BawuBawu, Shanghai

Every major metropolitan city features little enclaves or ghettos where pockets of individual ethnicities congregate. Whether you’re in London’s Indian Southall, São Paulo’s Japanese Liberdade, or Melbourne’s Little Italy, you’ll find thriving homeland culture. In Shanghai’s Minghang district, there’s a little Koreatown.

One night, after tips from friends and online research, we ventured out to this area. After the taxi dropped us off, we meandered around with our noses leading us, in search of something yummy. I’d like to say I instinctively found this interesting alley, but, to be frank, we just stumbled upon it.

Parallel to the the street, this alley, rather center courtyard, stretched along a couple of small city blocks. With restaurants on either side, the center was strewn with makeshift outdoor eateries. It was a festive night, even though it was a weekday. People were enjoying spicy Korean food with soju and beer.

After looking around, we selected Bawubawu, since it was one of the more cleaner and newer looking ones. Since we had eaten just a couple of hours before, we were just looking for something to munch on, while we drank soju.

I liked the cleanliness, so I picked a floor seating area. We just had some kimchi fried rice, banchan (appetizers), and some soju. A smattering array of little dishes soon arrived – the banchan, as well as the big plastic white bottle of soju. I think the bottle was a bit too big.

The kimchi fried rice, soon arrived. I think it was probably the best kimchi fried rice I have had, since I arrived in Shanghai. It was deliciously spicy. I liked the fried egg, with the runny yolk. The runny yolk makes all the difference, since you want it to meld everything together.

Since our stomachs were full, mostly from the soju, we weren’t able to sample much of anything else. I know next time, I’d like to try the tteokbokki (spicy rice cake) or budaejeongol (stewed casserole). I saw a lot of people trying those dishes.

What to Order: Kimchi Fried Rice, next time I am getting the tteokbokki (spicy rice cake) or budaejeongol (stewed casserole) What not to Order:

Rating 2 Pigs Price Range 1 $/¥/NT

Links The Thirsty Pig, Cityweekend Listing, Cityweekend Article

巴屋巴屋 Bawubawu 虹泉路1051号17屋, 近虹莘路 Rm. 17, 1051 Hongquan Lu, near Hongxin Lu +86 21 3453-0720