Eating Out 4 - The Grandma's

"The average wait time to get into the Shanghai branch of the extraordinary Hangzhou restaurant The Grandma's is three to four hours, depending on what time you request your ticket number. Why wait nearly five hours to eat dinner? Well, for one, the food is brilliantly prepared, fresh and huge in portion. Plus it's absurdly cheap. Think RMB3 mapo dofu and dozens of dishes under 15RMB..."

The above is quoted from Shanghai Timeout, an online guide to what's going on in Shanghai. This was what attracted us to The Grandma's in the first place... the huge crowd waiting outside the restaurant! Curious to know what is so great about the place, mummy Googled and read rave reviews about this restaurant. So one fine afternoon, we took an "advance number" at 3pm and returned later in the evening for dinner. By doing this, our waiting time was reduced to only 5 minutes!

The entrance of The Grandma's or 外婆家

Waiting to eat... the massive waiting crowd actually spills all the way to the back of the pillar.

Popcorn, Mentos and cherry tomatoes (yes, it's quite a weird combo) for you to "alas perut" while you wait for your number to be called.

The dining area... we came here for brunch one weekend and were among the earliest patrons. In a matter of seconds, the tables behind daddy were all taken! 

Flipping through their thick menu, we usually spend a long time deciding what to order. For newbies like us, we will usually go for those dishes marked with "stars" or "thumbs up" (chef's recommendation). Here are some of the dishes that we tried on our first two visits...

Complimentary free-flow of tea

Spring onion spring roll, RMB2 (RM1)

Cold sesame toufu, RMB3 (RM1.50)

Multi-spice peanuts, RMB6 (RM3)

Tofu skin wrap with Chinese vegetables, RMB10 (RM5)

Southern Song Dynasty Fish soup, RMB6 (RM3)

Small abalone, RMB10 (RM5)

Scallop in garlic sauce, RMB6 (RM3) each

Potato, RMB10 (RM5) - this one was a swindle because what came on the plate was totally different from the picture that we saw in the menu. Daddy and mummy were very unhappy with the plain fried potatoes but I loved it haha.

Organic cauliflower, RMB16 (RM8)

Shrimp with fried dough sticks in soya milk, RMB15 (RM7.50)

Stir-fried noodles with eel, RMB28 (RM14)

Green tea cakes, RMB12 (RM6)

Peanut smoothie, RMB15 (RM7.50)

Walnut kernel and pumpkin juice, RMB15 (RM7.50)

The food here is really not bad...something different from the usual fare that we have in the restaurants back home. There will certainly be a Part 2 to this ;)