Shanghai Michelin Restaurants… Overrated or Amazing?

We're finally back in China and we're in Shanghai. What a beautiful city, right? But in this episode, we will be taking you on a food adventure to explore Shanghai's local specialties. From the rich Hong Shao Rou to their famous Xiaolongbao, let's see what the hype is all about. But first things first, I need my favorite milk tea. Finally! Okay, so the reason why I love tea so much is I feel I've tried a lot of the different milk tea now in China and I just have to say this one is just my favorite. I have missed you. Since my wife is from Sichuan, our first meal had to be a hometown flavor. All right, food has arrived. I like the look of it. It looks amazing. This is like so Sichuan, because I'm Sichuan by the way, so all the spice just make me already happy. Feels like home. Yes, yes. But not long after digging in, we very quickly realized that this grilled fish was definitely spicier than usual. The spice kicks in quite immediately. Maybe we've just been away for so long. No, no, no. I can guarantee as a Sichuan, this is spicy and you really taste the Sichuan peppercorn immediately. This numbing effect on your tongue. But I thought you said in Shanghai they cannot really handle spice. Yeah, but nowadays, you know, Sichuan cuisine has become so popular, so it's everywhere in China. For sure 20 years ago when I was studying here, it was so hard to find something like this, but now it's like so easy. I mean good for kids nowadays. But apparently, it is so spicy that even the Sichuan here needs to remove the spice. But of course, when in Shanghai, the next step has to be exploring its own unique flavors. And what better way to do that than by trying a few Michelin-rated restaurants. First up, Renheguan, a really cute place that makes you feel like you step straight into the 1920s. But just a heads up, you can't make a reservation here, so be prepared to wait. We're finally seated. Like what's the time right now? Oh my god, it's exactly 8 p.m. It literally took us almost two hours to be seated. And we just ordered and they told us the waiting time will be another half an hour until the food is on the table. Let's see if it's that case. This better be worth the wait. Luckily, the food showed up sooner than we expected. So food finally arrived and we ordered six dishes in total. Xiefen laofan, niangou hongshaorou, xiaolongbao, shengjian, just a plate of veggie. Let's dig in the first Xiefen laofan, their most famous dish. Okay, so I can appreciate it. I am not really a seafood person, but even for a not seafood person, this is tasty. I do get why it's popular. My turn. I get why your reaction is not like that, because I am very much a seafood person. For like crabs, shrimps, any sort of seafood, I love them. But I have to say I'm not so impressed. Next up, the hongshaorou. Oh, this one I really like. Okay, this is way more to my liking. It's super tender and the sweetness in there with the saltiness from the meat. Definitely approved from my side. Now let's see what's the expert's opinion. This is the type I really, really like. This really reminds me of like the good hongshaorou back when I live in Shanghai. The balance between the sweet and salty is very, very good. And the fat part, you don't taste fat at all. It just melts directly. Time for the xiaolongbao. I'm very interested to see how this is, because back in Germany, we actually buy the frozen ones and eat them quite often. Let's first give it a little bit of a dip. Oh, it's all your jacket running. Oh no. Oh no. You know the way to eat is you use a spoon to hold it, so the soup won't go out. Oops, sorry. So use your soup, the spoon. Use the spoon to hold it. This is such a mess, I do. But really, really good. Okay, so this is the true xiaolongbao that you can have. Your turn to taste, because as long as you've lived here, you know how it should be tasting. So I'm interested to see how your rating is going to be. But for me, it's very, very good. I taste immediately, like I said, there's a sesame taste, very strong. Their soup is a little bit on the savory side, so adding the vinegar will balance it out. So I would say this xiaolongbao is really, really good, especially I haven't been Shanghai for years, and this is one of my most favorite breakfast choices. Next up, shengjian. Oh, that's so cute. This is also something, it might have soup inside, it might have not, depends on the style. So I would also recommend you have one bite and see if there's soup or not. But this one cannot even be in the spoon. Maybe use the plate to help you instead. Yes, being a bit more prepared this time. Very good combo, this I really like. Because of the down part, you see maybe there's sesame here as well, so it becomes crunchy together with the softness on the top part. I like this one better than the xiaolongbao. Yeah, me too. Are we gonna be fighting over the last one? I'm gonna give it to you, honey. To show my love. Oh, baby. One thing also in China that I've really gotten to love is that you have so many different green vegetables, and you make it in all sorts of ways. As a Danish person growing up, the variety is minimal. I cannot say how much I'm enjoying the food and the veggies here. Now it's actually becoming something I want to have every time. A hundred percent agree with what my wife said. We're just talking about to make more like straightforward for everyone to understand. We want to give it like five different rating scale. Ambience is definitely on point. Five out of five stars. Waiting time, that was not good. That's one star for me. I really hate that I have to wait for two hours. The service, however, they are very attentive. So that's for sure service top-notch. How did you feel about the pricing, honey? Three out of five stars. Our total sum up to 327. And in Germany, 40 euros. It's actually cheap. For Shanghai, I think that's fine. Last one, but not least, the flavor. I'm Sichuan, so I consider food one of the most important aspects in my life. And I'm very picky on food because I'm Sichuan. And one big reason I left Shanghai back then is the food here is really not to my appetite. It's like, uh, maybe two. I'm so sorry. But I do have to agree with you. I did find gems, but would I need to absolutely come here again? I don't think so. I probably would be a bit more generous and say three. So that concludes today's adventure and food adventure here. So let's see what will happen tomorrow. All right. So we have arrived at Lai Lai Xiaolong. So there's a very famous spot for menu has arrived as well. It's very efficient. So let's have a look and see what we can get. This place wastes no time. The food was on the table before we were even seated, starting out with their famous Xiaolongbao. I have to say, because I tried the other one yesterday, I actually prefer that one to this one. Interesting, because you know, they are specialized in Xiaolongbao. This is what they are Michelin for. The other place is not. I don't think there's something more special than the normal Xiaolongbao you can have, maybe just in your auntie's home. It's just, it's so fun. But I have to say what they are famous for is the one with the crab meat. But because my wife is not so into crab, so we didn't order that one. Hey. So come and try for yourself. But I mean, this one is not bad. The dark blood soup also didn't hit the spot. So we started to worry that none of the food here would be to our liking. Then it was time to try the fried pork. Oh, this is good though. It's super tender. And the meat is really juicy. Oh my god. I love this one. This one is 5 out of 5 for me. Who would have guessed in a Xiaolongbao restaurant who has a Michelin star or Michelin guide on the Xiaolongbao, I find this one the best. The inner part is so soft and juicy, but the outside is just the right amount of crunchiness. Needless to say, we had a clear winner. So rating time. Ambience. Honestly, it's just one star for me. It's a very in and out place. Waiting time, however, with the queue that was there, I was like, we're going to be waiting so long again. But yeah, especially after last time waiting for two hours. Yeah, but this queue went like just 10 minutes. Yeah, so it's four stars for me. And then the service. This type of place don't expect service, but I think they're still being very nice. Let's just say three, because there was nothing bad, but also not expected to be good there. Pricing. So the price is for sure a little bit up. I think maybe like three stars for me. We didn't try the crab one, we tried the pork one that was 25 RMB, and I saw on the menu the crab one is 85 RMB. For sure, it's not on the cheap side, but I wouldn't call it super expensive either. And last but not least, the flavor. I think I have to, I think it will also end up being like a three there because most of the things I wasn't so impressed with, it was only the pork thing. Yeah, the most funny thing is the fried pork, which is not the reason for the Michelin star, by the way. Yeah, but I love that one. Yeah, that one was very flavorful. I do recommend if you want to try the xiaolongbao, just order the fried pork. They also have fried chicken. I would assume it would also be very tasty. I would imagine. And that wraps up our Shanghai food adventure, but it isn't over yet. Follow us next time as we explore the city itself. Until then, stay curious, stay kind.