[Cheap Eats] One of Shanghai's Favorite Breakfast Chains: Xiao Tao Yuan

Copy Editor's Note: For some time now, we have been getting a steady stream of requests from readers "why don't you feature Chinese restaurants" or "why don't you introduce us to Chinese cuisines here in Shanghai." We've also been hearing a lot of "can you maybe feature places that are more affordable?" The answer is yes, and yes. We'd like to put a little more thought into how we'll be rolling out our introductions to Chinese cuisine for the laymen, so for now, we'll start with Cheap Eat's column. This one ticks an additional box: breakfast, which again, we seldom write about. Xiao Tao Yuan is a favorite place of mine as well, which has served me nicely for when a "Chinese breakfast hankering" strikes, but also, many more times as a solid place to "sober up" on a Sunday morning after a fabulous night out.

Shanghai is a foodie's paradise, there is no denying that. From famous xiaolongbao (small purse-like dumplings, usually filled with meat and soup), to scrumptious scallion oil noodles (fine noodles with a black, umami scallion sauce), to even an overpriced western-style brunch (you know exactly what I mean), this city has it all.

However, I must admit, I struggle when it comes to locating a true Chinese breakfast joint. I don't feel like local cuisine spots market themselves as "a place to have a nice breakfast" very often. But I must admit, perhaps it's due to my skewed perception of what a breakfast place should be. In Slavic countries, breakfast spots are very distinct. And Western places often do market themselves that way, sometimes preventing newcomers from trying out something more local. And trust me, I would love to have a Pinterest-like white girl breakfast every morning, but sometimes, spending 65 yuan on an avocado toast just doesn't feel right.

I must admit, there is a lot more lore to the Chinese breakfast than I originally thought. Especially the type that is served at places like 小桃园, our guest of honor. If you're at least a bit familiar with some of Shanghai's staple foods, you would recognize a youtiao (a long, golden fried dough stick). Popular throughout the Chinese mainland, turns out youtiao is one of the Four Heavenly Kings of the Chinese breakfast.

四大金刚 (sì dà jīn gāng) refers to the four classic breakfast foods specific to the Shanghai region. Humble, yet extremely satisfying, the four delicious monarchs are as follows: dabing (大饼, dà bǐng), youtiao (油条, yóu tiáo), cifantuan (粢饭团, cí fàn tuán), and doujiang (豆浆, dòu jiāng).

Rooted in street food stall culture, this all historically started as a cultural phenomenon in early 20th century Shanghai. Coming out of small neighborhood mom-and-pop stores, youtiao and dabing (a small, flat cookie-shaped bread, usually filled with either sugar or savory veggies) were loved for their efficiency, low price, and convenience.
Cifantuan is a steamed glutinous rice roll wrapped around a stick of youtiao, customizable by the customer or the stall owner, usually with pickled veggies, some sort of meat, or even sugar. Somewhat like a breakfast burrito, if you will.

Doujiang, or soy milk, my personal favorite, is usually served sweet, plain, or savory in Shanghai. 小桃园's 5-yuan (73 US cents) salty soy milk has my heart. Especially with a side of youtiao dipped into the soy milk; divine.

So, now that you might start to salivate, you wonder: Where can you go and try all these delicacies? 小桃园 (Xiao Tao Yuan) is my personal recommendation. Recently renovated, their store on Fuxing Road M. is my weekly go-to.

The store is incredibly popular, but people don't usually sit there for long; it is a very come-eat-go type of spot, takeout is also very common. After the renovation, the store looks very clean, bright, and spacious. The staff is also ridiculously efficient, oh and also, they're open 24/7. It is incredible. If you need an after-club late night snack, Xiao Tao Yuan is the answer.

Not to mention the price. It is sometimes shocking how affordable a good meal can be in China. After delving into the history of the brand, it seems to be one of founder Li Chenglong's goals to keep things at a stable price so people can keep enjoying their favorite foods.

As previously mentioned, you can get food to-go or dine-in. If you only wish to take some fried and doughy goodness with you, the outside takeout window is conveniently waiting for your order. However, you either need to be able to read and speak what you want from the huge menu above the window, or, if you don't know what to say or what to get, just shout YOUTIAO, XIEXIE.

My preferred method, though, is to scan the QR code they have everywhere inside. The menu even has a picture for everything, so you'll know exactly what to order. And unless there's a huge line, which rarely happens due to sheer efficiency, you'll wait 5 minutes max for your order to be ready.

Now let's move to my personal recommendations. Honestly, almost everything I've tried was good. Almost, stay tuned. My absolute go-to combo is as follows: salty soy milk (咸豆浆), fried rice cake (糍饭糕), and an egg pancake with added chicken and veggies (蛋饼).

Honorable mention: Their xiaolongbao (小笼包), for the price, are surprisingly delicious. Prices for each dish are usually around 5 to 15 yuan, and for some you can add extras, like chicken for the egg pancake. But my usual meal never comes to more than 15 yuan, and that is me leaving the place completely full.

To be honest, the only thing I would actively advise against is their dry noodles with scallion oil. They have two main noodle dishes: the dry noodles and the noodles in soup. The soup ones aren't too bad; edible. The soup's richness counteracts the noodles' dryness.

However, the plain noodles with scallion oil felt like I was eating three-day-old dried up noodles with too much oil thrown on top. Just bad. Don't recommend. But everything else is worth a shot. They also have some fried rice dishes; I can't vouch for those, as I haven't tried them yet.

So, to make your life a bit easier, here is a quick guide on how to correctly order and collect your meal.

First, scan the QR code; if you need a translation for the interface and food names, use Alipay with its built-in translation. Select your food, select the eat-in or eat-out option, pay, and receive your order number. Now, here is the tricky part: You will first receive any fried dough, bread, or anything of that kind at the little window right near the entrance. They will normally shout your number and light it up on the little screen. Pay attention. Then, with your first order, they will give you a receipt; GET IT. They will point you toward the other food stall further into the restaurant. You have to go there and hand one of the cooks your receipt so they can check it and start preparing the rest of your food. You can either wait there or go take a seat; they will call out your order number when it's ready. Easy peasy.

That covers pretty much everything you need to know about trying some of the tastiest and most affordable breakfast dishes in Shanghai. Xiao Tao Yuan has many locations throughout Shanghai, but the Fuxing Road M. one is probably the most iconic, and the most recently renovated. I recommend you try this one first.

There are dozens, if not hundreds of these scattered across the city. The one we went to is here:

Open: 24/7

Price: 15 yuan on average

Address: 1251-1 Fuxing Rd M., Xuhui District

For a location closer to you, drop this into Didi or Dianping: 小桃园