dishes and shredded vegetables truly deserve to be called "supreme".

Laobanzhai Restaurant used to be Banzhai Club, a private club for bank employees organized by several bankers from Yangzhou. The club had a small cafeteria which offered Yangzhou style snacks and noodles. Later on, alcoholic beverages and dishes were added to the menu. At the beginning of the Republic of China, the club was changed into Banzhai Restaurant. The first manager of the restaurant was a man from Yangzhou named Zhang Jingxuan. He especially summoned a team of famous chefs from Yangzhou to make authentic Yangzhou food and dim sums, which, as expected, gained extreme popularity. But with the opening of other Yangzhou restaurants, Laobanzhai was facing a lot of competition. In order to maintain the advantageous edge, for the second time, Banzhai hired a group of celebrity chefs and culinary masters to reinforce the food quality. It launched and promoted a variety of new additions to the menu, including celebrated dishes and dim sums. The prices were kept low although the quality had significantly improved. Banzhai Restaurant still topped sales of the charts. At the same time, Zhang Jingxuan also changed the restaurant's name from Banzhai to Lao-Banzhai, meaning "the old or the original Banzhai Restaurant". Since then, Laobanzhai Restaurant had gained greater reputation in Shanghai.

Today, Laobanzhai Restaurant has been in operation for 100 years, and still stands on an unshakable reputation. The seemingly everlasting success is attributed to the preservation of traditions and also the boldness to bring forth innovations at the same time. In terms of culinary art, Huaiyang cuisine is characterized by braising, stewing, simmering and steaming over low heat for a longed time. Its strength lies in preparing gourmet freshwater dishes. In the magical hands of Laobanzhai's chefs, the three well-known fish from the Yangzi River, namely Ribbon Fish, Shad and Channel Catfish were turned into mouthwatering culinary wonders and delicacies. Braided Pork Head in Soy Sauce, Braised Carp Head, Steamed Meatballs have always been identified as the "Three Classics" of Huaiyang cuisine. In the summer of 2004, Laobanzhai Restaurant re-introduced the Three Huaiyang Classics and received a flood of excellent comments. Some patrons exclaimed: "It had been ages since we tasted the Three classics of Huaiyang!" While maintaining the regional characteristics and styles of Zhenjiang and Yangzhou cuisine, Laobanzhai also improved many traditional dishes. For example, to make Laobanzhai's Zhenjiang Salted Pork, better and other fine ingredients are used to enhance quality and taste, making it superior to the original. Braised Carp Head is another example. In the 1980s, Laobanzhai made tremendous improvements on the traditional version of the dish by adding precious Chinese medicine Gastrodia Elata, creating a new classic "Gastrodia Elata Braised Carp Head." In addition, other fine ingredients are incorporated like crab roe, ham, mushroom, bean curb sheet, vegetable hearts to produce a delicious gourmet series, such as "Crab Roe Braised Carp Head" and so on.

China has a great history of taking the pleasure of drinking fine teas and tasting delicious food. Zhenjiang and Yangzhou were important transportation hubs back to the Sui, Tang and Song Dynasties, when the region was bustling with commercial activities. Likewise, food and beverage businesses and entertainment industry were also enormousl. Apart from gourmet dishes, Huaiyang Dim Sums are also remarkably popular. Laobanzhai Restaurant is well-known for the "Eight Hallmark Dishes of Yangzhou", which is a group of dim sums composed of Huaiyang Soupy Bun, Crab Xiaolongbao, Three Dice Bun, Red Bean Paste Bun, Soupy Bun Stuffed with Crab Meat, Steamed Vegetable Stuffed Bun, Crystal Bun and Shaomai. These products have been awarded by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce as "High Quality Product" and "Shanghai Regional Specialty Food". Among the noodle soups, the most famous ones are Pickled Vegetable Noodle Soup and Ribbon Fish Sauce Noodle Soup. Reportedly, Luxun invited Uchiyama Kanzo to dine at Laobanzhai. Poet Liu Yazhi was also a royal fan of Noodle Soup with Ribbon Fish. In the 1950s, Shanghai Mayor Chen Yi came to the restaurant and sampled the Noodle Soup with Ribbon Fish Sauce as well. As for pastries, Shredded Turnip Pie is the most aclaimed. Through careful preparation, the delicate Huaiyang Dim Sum features distinctive flavors and styles. Each kind is a unique creation. The vegetables taste light but not plain; the meats taste rich but not greasy. The saltiness is perfectly balanced with a hint of sweetness. The earlier morning tea is called "Kui-Long-Zhu" (ultimate dragon pearl) by the Huaiyang people, because it is a brilliant combination of blending together three famous types of Chinese tea: the "Kui-Ying" (ultimate ying) from Anhui Province, "Long-Jing" (Dragon Well) from Zhejiang Province and "Lang-Zhu" (Blue Pearl) from Jiangsu Province. The tea carries a very delightful yet subtle aroma. One sip of the tea brings one into a surreal moment of "smelling the fragrance yet not seeing the flower". The more you drink, the more flavors you will discover. At the turn of the last century, tycoons of Shanghai financial, commercial and industrial sector liked to have morning tea at Laobanzhai. In recent years, many oversea Chinese traveled back to China for visit and they all liked to come here to marvel the authentic taste of Huaiyang cuisine. In the 1970s, China officially established diplomatic relations with the the United States, Laobanzhai's most famous chef Wang Dekun went to United States with Mr. Wang Zheng, the director of the liaison office of China to US. Wang Dekun was appointed as the chef for the liaison office of China to US and he supervised state dinners that entertained former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, former US Presidents Nixon and Bush. He prepared famous Chinese specialty dishes like Crispy Deep-Fried Duck, Imperial Honey Ham, Scallop Balls, Fired Lamb with Scallions, Fried Prawns with Pepper Sauce and more. These dishes had earned praises from Nixon and Kissinger.

Channel Catfish in White Sauce 白汁鱼

This is a famous spring dish of Laobanzhai Restaurant. Channel Catfish is commonly known as one of the highly prized "Three Delicacies" of the Yangtze River. This dish is made from wild Channel Catfish, pork lard and Shaoxing Wine. The dish features soft tender fish meat in creamy thick white sauce, extremely savory and delicious.

Braised Carp Head 拆烩鱼头

The ingredients consist of carp fish head as a whole, sliced cooked ham, sliced cooked chicken, sliced bamboo shoots, vegetable hearts, peeled shrimps, pork lard, and Shaoxing Wine. The critical step is the removal of bones from the fish head, the cheeks of the fish need to be kept intact while de-boning the fish. The resulting dish is a flavorful, savory and tender fish meat in a rich, creamy yellow soup.

Quick Fried Eel Tail 炝虎尾

The main ingredients are the eel tails. The tails are neatly arranged on a platter and looked like a tail of a tiger. Golden yellow, the dish offers smooth, moist, tender eel tails with a delicious savory flavor.

Salted Pork in Jelly 水晶肴肉

As a specialty of Laobanzhai Restaurant, this dish has won the titles of "High Quality Product" and "China's Famous Snack" from the Ministry of Commerce of China. The ingredients include pork knuckle, mixed meats, Shaoxing Wine. Pink in color, the dish tastes rich but not greasy.

Banzhai Dry Blown Chicken 半斋风鸡

Dry Breezed Chicken is a traditional winter delight with the longest history in Yangzhou. It is also a family specialty of Laobanzhai Restaurant. To prepare this dish, live hens are slaughtered, marinated, cooked and blown dried in the wind, from which it got the name of "Dry Blown Chicken". After removing the bones, the cooked chicken is then shredded into pieces. The pure white chicken meat has a very fine and smooth texture.

Meat Balls with Crab Sauce 蟹粉狮子头

Meat Balls with Crab Sauce is a wellknown Huaiyang specialty, which has been commonly called "chopped pork meat balls" in Yangzhou. Records have shown that the recipe has a history of several hundred years. The ingredients are pork meat, crab roe, Chinese green vegetable hearts and others. Pork belly meat is used, which has alternating layers of lean meat and fat. The resulting dish is soft and tender, paired with crab paste and served in a sweet, rich wine sauce. And the soft, supple green vegetable hearts add a refreshing touch to this gourmet meal.

Pickled Vegetable Noodle Soup 雪菜煨面

There is a legendary claim that "For half a century, people have been savoring a bowl of noodles at Laobanzhai." This refers to the Pickled Vegetable Noodle Soup. The noodle soup is characterized by flavorful soup, savory flavor, soft, supple texture that is not sticky. Refreshing and comforting, it is truly a crowd-pleasing delight.

Black Glutinous Rice Cake 黑米糕

As part of the Healthy Food Series, good selection of grains is used. The rice cake does not contain any preservatives. It features flaky, supple texture and sweet flavor, particularly suits elders and children.

Address: 600 Fuzhou Road

Telephone: 021-63222809

Hours of Operation: 06:00 - 10:00

11:00 - 14:00

17:00 - 20:30