Yuxingji Crab Roe Noodle House The Bund 裕興記麵館 外灘店 (Shanghai, CHINA) ★★★★☆

After a quick and efficient check-in at the hotel, we finally got the chance to take our long-awaited walk towards the Bund. As little nugget kept reminding us that we haven’t had dinner yet, I had no choice but not to lead the team to my preferred destination for tonight’s supper.

Yuxingji Crab Roe Noodle House (裕興記麵館) is a renowned eatery in Shanghai specializing in authentic Suzhou-style crab noodles (蟹黃麵). It is highly popular among locals and tourists for its rich, traditional flavors.

Situated in a prime location on Sichuan Middle Road, just a short walk from the Nanjing Road Pedestrian Street and The Bund, Yuxingji is best known for using hand-picked crab meat and roe, ensuring a satisfying, "umami-bomb" experience.

By the time we arrived, it was dinner hour, so it came with little surprise that we ran into a modest lineup (around 20 people) outside the noodle house. As expected, the wait ended up being over 30 minutes.

Sautéed pig’s kidney (生炒花腰) (¥28) — The pig’s kidney was nicely tender and it worked well with the thick and flavorful gravy.

Stir-fried freshwater shrimp (手剝蝦仁) (¥40) — Very tiny in size. Not sure how they managed to remove the shells with their hands. 

Poached choy sum (白灼菜心) (¥22) — Surprisingly long pieces. I didn't think it was the same variety as the late-flowering Chinese Cabbage (高腳菜心) we've been enjoying in Shenzhen.

Pure crab roe xiao long bao (純蟹黃蟹粉小籠包) (¥88) — I love thin-skinned xiao long bao that bursts with flavorful soup but these meatless versions with just crab roe and soup could never quite satisfy my craving for the “real” xiao long bao. To me, you really need the pork to complement the sweetness of the soup. That’s my take.

Jumbo crab roe dumpling (金牌蟹黃大湯包) (¥68) — This was mainly for little nugget’s social media account.

Unlike the previous xiao long bao, this dumpling had a much thicker skin to hold all the soup and crab roe. It was reportedly pretty tasty but definitely not my cup of tea.

Signature crab roes noodles (招牌蟹黃麵) (¥118) — A recipe from this century-old noodle house that originated in Suzhou and it certainly didn’t disappoint.

Our server quickly pointed out a very important tip when he delivered our noodles. Pour the crab roes sauce over the noodles and mix everything together quickly so the noodles don't stick together. Interestingly, we were not asked to add any vinegar to the mix like most crab roe noodle houses would instruct us to.

As instructed, generous portions of golden roe were poured over the thin and firm noodles. And I never stopped stirring the noodles with my chopsticks. Not until they were firmly clinging to the sauce.

This was so delicious. The noodles were firm to the bite and the umami-rich sauce brought the dough to life. I thought this tasted genuinely better than what we had at Xie Man Lou Crab Roes Noodles (蟹滿樓 蟹黄面) before.

My team was thrilled with the bright start in Shanghai tonight. To make the evening even more memorable, we were heading to the Bund right after dinner. It’s little nugget’s first-ever Bund visit. Let’s see if he gets totally blown away (but first, we have to beat the crowd). 

Food Rating: 6.7/10

Price: ¥¥¥

Address: 410 Sichuan Middle Road (near Nanjing Road Pedestrian Street intersection), Huangpu District, Shanghai, China

上海市黄浦区四川中路410号南京路步行街路口50米

Closest Metro Station: East Nanjing Road (南京东路)

Tel: +86 (021) 6888-6981

Opening Hours: 10:00am - 11:00pm daily

Map: https://j.map.baidu.com/de/wQhM