[Shanghai] A Restaurant Dedicated to Unagi Rice, 鰻重

Categories: Japanese
Date Visited: April 2019
Address: 580 Yuyuan Lu, by Zhenning Lu /愚园路580号, 近镇宁路, Shanghai
Price:  $$

Verdict: Manzhong (鰻重), is a restaurant in Shanghai dedicated to serving only one food — unagi rice. Unagi rice is a specialty Japanese staple that uses freshwater eel, grilled over hot charcoal, then steamed to remove excess fat, and seasoned with a glazed (homemade) sweet-ish sauce, and grilled a second time.  While Manzhong 鰻重 isn’t the best unagi rice I’ve ever had, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the restaurant owners are very dedicated to their craft. Their eel is freshly sourced everyday, which is why they’ve only limited their orders to 80 sets a day — because that’s all the eel they import everyday. For 120RMB (~$20 USD), you can enjoy a delicacy that’s satisfying and delicious, in a small and cozy 8-10 seated restaurant.