I was looking forward to a good, filling breakfast to start the day with and decided on Shanghai Restaurant on Riccarton Road, Christchurch (by the way, one time I also had a good breakfast buffet at The George Hotel Christchurch during my visit here). The street is full of restaurants (this includes the Ancestral Restaurant at 35 Riccarton Road).
So choosing just one can be quite a challenge. But I was in the mood for some Chinese food and Shanghai Restaurant’s bright colors and neat exterior drew me in.
Breakfast at Shanghai Restaurant, Riccarton Road Christchurch: A Taste of Authentic Chinese Food
The most homely and simple looking restaurants often have the best food, which taste like it’s straight from a grandma’s kitchen! And Shanghai Restaurant looked just like one of those family style places.
It was a small restaurant. There were a limited number of tables and booths but it wasn’t too crowded at the time that I went in. The staff quickly seated me at a cozy table near the window. They were friendly and quick with the service and I was sure that things would get busy before long. The staff was very professional and the place was very clean and well-kept. I was certain that the little spot was quite popular.
The food, when it came out, had the taste of home to it. I knew that the restaurant owner was from Shanghai. The authentic taste of all the dishes meant that they had surely been passed down from generation to generation in the family. The first bite of the Shanghai xiaolongbao, brought out in a traditional bamboo basket, was warm, hearty and delicious. I took delicate nibbles of the thin dough and drank the savory soup, trying not to fill up too quickly. After all, I still had a lot of food to get through!
Next came the simple scallion dry noodles. The simple dishes are always hard to get right but this bowl of noodles was very good. The noodles were chewy and thick. The fried scallions and soy sauce added just the right amount of flavor. Which one of us wouldn’t love a bowlful of thick, saucy noodles topped with crunchy scallions?
And I still had the spicy beef noodle soup to go. As shown in the image above, they had filled the bowl with some tasty ingredients. Noodles, greens, spiced and fried beef and a boiled egg in one bowl, all in the most delicious and umami tasting broth.
I picked up a spoonful with everything on it, making sure to get one of the sliced red peppers on top. The soup was light and not too thick and I quickly finished the whole bowl.
Menu
The menu card that they brought me had a few options for breakfast and I decided to go for a varied option. Everything was neatly printed with prices along the edges of the menu card. As you can see in the image above, there were a lot of breakfast dishes. The Shanghai xiaolongbao was recommended so I had to get that. There were different types of soups, noodles and dumplings available. I tried to get a little of everything. The Shanghai style tofu pudding and deep fried dough stick also looked interesting but I did not want to order too much. There were a few different teas and other drinks on the menu.
Soon I was ready to move out of my little booth. I was very full and could barely move. But I couldn’t regret trying a little of everything. I only wished that I had a bigger stomach so I could try some of their other specialties. It certainly gave me the energy that I needed to face the day ahead of me. I said goodbye to Shanghai Restaurant with some regret since I had spent a very nice hour there.
