After Seemou Seeker's first trip to Selfie Coffee Cafe, we decided to try something at the other end of the spectrum and ended up at Old Shanghai.
Compared to the Selfie Coffee that was something completely new, Old Shanghai serves more traditional Shanghainese food. There was even an antique bicycle displayed outside the restaurant.
Old Shanghai is a part of Chime Heritage, a row of shophouses that have been mostly converted to eateries behind Penang Plaza.
Upon stepping into Old Shanghai, the restaurant, that is, one could see that it was a simple yet nice enough place. It was also air-conditioned which made it a good place to escape the mid-day heat.
There were several black-and-white photos of Shanghai hung on the wall.
I had to take a second look as many of the buildings resembled European heritage buildings. However, after some clarification, I learnt that Shanghai was similar to Penang in a way that it has many leftover European colonial buildings.
Wow, we're always learning something new, aren't we?
Their specialties.
I didn't order any noodles for myself, but the other two Seemou Seekers did.
This was just too cute to pass up!
Little glutinous rice mice filled with red bean paste. Also known as lao shu ai da mi in Mandarin, probably after that popular song. (Mouse Love Rice, RM 12)
The eyes and ears were edible as well, the eyes being some sort of bean and the ears were made with some seed.
And after biting off a poor mouse's head to reveal the red bean paste...
The good thing was that it wasn't too sweet, however I felt like it lacked... a certain flavour. It was probably the nature of the glutinous rice, however, I believe that this is one of those sort of food that are more fascinating to try for the first time.
On the other hand, the xiao long bao (Shanghai Steamed Stuffed Buns, RM 15) scored in the flavour-aspect.
Being the top Shanghai food one can't live without on TravelCNN, there was no doubt that we had to order and try this dish. Not having been to Shanghai myself, I don't really have a benchmark to compare, but do I think their xiao long baos did pretty well.
When I reached my chopsticks out to pick one, I hadn't expect it to be so soft. I half-expected the skin to break anytime and was extra careful when bringing it over to my bowl. To my surprise, it held up very well...until my teeth sunk into it, that is. :P
The meat inside was tender and tasty. It also had plenty of gravy, which I then learnt after it all spilled into my bowl that I had eaten it the wrong way.
 |
| Massive fail, haha |
One of the cooks came out and spoke to us for a while, asking us if we liked the food. He then told us the right way to eat xiao long baos.
Apparently, I had to prick a small hole and drink the gravy before it all leaks out. When we asked if that would burn our tongue, the chef said no, that the little hole would be enough for the steam to escape.
I had not only learnt that there were British Colonial buildings in Shanghai that day, but the proper way to eat these little dumplings as well!
I would have to say that these were my favourite that day.
Shanghai Fried Stuffed Buns, RM 12. It may be because I like my biscuits and crunchy stuff that made my tastebuds endorse this, but I like how it had a different texture from the rest.
The top of the bun was soft like the others, however it was the fried bit that made this special. Also, I'd thought that this was unique like the mice dumplings, however with a little googling, I discovered that it is also Top Snacking Options in Shanghai!
Its insides were basically the same as the xiao long bao.
I tried a mouthful of this and it wasn't too bad. (Scallion Noodles, RM 6)
All in all, I would say that Old Shanghai is worth a try if you like Chinese food. Their food is also quite reasonably priced, considering the environment. Like I said, it was nice to escape the blistering heat outside.
It's also nice to know that one can try Shanghainese food in Penang.
Written & photos by
v, Seemou Seekers
More food (and non-food related) adventures to come!
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Old Shanghai
No. 15 Chime Heritage,
Jalan Bawasah,
Penang
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