Having a Crabby Feast at Shanghai's Xie Wang Fu (成隆行蟹王府)

Chen Long Hang Xie Wang Fu (成隆行蟹王府) is one of Shanghai's popular restaurants famous for its crab dishes, especially hairy crabs during the autumn season. 

Last year, when I went to the restaurant without reservations, I was turned away. The receptionist said, "No reservation, No table." This year, I made sure that reservations was made in advance. Booked two days prior, we finally had a table. 

The interior was decorated as if one was back in the ancient city era where the restaurant (客站) had a very nice feel. There were two musicians on stage - one was playing a zither and the other a erhu. It was beautiful and the dining experience was memorable.

We ordered many dishes in small serving so that we can try the different ways of cooking crab from steamed to pan-fried to savoury and so on.

The interior was decorated like in ancient China.

Crabmeat with Shark Fins (王府蟹肉翅) was amazing. Unlike the regular shark fin soup, this is unique and I love to have this again. (Food rating: 4.5/5)

The steamed crab pincers over steamed egg (清蒸蟹钳) was priced at RMB126 per one serving. The egg was like silken tofu and the crab pincers were freshly steamed. The portion looked small but it was just right. (Food rating: 4.5/5)

Crabmeat Tofu (蟹粉豆腐) was amazing. It was the first time I had this dish and I enjoyed this immensely. The tofu was very soft and crab meat gravy was curry-like. (Food rating: 4.5/5)

The lionhead meatball (四季蟹粉狮子头) mixed with pork and crab meat was a simple dish. The crab meat sauce was drizzled over the tender pork meat ball. The pork was very minced to perfection that it was soft and melted into the mouth. Together, they became a formidable combination. (Food rating: 5/5)

Crabmeat in Orange (蟹粉酿橙) was refreshing. More importantly, it is very addictive. I could not stop eating it until everything was gone. (Food rating: 5/5)

The Sauteed Crab Meat (清炒蟹粉) was amazing. Cooked together with crab coe, the crab meat was not served miserably but chunks. Priced at RMB158, it was a serving for one.

Crab Roe with Glass Flat Noodles (蟹膏银皮) was extremely rich. The glass flat noodles were very chewy. The crab roe has a beautiful golden yellow colour and the thick roe gravy needs time to savour and appreciate. (Food rating: 4.5/5)

Savoury Crab meat and roe over rice (禿黄油捞饭) is similar to Chirashi (Sashimi over rice bowl). Instead of sashimi, the crab meat and roe mixed with the chewy rice was awesome. The taste was rich but not queasy. This was one of my favourites. (Food rating: 5/5)

Crab meat (蟹粉小笼包) and Crab Roe Dumplings (活拆蟹黄小笼包) were beautiful. The dumpling master had superb skills where the dumpling was thin, yet chewy. The crab meat with rich broth was light yet flavourful. You can just eat it on its own. Food rating: 4.5/5

Tomato Thick Soup (番茄酸汤花胶羹). This is the best tomato soup I have ever eaten. It was savoury and sweet at the same time. Like Hot & Sour Soup, you will find fungus, and other ingredients in the awesome soup. (Food rating: 5/5)

 

Address: 上海市黄浦区九江路216号(河南中路口)
Price: $$
Rating: 5/5
Ambience: I love the interiors as if I've returned to ancient China. The service was great and the servers were very attentive and know their stuff very well.  The overall experience was marvellous.
Recommendation dishes: To be frank, all of them are recommended. They were very delicious and I will come back for more.