Skip to content
ShikumenFine cuisine

The table

What we cook

A short menu, written for the house rather than a survey of China. Prices are per plate, in yuan. The market moves a dish now and then; the red-braised pork does not.

Cold

  • Pale slices of poached chicken in a clear jelly on a celadon plate, scattered with goji berries

    Half bird

    Drunken chicken

    醉鸡

    Poached just to the bone, then cooled overnight in Shaoxing. It arrives in its own jelly, with a few goji berries for color.

    ¥78

  • Thick glossy pieces of soy-braised fish topped with white sesame seeds

    To share

    Smoked fish

    熏鱼

    Yellow croaker, fried, then bathed in soy and sugar until the surface lacquered. Sweet first, then a clean salt. Sesame on top.

    ¥62

Dumplings

  • Six soup dumplings in a bamboo steamer, one torn open so the broth spills onto the paper

    Eight pieces · House signature

    Soup dumplings

    小笼包

    Thin wrappers, a tight pleat, and a spoon of pork broth that should still be hot when you bite. Vinegar and ginger threads on the side — not a pool of sauce.

    ¥68

  • Four steaming pan-fried buns in a black iron pan, sesame and scallion on top

    Four pieces · House signature

    Pan-fried pork buns

    生煎馒头

    Crisp on the bottom, soft on the crown, sesame and scallion while they are still spitting. Eat them before the crust gives up.

    ¥48

Braised & fried

  • Cubes of glossy red-braised pork belly in a shallow ceramic bowl beside a brass spoon

    For the table · House signature

    Red-braised pork belly

    红烧肉

    Cubes of belly, skin on, braised from morning in soy, rock sugar, and Shaoxing. The sauce should coat a spoon and stop there.

    ¥98

  • A heaped metal dish of pink-orange river shrimp in their shells, glossy with oil

    River shrimp

    Oil-exploded shrimp

    油爆虾

    Small river shrimp, shells left on, shocked in hot oil and finished with soy, sugar, and a little vinegar. Heads are for sucking.

    ¥128

Noodles

  • A white bowl of glossy wheat noodles piled with dark fried scallion, chopsticks on the rim

    One bowl · House signature

    Scallion oil noodles

    葱油拌面

    Springy wheat noodles dressed in scallion oil, nothing else competing. The fried scallion should be dark, not bitter.

    ¥42

  • Stir-fried oval rice cakes with pork and cabbage in a black wok

    With pork

    Stir-fried rice cakes

    炒年糕

    Oval slices of nian gao, pork, and cabbage, fried until the edges catch and the centers stay chewy. A winter habit we keep all year.

    ¥58