Cejerdary — Restaurant in Shanghai

The social media hype surrounding this place borders on hysteria - a global feeding frenzy of filters, hashtags, and overexposed crab roe. Naturally, when we knew Shanghai was on the cards, this restaurant made it straight to our hit list. Oh, how gloriously underwhelmed we were after dinner.

To be fair, first impressions do their best to deceive - the prime location near the Bund, the slick queuing system (for those foolish enough to arrive reservation-less), and the air of exclusivity that screams you’re about to experience something extraordinary. Spoiler: you’re not.

The restaurant itself is surprisingly small - more boutique than blockbuster - so perhaps it’s forgivable that it can’t quite house the tidal wave of attention it’s riding. The menu, too, is minimalist to a fault.

And when your entire culinary identity hangs on a single dish - crab roe rice, with a few timid variations - you’d expect a performance worthy of fireworks and fanfare. Instead, what we got was a quiet fizzle, a damp sparkler in the rain.

When serving seasonal wine-marinated hairy crabs, it is customary - almost ritual - to provide proper tools: scissors, picks, and scoops to liberate every morsel of that prized meat and roe. They did not. So what should have been a delicate, decadent experience turned into a tedious shell-cracking ordeal. Any pleasure quickly dissolved into mild exasperation.

Yes, they appear generous with the crab meat and roe atop the rice, but that’s where the generosity ends. Buried in a thick, cloying sauce, the flavors became muddled - indistinguishable from one another, robbed of their natural sweetness and nuance. What should have sung with briny richness and umami grace instead mumbled in monotone.

For a restaurant riding such dizzying heights of online acclaim, it’s remarkable how earthbound - and forgettable - the meal...

Been to its branch previously and tried both the crab roe and crab noodles and I preferrd the crab noodles so I visited this place again pre-covid during lunch and had it again. Latest visit was for dinner couple of weeks back and I reached before 5pm to avoid the crowd.

What I did not expect was the crab noodles (RMB72) had limited quantity everyday and it was already sold out during lunch. They only had the crab roe noodles which costs RMB360 and also other liquor-soaked crabs. Sad. I ate that anyway cos I was already comfortably seated down.

I believe the noodles are still free flow so you can order another portion of plain noodles and share amongst 2 pax to reduce the price per person if you'd like and if you are someone who likes the noodles more. The noodles are very smooth! They are quite generous with the crab. Then again, RMB360 for a bowl! Adding vinegar to it makes it tastes even nicer (for me).

Love the peanuts (also free flow although they didn't refill for me. Maybe cos I was alone and they didn't think I would eat that much.) which is sweet and crunchy. Drinks are free flow too. Not a fan of their local plum juice so I had the hot ginger tea throughout.

Is it worth the visit? Go odd timings to avoid the queue. If there are 2 or more of you, go earlier in the day and that way, at least you can try both the crab noodles and crab...

This amazing restaurant was recommended by a local Shanghai friend. Upon walking in I was awe by the interior and was greeted by a very handsome waiter. (Mr. Che Kwang Hui) Since it was crowded as it was 2.20pm, he allows us to pick a table of our choice.

We were served a plate of super yummy groundnuts. Super fresh and yummy. Gave us an E-menu and recommended some really superb food. We ordered the Crayfish dish with Chinese wine, the hairy crab meat noodle & hairy crab meat truffle rice. Everything were out of this world. Bottled Sparkling water and bottled herbal tea are free flow.

Service - A class Food - A Class Ambient- A Class (must visit the Wash room. It’s designed for a king/emperor)

Will definitely come again when in Shanghai. A must for those who love hairy crabs...