Fu Chun, Shanghai

Reviewer: Foodnut.com Fu Chun 650 Yuyuan Lu, near Zhenning Lu Shanghai, China +86 21 6252 5117

Why did we dine here? – Fu Chun is well known as one of the most authentic Xiao long Bao restaurants in Shanghai. They have been in existence for many decades. They have many locations around the city, (10 stores, mostly in shopping centers) we chose the one that was the closest to our hotel near People’s Square. Note: this location is slated to close as a new high end shopping center is displacing it. More progress.

Note that there are several dim sum items displayed in the case near the front of the restaurant that are microwaved. We would try to avoid these.

Insider Tip – Avoid rush hour to beat the crowds

Cuisine – Shanghai Chinese
Location – Shanghai, China

Service – At Fu Chun you place your order and pay at the front counter, then sit down. We did not see an English menu. The food comes out fairly fast.
Verdict – Our goal at Fu Chun was to understand what real Xiao long Bao is. Most of the places these days are really serving nanjing tang bao. This restaurant is extremely cheap and a nice way to sample what the locals eat.

Is this restaurant worth a 5 minute drive? Yes. 30 minute? Maybe. 1 Hour? Maybe.

Fu Chun Signature Dishes – Xiao long Bao

Fu Chun’s Menu is not extensive. There are dim sum items, larger entrees, lots of typical Shanghai dishes. Prices are extremely inexpensive. No english!

Fu Chun Food Picks:

Xiao Long Bao (8 for 6) these are what we flew half way around the world for. You can clearly see that they are not as small and delicate as the ones at Din Tai Fung. A lot more wrapper. Very hot broth with bold, tasty flavors. A huge meatball with also a lot of flavor. Less sweet and a tall doughy top when compared to other places. These are cooked after you order.

This is the real deal. We cannot say that these are better or worse than the other places we’ve been, all we can say is that we now understand what authentic XLB are. Any card-carrying foodie should visit this restaurant.

Pork Clay Pot Rice (12) This dish is a favorite of ours. Little Shanghai in San Mateo does a great job on this. We want to see what the real deal tasted like. Fu Chun’s version has lots of flavor, is a bit greasy, but all in all very good. Lots of chopped veggies as well as large chunks of salty pork.

Pumpkin Cake (2) was excellent, it was rough and pan fried. Good shit.

OK: (Order if you like this dish)

Egg Tart – it seems like they nuked this, small, ok.

Pans: (We would not reorder these dishes)
Date pudding – messy, sticky, naked in flavor.

Do you agree with our review? Have you found other similar restaurants that are better?

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