Living JJ Lam's '豆浆油条' (a breakfast date of soymilk and fried donut)

If any of you have heard JJ Lam's song 豆浆油条 ('dou jiang you tiao'), this entry will be of particular amusement to you. (If you haven't, it is a must listen - it's the cutest song! Listen here.) The name refers to a popular Chinese breakfast of hot savory soymilk accompanied by a savory donut. It's certainly not the healthiest thing for you, as the donut is essentially a deep-fried stick of dough, but it certainly is yummy.

A and I love the song, as it uses the two breakfast items to refer to a couple that compliments each other. A is the 油条, and I am the 豆浆. We have listened to the song so much and have always said that the meaning would be enhanced if we had the breakfast together. So to celebrate a sunny Saturday and a fantastic song, A and I ventured on a classic Chinese breakfast 'date' at one of Shanghai's most popular joints – 永和大王 (originally called '永和豆浆') near the Ritz Carlton Portman.

The venue, despite being a local joint, is quite clean and warm. It's almost the equivalent of a Chinese McDonalds establishment where local residents come to get soymilk or sit down for a quick meal in the morning. A and I decided to live the experience in full and seated ourselves in the busy dining area. We ordered two bowls of savory soy milk (xian dou jiang), an egg pancake wrapped around a savory donut (dan bing you tiao), and a beef pancake (niu rou bing). A full breakfast, which all together came to 21 rmb!

I was quite pleased with the entire event. The savory soy milk contained pieces of seaweed and green onion, which was new to me but really enhanced the flavor. And of course, it contained crispy bits of the fried donut, which despite swimming in a bowl of soy milk was so fresh that it still had a nice crispy bite to it. The egg pancake, which I love so much and used to eat all the time from food stands in Taiwan, was done slightly differently because it contained the fried donut itself along with a spicy sauce that gave it a nice kick. The beef pancake was equally good, essentially fried up with shredded beef and of course, lots of oil. The breakfast was by no means 'what the doctor ordered' in terms of healthy ways to start your day but completely hit the spot on a Saturday morning in Shanghai.

I left with my stomach happy from an indulgent yet oh-so-homey breakfast and my spirits warmed from living the lyrics of the song. It's a meal I would definitely have again and a local establishment I would happily return to. A and I loved the experience and both agreed it was a fantastic way to start our weekend. (The only point of contention was one we happily have over many of our favorite Chinese foods – whether it is more Taiwanese or Shanghainese. :) But that is a discussion for another day!)

永和大王 (yong he da wang)
南京西路2-68号新世界商城地下一层
+86 21 62900555
http://www.yonghe.com.cn/