to eat some really amazing food

and today, we're gonna be trying out

five completely different restaurants

that really capture the spirit of Shanghai.

From more local, casual Shanghainese fare

to some fancy dining.

Let's eat!

So, this is Jianguo 328

it's a small popular Shanghainese restaurant

that's named after its location.

And they make some pretty darn tasty dishes.

Alright, so we got one of the most

iconic Shanghainese dishes

this is Hong Shao Rou

braised pork with chestnut and quail egg

Let's try it.

So I've got all three things in my mouth right now

the egg, the meat, chestnut

Goes so well together

With the sauce, I just think it would go amazing

with a bowl of rice.

Can I get some rice over here?

So this is Scallion Oil Noodles

It's got 3 ingredients

obviously the scallion oil,

we got spring onion, some dried scampi

and you can have this anytime of day

you know, breakfast, lunch, dinner.

Let's try it!

No joke this is really good

So simple, yet so delicious

This will definitely fill me up.

Daimon is located on the famous Bund

this place is really cool

it looks like Hong Kong from the 80s

with the neon signs

we got Hong Kong money coaster

they also serve up some reinvented Canto classics

and I'm from Hong Kong myself, born and raised

so let's see if the food lives up to my expectations.

Alright, so I got some pretty interesting Xiao Long Baos

here with flavors I've never seen on any menu

I'm gonna go for the most interesting looking one

Let's try this chili crab

The spiciness is starting to come.

It's really different, obviously

from the traditional Xiao Long Bao

but it still has that very soft meat

It's my first time eating a spicy Xiao Long Bao

I've been eating Xiao Long Bao my whole life

It goes really well together.

Alright, so now, we've got this Cha Siu Bao

It's like a barbecue pork bun but inside a pineapple bun.

Which is like a sweet bun with barbecue meat inside.

Mmmm!

Oh there's so much meat in there

I feel like I am eating half dessert and half savory

No, it's really good!

Oh, thank you.

So this is the clay pot rice, very Hong Kong.

And uh, instead of maybe chicken feet or the usual pork

we got ham, Spanish ham and got a egg yolk

and he just poured in some lard as well as soy sauce

So, gonna mix it all up and see how it tastes.

Let's try it.

As you all know, I'm a rice lover.

It goes really well together

especially with soy sauce, and bit of the fat.

Although clay pot rice is also known for being really

kind of burnt and crispy on the side

because it's cooked in a clay pot.

This one lacks that quality

but it's still a little crispy on the side, delicious.

This is Jia Jia Tang Bao.

One of the best places if not the best place

apparently to have Xiao Long Bao in Shanghai.

They specialize in pork and crab Xiao Long Bao.

These are a bit trickier than your average dumplings.

What you do, you dip it in the vinegar sauce

you bite the side, drink the soup

and then eat the whole thing.

Alright, so we got this pork and crab

and look at the color!

You can just see the crab dominating this dumpling.

You can feel like a powdery kind of crab

because in Chinese, it is crab powder.

It feels very seafoody, and you kinda lose the pork in it.

But this one is a perfect balance.

Alright now, we got the pure crab dumplings

these massive, massive dumplings.

Wow, this is full on, so much soup.

Each dumpling is like a bowl of soup in itself.

I'm literally just drinking soup.

These were all so amazing

gonna have one more, then uh, onto the next place.

So, Hakkasan serves Cantonese food with a Michelin star.

And this one looks pretty familiar.

It looks like a Har Gow

which is a traditional Cantonese shrimp dumpling

expect this one's got lily bulb inside

and it obviously looks a little bit fancier.

Let's try it.

This one really reminds me of home.

The shrimp is so fresh, you know

it's still crunchy to your mouth

and this sauce is honestly

my recommendation for any dim sum.

Next, we got a pretty interesting dish

it's like a fun-size Peking duck pancake

pancake, the cucumber, scallions, sauce, Peking duck

but this one is topped with some extravagant caviar.

What's coming out the most flavor-wise

would be the caviar

the saltiness kinda takes over, but in a good way.

Normally when you have Peking duck you taste

the sweetness of the sauce that kinda overpowers things

but this one's got a nice balance with the meat

and the caviar.

Really interesting!

Okay so this is pretty cool, this is a chicken dish,

and they just pump some smoke in there,

it's been smoked in jasmine tea leaves, so

Let's open it.

Ooo, that's really cool!

The leaf smells really strong.

The look of it really reminds me of zaa zi gai from home.

Let's see if it tastes similar.

Whoa!

It's got such a strong, smokey flavor.

I've never had any chicken that tastes like this before.

You should definitely try this one.

I'm gonna go for more.

So we're at super-hip Xin Tian Di

and this is XiXi Bistro

where they do a pretty unique combination of

Italian and Chinese food.

It's all pretty new to me

So, let's try it and find out if it's weird or if it works.

Okay, so I am really excited to try this one

because it's got rice on it

although, that's not the type of rice I am used to.

This is crispy rice on top of some Ma Po Tofu

But instead of having meat with the Ma Po Tofu

like the traditional way, it's just tofu.

Hope it's not too spicy.

Let's go for it.

You know what?

It's surprisingly really good.

I'm not getting any feel like a rice crispy feel.

It just feels more like a crispy tofu

It's quite spicy, but it works really well together.

So next we got this

Hong Shao Rou terrine sushi box, bento box.

Let's try it.

Love it.

This is really weird, like a good weird

like a mix of I feel like

Japanese, Chinese, French, Italian.

I just love simple rice combinations.

It works so well together, it's a really fun dish.

Okay so I have probably eaten better in this video

than in my entire life.

I've spent the entire week visiting

different types of restaurants.

If I had to choose my favorite though

not being biased here

but Daimon would be my pick.

I mean you go in, you see the Hong Kong neon signs

they have such thoughtful decor

you think it's a traditional type of Hong Kong styled food

but it's actually got surprise elements to each one

to keep you on your toes.

So, I will definitely go back for that clay pot rice.

Okay, I think I am done eating

gonna go get a drink at the Bund

so see you all later!