Noodle soup is a delicious culinary staple in many cultures, but few do it better than the East and Southeast Asians. From spicy Sichuanese to fragrant Thai, Shanghai’s noodle bars will make an addict out of you in no time. Here are 10 of the best.
This trendy ramen shop in the heart of town offers three different kinds of soup: white, which is pork bone based; black, which is soy based; and yellow, which is curry based. They also sell drinks and a selection of other Japanese foods like fried chicken and miso garlic pickles.
Liu Dao Men offers Sichuanese-style noodle soups, but whereas most Sichuan foods overwhelm with spice, Liu Dao Men’s have a nuance of flavor that makes this restaurant worth your time. The most expensive thing (and one of the best) on the menu is the Tibetan stone-pot chicken soup, which must be ordered two days in advance.
Boat noodles are a Thai dish traditionally sold on boats to merchants crossing one of Thailand’s many canals. The dish is spicy and flavorful, and there’s no better, or cheaper, way to get Thai food in Shanghai. Other dishes, like papaya salad and cuttlefish, are available as well.
Although there are only eight menu items at Bao Bei Noodle Bar, it can be hard to know what to order when everything looks so good. The Sichuanese-style noodle dishes are made with only the finest quality ingredients without any unnecessary frills. The atmosphere is clean and bright, the perfect place for a quick meal.
Located in Shanghai’s Gubei area, which is home to many Korean and Japanese expats, is authentic tonkotsu ramen shop Ji Zhou. The ramen is minimalistic, made with just five ingredients: layered pork broth, alkaline noodles, house made charshou, beansprouts, and scallions. Plus, if you can brave the crowd of intoxicated Japanese businessmen, this place is great for a late night bite.
You Jian is the highest rated noodle bar on Chinese Yelp copycat Dianping. It serves very Chinese flavors like pig gut and peas, pork muscle, pickled vegetable beef, and bamboo chicken noodles. This is the kind of food that will make you fall in love with the weirder side of Chinese cuisine. But be careful: there’s not going back.
King Kong Dumpling and Noodles was named a 2016 Shanghai Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand restaurant, meaning that it didn’t quite make the cut for a star, but it’s a notable economical option. The portion sizes are huge and the noodles are deliciously spicy. If you go for lunch, be prepared to brave the lines. This place has its fans.
Another cheap and delicious option for noodles in Shanghai is Yue Peng Mian Dang. This noodle shop in Pudong offers incredible simple noodle soups and noodle dishes. Culture Trip recommends the shrimp noodle soup or the Shanghai-style noodles, which are fried in a sweet soy sauce.
Pho Real is, for real, one of the best pho joints in Shanghai. Specializing in its namesake noodle soup, the Vietnamese chain also offers other classic Viet staples like spring rolls and cold vermicelli with chicken. This particular branch, located on the always busy French Concession street Fumin Rd, is the most popular.
This noodle bar is worth going all the way out to outer district Songjiang for. Sure, it is a chain found throughout Shanghai, but the noodles are just better here. The Chinese-style noodle soups are high quality but simple and one of the cheapest options on the list. Why would you not try it?