Shao Shines Bright With Dry Noodles and Wuxi-Style Dishes at Upgraded Topwin Location

Every eatery deserves a chance to shine, and today, it’s Shao Restaurant. If you're a fan of the small eatery in the World Financial Centre in the CBD, you might be surprised to see that that forever-packed, 10-table, fast-food style restaurant with the greasy floor has opened a more polished sister branch on the second floor of Sanlitun's Topwin Center.

This newer, spiffier Shao stands apart from its humble CBD sister thanks to its lively retro vibe – there's a phonograph at the entrance, dark wooden tables, emerald-colored chairs and walls, and old-style posters and decorations hanging on the wall that bring you back to the heyday when Shanghai was fondly known as the "Paris of the East."

As for the menu, there’s no lunch set like the one that made the CBD original such a magnet for hungry worker bees. However, this Sanlitun location has more choices of cold appetizers, such as dried tofu with malantou, pickled lotus, and pickled vegetables with beans.

We particularly recommend their signature noodles with crab sauce (RMB 39), which is packed with dry and springy noodles, seasoned with scallion oil, and come with a small plate of crab sauce, as well as a soup on the side. Pour the delicious sauce onto the noodles and stir them evenly before being overtaken by the incredibly rich, sweet, and buttery crab roe, making it a suitably nourishing dish to ward off winter chills.

READ: Get the Traditional and Authentic Taste of Old Shanghai at Wulixiang

If you are looking for an alternative, the meatball soup noodles (RMB 27) are also good, the meatballs wrapped in a thin layer of tofu skin and cooked in a Wuxi style that is full of sweetness and savory flavor thanks to the extra dose of sugar and soy sauce. The xiǎolóngbāo (RMB 30 for four) are also a must-try for their warm and soupy filling. You can also add RMB 2 for boiled vegetables if you're concerned about healthy eating.

Shao Restaurant is not as fancy or high-end as Wulixiang, the posh Shanghai-style restaurant in Sanlitun. Instead, it's a humble restaurant that hits a sweet spot with its more modern concept as well as proves a deft hand at dishing up soothing noodle-based fare.

READ: Time-Honored Shanghai Family-Style Restaurant Meiweizhai Reopens on Niujie

Shao Restaurant
Daily 10am-10pm. 2/F, Topwin Center, Gongti Beilu, Chaoyang District (152 2696 6075)
朝阳区工人体育场北路三里屯通盈中心2层

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Photos: Tracy Wang, Dianping