Expert in Freshwater Seafood Laozhengxing Restaurant
善烹河鲜·老正兴菜馆

Laozhengxing restaurant specializes in Shanghainese food with emphasis on preserving natural flavors and creating a balanced taste. The restaurant has earned admiration from the former Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai and its freshwater seafood dishes have been enjoyed by customers from all over China and abroad.

In the beginning, Laozhengxing restaurant used to serve Xi cuisine and was once honored the title of "king of all restaurants". It was first established inside Dalu Shopping Mall (in Cijiao Plaza) on Jiujiang Road in Emperor Tongzhi's Reign (1862) during the Qing Dyansty. The restaurant has a long history of more than 140 years. The founders, Zhu Zhengbeng and Cai Renxing, were sworn brothers from Zhejiang Province. They formed a partnership and opened a small food stand to sell dishes such as Salted Meat with Bean Curd, Fired Pork with Bean Curd Wrapper, Fried Fish with Green Bean Starch Sheet, Pork Intestines Soup with Rice Noodles and more. The good food and reasonable price attracted many customers. Because of the growing business, the food stand was expanded into a restaurant at the same location named "Zheng-Xing", a name comprised of two characters taken from the middle name of each brother. With high salary, the brothers hired a top Wuxi cuisine chef to manage the kitchen production and served fine quality foods at a fair price. The business was a great success. Seeing Zhengxing Restaurant's triumph, some competitors also took the same name. As a result, many restaurants of similar names suddenly appeared at the same time. In order to secure the restaurant's leading position as the originator of the famous brand name, the character "lao" was added before "zhengxing", making a new name called "Lao Zhengxing". However, soon after, several copycat names popped up one after another, such as "Authentic Laozhengxing", "Shanghai Laozhengxing", "The Great Shanghai Laozhengxing", "Original Laozhengxing", "Wuxi LaoZhenxing" and more. During the peak period, over 120 restaurants were named "Laozhengxing" in Shanghai plus several dozens outside the city, causing a lot of confusion among the customers. Consequently, to reflect the restaurant's long history and its culinary superiority, the owners added two more characters "Tongzhi" to the name and changed it into "Tongzhi-Laozhengxing" restaurant. During that era, the second place in the competition was held by "Yuanji-Laozhengxing" restaurant, an establishment located at the intersection of Jiujiang Road and Henang Road. Unfortunately, in the fierce rivalry, "Tongzhi" and "Yuanji" both went out of business around 1956. Only the third place competitor, "Laozhengxing" restaurant at Middle Shandong Road and Nanjing Road has achieved a long-lasting success and still remains open today.

This particular "Laozhengxing" restaurant was first established in 1908 inside the Dalu Shopping Mall on Jiujiang Road. It was previously called "Zhengyuang" restaurant, but later was changed to "Laozhengxing" in 1934. In the 1940s, the restaurant was also known as "Donghao-Laozhengxing", a name intended to complement the name of its branch location on Nanjing Road which was called "Laozhengxing". The chefs at Laozhengxing all came from Wuxi and had been known as the heirs to the long kitchen tradition of making delicious gourmet dishes. At the restaurant, the fish and shrimps were kept alive for customers to pick and choose. The gourmet dishes were prepared with carefully selected ingredients and meticulous preparation processes. Attention was paid to the quality seasonings to produce a well-balanced taste and thick flavorful sauce. The famous "Sautéed Shrimps" provided a good example. To prepare this dish, live blue shelled Giant River Shrimps were stir-fried over high heat, and then sautéed in a "caramel sauce" made with Yellow Wine, chopped scallion, ginger juice, soy sauce and sugar. The dish features savory shrimps bathed in a thick flavorful caramel sauce, fantastic!

A distinct flair of Laozhengxing Restaurant was the changing menu that reflected the changing seasons. Lake Trout in Honey Sauce was served in spring. In summer, there were Fried whitebait with scrambled egg, Fresh Shrimp in Rice Wine, Boiled Baby Shrimp in Salt water and Sautéed Shrimps. Hairy Crab in Soy Sauce and Stir-Fried Crab Roe were the food for autumn. And in winter, the restaurant served the gourmet black carp dish "Braised Fish Maw and Fins", "Stewed Pork Trip", "Fried Fish Liver" and other winter dishes. It was said that at the beginning of the Republic of China, Yang Baobao, son of Yangqinghe Jewelry Company's owner, asked the chefs at "Laozhengxing" if the nutritious fish liver could be made into a gourmet dish. After many experiments and trials, the chefs added sliced bamboo shoots, ginger, scallions, yellow wines, soy sauce, sugar and other seasoning ingredients and finally created the new dish. This culinary masterpice features a velvety soft texture that is extremely delicate. The taste is rich yet light, and soon its fame spread all over Shanghai.

For more than one hundred years, "Laozhengxing" has created countless celebrated fine foods and gourmet dishes. For instance, the famous dish "Braised Pork with Fermented Tofu" is made by stewing pork in a special sauce of fermented Tofu and red rose. The tender pork meat has a wonderful saltysweet flavor and every fiber is instilled with the fragrance of rose. In addition, there are more than 200 well-known dishes, including Soup Roll, Crispy Eel and Crucian Carp in Clam Soup, Steamed Turtle in Crystal Sugar Soup, Braised Pork Intestine, Hairy Crab in Soy Sauce and Fried Buttery Crab Roes.

After Liberation in 1949, Communist Party leaders such as Zhou Enlai, Chen Yun, Chen Yi, Song Qingling and others all had visited Laozhengxing. Zhou Enlai, Chen Yun and Chen Yi dined here one evening in the winter of 1955. The group ordered Sautéed Shrimps, Black Carp Maw and Fins, Black Carp Liver, Braised Shrimp Eggs with Sea Cucumber and Braised Turtle in Brown Sauce. Zhou also added his favorite dish Sautéed Beans with Preserved Vegetables. After the meal, Zhou was very impressed with the food. He pointed at the brilliantly colored Sautéed Shrimps, and said to Chen with a smile, "This is a famous dish in Southern China." After sampling Braised Black Carp Maw and Fins and Black Carp Liver, Zhou praised and said: "This dish is indeed different from the others. It is very unique and full of flavor. Laozhengxing is the only restaurant in China that has it. How wonderful!" Before leaving the restaurant, Zhou shook hands with each service staff and encouraged them: "Laozhengxing's food is truly outstanding. You must preserve the distinguished culinary specialties." After returning to Beijing, Zhou suggested opening up a Laozhengxing in Beijing. As a result, the Great Pacific Laozhengxing Restaurant on Fuzhou Road was moved to Qiangmeng Boulevard in Beijing.

Laozhengxing has since become a hot trend emerging across the country. Besides Beijing, Laozhengxing Restaurant opened branches in Nanjing, Suzhou, Anqing, Hubei, Northeast China, Hongkong and other regions, even in Japan, France and United States. The restaurant served a wide range of traditional foods and earned an excellent reputation among the consumers. "A Collection of Famous Chinese Foods", a book jointly published by China and Japan, has introduced some representative dishes at Laozhengxing Restaurant.

In line with the urban planning of Shanghai Municipal Government, Laozhengxing Restaurant was moved to where the previous Dahongyun Restaurant was on Fuzhou Road.

Sautéed River Shrimps 油爆河虾

This dish uses live blue shelled giant river shrimps. The fresh shrimps are drairdy dried, and fried in hot oil first, then cooked with other ingredients. The dish features a plateful of vibrant red shrimps with crispy shell and tender meat. The salty taste has a hint of sweetness. It is extraordinarily delicious and appetizing.

Zhengxing Crispy Eel 正兴脆鳝

The dish is made with selected eel backs. The eel pieces are first deep fried in hot oil until crispy. At the mean time, a special sauce is being prepared for the eel pieces. Then, chopped scallion are added and immersed in the sauce briefly to let the flavor penetrate. During serving, the dish is accompanied with fresh shredded ginger on the side. Aromatic, crispy and tender, the eel delivers a delightful salty flavor with a hint of sweetness.

Burclocer with Pork Intestine
草头圈子

The main ingredients are pork intestine and Burclover. This dish displays an attractive deep red color garnished with fresh greens. The smooth and tender pork intestine is perfectly delicious and the aroma from the Burclover adds a refreshing taste.

Buttery Crab Roe with Fresh Greens 碧绿蟹黄油

The dish is prepared with crab roes and baby Bok Choy. Baby Bok Choy is boiled, and stir-fried with salt, savory broth and drizzled with sesame oil. The cooked baby Bok Coy is then arranged around edge of the serving platter. After that, crab roe is stir-fried with ginger juice, Yellow Wine, salt and small amount of savory broth. After thickening the soup and drizzling with sesame oil, a dash of vinegar is added. Finally the buttery crab roe is placed at the center of the plate surrounded with baby Bok Choy. This dish is prized for its mouthwatering flavor and stunning visual appeal.

Hairy Crab in Soy Sauce
油酱毛蟹

This dish uses hairy crab. The hairy crab is first cut into halves and the incision is dipped in a flour paste. The crab halves are fried in hot oil for a brief moment until they turn bright red, and then Yellow Wine, soy sauce, sugar, savory broth, finely chopped ginger and soybeans are added and cooked together over high heat. After being brought to a boil, the crab is simmered over low heat for about 5 minutes. Once the soup is reduced and thickened over high heat, the crab is ready to be served. Fresh red and the intensely aromatic, the delicate crab meat is absolutely delicious.

Crab Meat with Tofu 蟹粉豆腐

The main ingredients are bean curd and crab meat. Tofu is cut into 1 cm cubes. The crab meat is first stir-fried, and then cooked with the bean curd. Once the Tofu fully absorbs the flavors, the soup is thickened and drizzled with sesame oil. The pale yellow crab meat soup has a pleasant savory flavor that pleases any palate.

Hot Sauce with "Eight Treasures" 八宝辣酱

The sauce is made with chicken breast, lean pork, cooked pork tripe, bamboo shoot, dried bean curd, chicken gizzard, peanuts, dried shrimps, silver apricot, peeled shrimps, sweet green pepper, hot chilly paste, Sweet Flour Sauce, finely chopped ginger, Yellow Wine, soy sauce, sugar, savory broth and tapioca flour. All ingredients are first cut into small cubes. Chilly paste, sweet flour sauce, chopped ginger, chicken breast, pork, cooked pork trip, bamboo shoots, dried bean curd, chicken gizzard, peanuts, dried shrimps and silver apricot are stir-fried together in a wok. Then, Yellow Wine, soy sauce and savory broth are added and all ingredients are sautéed over high heat for 2 minutes. After that, the sauce is thickened, drizzled with sesame oil, and poured onto a serving dish. Meanwhile, peeled shrimps and sweet green pepper are quickly stir-fried, thickened with tapioca flour, drizzled with sesame oil, and placed on top of the spicy sauce. The dish has delightful salty flavor with a slightly sweet and spicy aftertaste.

Address: 556 Fuzhou Road

Telephone: 021-63222624

Hours of operation: 11:00-14:00

17:00-21:00