Trendy Chinese Wine Bar Song Song For Classic Shanghainese (Closed)
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Song Song is a Shanghainese restaurant and wine bar at the INS building in Fuxing Park. Scores high points for food, its trendy design, and service.
About Song Song
Interiors are a combination of sleek and old school — neon lighting juxtaposed by retro marble-top dining tables and modern art next to framed Chinese calligraphy.
Like all restaurant on the ground floor at INS, Song Song also has a covered terrace, which is nice for al fresco dining. However, at the time of my visit, it was shrouded in a plastic tent to fend off the cold.
The Food at Song Song
Food at Song Song is Shanghainese, mostly traditional and slightly updated for a modernized feel. Everything I had was delicious, especially the pork with mustard greens (a fantastic rendition of the original) and crispy beef. Those two are dishes you don’t want to miss.
The Pork with Preserved Mustard Greens is twist on the traditional meigan kourou, which is traditionally more meat than mustard greens. They’ve reversed the dish, adding bits of roasted pork into the slow-cooked mustard greens. It has a malted flavor with caramel notes and only lightly seasoned with soy sauce. Doesn't look like much, but it tastes amazing.
Roasted Pork with Preserved Mustard Greens (¥88, 特级梅干菜烧肉)
The Crispy Beef presents a dish of thick cubes fried to a crisp and drowned in a fruity osmanthus glaze. Absolutely delicious. The beef is crispy yet melts in your mouth, and the sauce tangy, mildly sweet yet not overbearing. Best enjoyed with rice.
Crispy Beef (¥168, 果香脆皮牛肉)
For appetizers, try the Bamboo Shoots, brined with pickled peppers. It's very high in acidity with pepper and spice. The flavor is forceful, but it quickly becomes addictive. Other appetizers include Edamame, infused with the aromas of yellow wine, and the classic cold dish of Cold Marinated Cucumbers, which is tangy with vinegar and has a nice zing of chili.
Lin’an Bamboo Shoots with Pickled Pepper (¥48, 泡椒临安黄泥笋)
Edamame in Chinese Yellow Wine Brine (¥38, 糟毛豆)
Cold Marinated Cucumbers (¥28, 凉拌黄瓜)
Stir-Fried Dongshan Squid with Potherb Mustard (¥138, 雪菜炒东山鲜鱿鱼)
Other dishes see the Stir-Fried Songshan Squid, a dish of fresh and tender squid fried with pork in chicken stock with peppery mizuna mustard greens.
Sautéed Alfalfa with Rice Wine (¥58, 酒香草头) - Chinese clover wilted with a splash of rice wine.
And to fill you up, the classic Scallion Noodles. It's a sizable portion of firm noodles coated in soy sauce and aromatic scallion oil with a single dried shrimp.
Scallion Oil Noodles (¥38, 葱油拌面)
If anything, the wontons were the only misstep. They just tasted OK, and lacked seasoning in the filling.
Pan-Fried Wontons (¥48, 油煎馄饨)
In Summary
Excellent food. Cool vibe. Highly recommended!
For drinks, there are cocktails from ¥88, and wines by the glass from ¥79, bottles from ¥420.
Song Song 松松酒家
Address: F124, INS, 109 Yandang Lu 雁荡路109号INS乐园F124室
Tel: 13020156841
Hours: Mon-Thu & Sun, 6:30pm-12:30am; Fri-Sat, 6pm-2am
About Rachel Gouk
Founder & Editor, Nomfluence
Rachel Gouk is a seasoned dining journalist based in Shanghai with over a decade of experience covering food culture, restaurant developments, and the Asian culinary landscape.
