I took this pictures last time I went to eat in a Dongbei restaurant in Shanghai. We were only four people but we still order all that. We ended up paying 40 RMB each (about 6.5 USD).
The Dongbei is the North East region of China. Even if people tend to associate China with rice, this isn’t exact. While in the South of the country the staple food is rice, in the North is wheat. Especially in the North East, they also eat a lot of potatoes and corn.
Dongbei restaurants
The restaurant from Dongbei are within my favorite Chinese restaurants (perhaps at the same level of Xinjiang’s restaurants).
They are quite cheap and you will always get plenty of food. Every time I go to eat “Dongbei,” I end up eating too much and blaming myself to be such a greedy pig. But let’s check the photos of Dongbei food!
Oily potatoes…
Scramble eggs and vegetables
Fried pork!
Eggplants, green and red peppers
Chinese dumplings (jiaozi)
A whole fried chicken
How to find a Dongbei restaurant?
If you want to find a Dongbei restaurant in your Chinese town, just look for a restaurant with a sign that has the characters “东北” (that is “dong bei,” which means “East North” in Mandarin).
They are not as common as Sichuan or Xinjiang restaurants. So it’s unluckily to stumble upon one of them. If you want to try it, it’s probably better to look for the address on the internet.
Photo Credits: Photos by Sapore di Cina
Love Dongbei food! My first ever experience of China was in Harbin, and I fell in love with the place – and food. Also, I grew up in Strasbourg, and Dongbei food is somewhat reminiscent of Alsatian – they even have sauerkraut, mmmm. There’s a little Dongbei restaurant in Melbourne which I adooore. The eggplants, potatoes and peppers （地三鲜？）is one of my favourite things to eat in the world! Hey – did you ever try that pork knuckle thing you eat with a plastic glove. Worth a try – and a pic.
PS: awesome blog!
Hey Julien,
nope, I’ve never tried anything that needs a glove LoL
About the parallel between Dongbei and Alsatian food, I agree! I lived four years in Nancy et je connais très bien Strasbourg et sa cuisine ; )
Great photos! It all looks delicious. Especially the Sweet and Sour Pork and the eggplants.
Where is that restaurant?
Hey Rane,
the restaurant is in Changle Road (长乐路), Shanghai
Oh, that’s a bit far for me as I live in Beijing :-)
But you worked up my appetite for dongbeicai. I will definitely look for a place in here in Beijing and write about it.
Cheers!
In Beijing it must be even better as Beijing is DongBei : P
Best not to look at this before lunch. Makes my mouth water…..
LOL!
Dongbei is my favourite as well and Harbin sausage (Hong chang) is just like a simple polish sausage (must be some influence since “The city was established by a Polish engineer Adam Szydłowski” :)
Russian influence must explain why they also produce kvas (a drink from fermented bread)
Anyway the influence is not really the reason why I like this cuisine so much, so…
what’s your favourite restaurant in Shanghai? Mine is in Fanyu Rd (near Hongqiao Rd, not the other one)
Hey Artur,
I only know two in Shanghai, one is South Jing An Temple Subway Station (the one where we always go) and the other… I dont recall because we always went there by cab but I can tell you that was renovated a couple of months ago.
So far I prefer the first one haha
Try the one near Fanyu Rd/Hongqiao Rd
Ok, I will organize a dinner over there when I’m back ; )