Su Xiao Cai Crab Maw Noodles Wulin Night Market 蘇小蟹·蟹黃麵 武林夜市店 (Hangzhou, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

Right around the time when I was about to depart from Xiaohe Zhijie (小河直街), I got a ping from one of my colleagues asking if I wanted to join them for a hairy crab feast. I have to admit, I’ve never been a fan of hairy crab but leaving Hangzhou without trying any would have been a huge disappointment. So, without a second thought, I said yes!

Apparently, my colleagues had already arrived at Wulin Night Market (武林夜市) and picked out a place called Su Xiao Cai Crab Maw Noodles (蘇小蟹·蟹黃麵).

Jiangnan crab roe noodle (江南蟹黃麵) (¥98) — According to social media, this is Su Xiao Cai’s bestseller. One of the most eye-catching features of the dish was the “tic-tac-toe board” (九宮格), with separate little "compartments" for crab meat, crab roe, and seasonal accompaniments such as cherry tomato, peach, peanuts, wood ear mushrooms, and pickled cucumber.

The key, of course, was to add the crab meat and roe while the slightly sticky noodles were still warm, then mix everything together. It was pretty tasty and, to me, well worth the price of a signature dish. That said, there are plenty of crab roe noodle restaurants across China—including some close to home in Shenzhen—so why make a point of trying them in Hangzhou?

The key, of course, was to add the crab meat and roe while the slightly sticky noodles were still warm, then mix everything well together. This was pretty tasty and, to me, well worth the price of a signature dish. That said, there are plenty of crab roe noodle restaurants across China including some close to home in Shenzhen — so why make a point of trying them in Hangzhou?

Steamed hairy Crab (大閘蟹) (¥45) — For me, this was the main event. I arrived late so didn't really bother to ask whether it's male or female crab, before digging in. Even as someone who isn’t usually a fan, I thought the roe was pretty good. At that price, it was hard not to appreciate the value.

Xiao long bao (手工蟹黃小籠包) (¥29) — These took the full 15 minutes listed on the menu to arrive. Unfortunately, despite having a relatively thick wrapper, they broke easily, sending the delicious broth spilling everywhere. To make matters worse, the meat had far too many tendons, and that's never good.

It was nice to finally cross hairy crab off my to-do list. By then, it was almost 10pm. Perhaps I should skip my FaceTime call with little nugget and go straight to bed.

Food Rating: 5.3/10

Price: ¥¥¥

Address: 2/F, No. 167 Wulin Road, Wulin Subdistrict, Gongshu District, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China 

浙江省杭州市拱墅區武林街道武林路167號二樓

Tel: +86 17328870336

Opening Hours: 10:00am - 12:00am daily

Map: https://j.map.baidu.com/c8/H-NM

Royji Nishimura 西村良集 (Hangzhou, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

Continuing my journey through Xiaohe Historic Cultural District (Xiaohe Zhijie 小河直街), a preserved waterside neighborhood along the Beijing–Hangzhou Grand Canal, I took a series of staircases beneath a bridge and eventually reached a street lined with cafés and restaurants.

This part of the historic district retains the traditional layout of a late-Qing and early-Republic canal town, with white-walled, dark-tiled two-story houses, shops on the ground floor, and residences above. It was a shame it was too dark to take any meaningful photos.

I headed straight to Royji Nishimura (西村良集), a Basque cheesecake specialist known for its innovative takes on the Spanish burnt cheesecake.

Original Basque cheesecake — Judging by the Japanese name, I was expecting some kind of Japanese twist. The first thing I noticed was that the texture was a little more custardy than I’d prefer. It was still reasonably soft and fluffy, but the cheese flavor didn’t really stand out.

Pistachio Basque cheesecake — While the texture remained slightly custardy, this was much than the original flavor in the sense that there was the rich pistachio nuttiness to complement the light cheesiness. Not bad.

The texture was again slightly custardy, but this was much better than the original flavor with the rich pistachio nuttiness complementing the light cheesiness nicely. Not bad.

I was hoping to try the salted egg yolk and pork floss flavored cheesecake tonight, but unfortunately, it was all sold out. The staff member was very friendly and told me about a bargain deal on Dianping (大眾點評) — two slices for ¥27.9, with a choice of seven selected flavors. Great deal!

Food Rating: 5.4/10

Price: ¥

Address: No. 46 Xiaohe Road, Xiaohe Subdistrict, Gongshu District, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China 

浙江省杭州市拱墅区小河街道小河路46号

Tel: +86 19526218584

Opening Hours: 10:00am - 10:00pm daily

Map: https://j.map.baidu.com/26/HMNM

Sette Gelato (Hangzhou, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

After our group dinner, we spent some time wandering around the area near the Grand Canal of China (中國大運河). There were a handful of interesting shops along the streets, but eventually I decided to explore on my own.

My exploration took me to Xiaohe Zhijie (小河直街), a charming historic neighborhood along the canal in Hangzhou. The neighborhood sits at the junction of the Grand Canal, Xiaohe River, and Yuhangtang River, and the view was spectacular, especially under the illuminated lights.

AMap estimated the walk would take around 25 minutes, but I just didn’t believe it. How could a straight walk south along the Grand Canal take so long? As it turned out, it took me about half an hour to reach Xiaohe Zhijie’s canal-side quarter, home to trendy coffee shops, traditional teahouses, creative studios, and craft workshops.

I headed straight for Sette Gelato, an artisanal gelateria that had come highly recommended on social media.

Like most artisanal gelato shops, Sette offered only a small number of flavors, made in small batches. Tonight, there were six gelato flavors and five sorbets on the menu.

The building that housed the gelato shop had pitched roofs covered in small, overlapping dark gray tiles. It looked like a restored traditional structure, but it was too dark to tell for sure.

I went with a mix of persimmon and wasabi (柿子山葵) and Jiuqu Jin Gui (九曲金桂), hoping for a balance of fruity and tea flavors.

Persimmon and wasabi (柿子山葵) — The fruity persimmon paired nicely with the earthy, herbal notes of fresh wasabi. Shredded persimmon compote in the middle added a little more texture and flavor. Good thing that it wasn’t overly sweet too. Not bad.

Jiuqu golden osmanthus (九曲金桂) — I expected this gelato, made with Hangzhou’s traditional scented black tea, to have a lovely fragrance and more importantly, to contrast sharply with the fruity persimmon. It fell well short of my expectations, though, as the tea flavor was very much muted.

I still have another dessert place to visit at Xiaohe Zhijie. Hopefully, it won't take another 30 minutes to walk there.

Food Rating: 5.2/10

Price: ¥¥¥

Address: No. 149-5, Hushu North Road, Gongchenqiao Subdistrict, Gongshu District, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China 

浙江省杭州市拱墅区拱宸桥街道湖墅北路149-5号

Tel: +86 13336047022

Opening Hours: 11:30am - 8:30pm (Mon - Thu), 11:30am - 9:00pm (Fri - Sun)

Map: https://j.map.baidu.com/eb/vILM