Ah Lang Mein 阿娘面 in Shanghai

Post 2– Ah Lang Mein (阿娘面)

Our final morning in Shanghai was another feast before our departure & we were toured by our friend for some real local delicacy which a Shanghainese person will regularly eat on a daily basis. So by noon, we arrived at Ah Lang Mein (阿娘面) on Si Nam Road (卢湾区思南路36号(近南昌路), a very local looking noodle house comparable to a local fish-ball noodle shop in Hong Kong in the wet market areas of Hong Kong, particular the ones located near the wet market. Don’t expect “ambiance or service” in such noodle houses as the real deal is the food on offer. I was equally surprised to see that air-conditioning existed in such establishment. There was a line of around 20 – 25 people & with an no queuing system in place, we fought like soldier for our table of 6 & especially in main-land China, expect fist action & blood must have spilt during the months of steaming summer in Shanghai!

What’s Ah Lang Mein about? Despite its rather unappealing appearance, this place is HOT & is claimed as Shanghai’s Best Yellow Eel Noodle House.  Menu contains up to 5 types of noodle dishes +  few side dishes, that’s it, plain & simple. Expect locals & tourists flock to this place for a bowl of hearty Su-Chou style (Province in China) which the signature noodles dishes are Shanghai Yellow Eel Noodle with Pickled Mustard Greens(雪菜黃魚面 RMB16), Shanghai Braised Pork Liver Noodle & Crab Meat Noodle (蟹粉麵). Ah Lang (阿娘) was the lady of whom founded this noodle place & has always claimed that there is no usage of MSG in the noodles which I think is controversial & doubtful & that the soup is purely from the natural flavours of the Yellow Eel. Whatever the hype was, I wasn’t convinced as the noodle & soup were not spectacular but one thing which I did enjoy highly was the Yellow Eel which was very sweet in taste & delicious in flavour. Most importantly, each & every Yellow Eel was de-boned which was useful & easy to be enjoyed which requires a lot of prep work. The Yellow Eel noodle is best eaten with a bowl of side-dish, the Pickled Mustard Green (雪菜) as it creates a unique balance of flavour in the palate!

 

Same as the Yellow Eel noodle, the braised Intestine Noodle & Crab Meat Noodle weren’t convincing especially the latter which was priced at RMB38 per noodle, which is on par prices with Hong Kong. Noodle portions were extremely generous but lacking in any real general flavours & hence my thinking of the added MSG in the soup as a sweetener source. Must try the side dishes which we went for a Chilli Sauce Potato with a Tea Leave infused Boiled Egg, stole the spotlight completely over the noodles!

Overall, I will return to Ah Lang Mein (阿娘面) simply for its authentic & down to earth local flavours but the food on offer didn’t provide us with a WOW factor. What was good was that you can stuff your face with an average spend of RMB40 per person!

Address: 36 Si Nam Road, Lo Wan District, Shanghai (卢湾区思南路36号(近南昌路)

Tel: NO BOOKINGS AVAILABLE & PREPARE TO WAIT FOR AVERAGE 15 – 30 mins

Quality of Food: ***

Value for Money: ***