New on Anfu Lu is SFSF, a Cantonese restaurant that does slow-cooked soups and other traditional dishes. It’s taken over the old OHA Eatery space, which is relocating to Minhang. It’s still operated by the OHA Group.
SFSF’s name “食福是福” plays on the saying “食得是福” (to eat is a blessing), suggesting that eating well is its own reward. The menu focuses on seasonal Cantonese soups and steamed dishes — light, nourishing, and easy on your body.
The Soups
Soup is a must in Cantonese food culture. There’s even a saying: Cantonese would rather drink soup than eat meat, “宁可食无肉，不可饭无汤.” The menu lists half a dozen slow-cooked soups, steamed for hours to fully extract flavor, priced from ¥58 to ¥78.
The Steamed Chicken Soup with Fresh Orange (¥62) is sweet with a mild bitterness from its root herbs. Clean-tasting, with a lovely balance of flavors and a good amount of chicken inside. A soup you could have daily.
The Steamed Sea Whelks with Bamboo Shoot Soup (¥72) blew it out of the water. Pure xianwei (umami). It has a saltier profile than the chicken soup, thanks to the salted pork strips and tiny scallops within. The bamboo shoots still have some crunch, and the ribs are absolutely tender. I’m usually not a fan of sea whelks — too much effort — but these were exceptional: tender and flavorful.
The Dishes
For an appetizer, go for the Dried Vegetables with Baby Oysters Chaoshan-Style (¥38), a cold dish. The oysters themselves are fresh, clean-tasting, and not briny, unlike raw oysters, dressed simply in light soy and sesame oil. However, I thought the dried vegetables outshone them. Called gancai (干菜) from Guangdong, they’re cooked, dried, then rehydrated when used, a preservation method with no salt added. The texture is crunchy, fibrous in a good way, lighter than other pickled or preserved vegetables.
The Steamed Beef (¥68) was excellent too. Tender slices of beef dressed in light soy sauce, topped with aged Buddha’s hand, which gives it a complex citrus flavor. Paired with thick, crunchy stalks of peanut shoots.
Something you might see on a dim sum menu is the Steamed Chicken (¥58), flavored with dried tangerine and taro stalks. A tad fatty, very tender, flavorful without being overpowering.
Finally, something that’ll satisfy and fill you up: the Fried Rice with Thin-Shelled Mussels and Minced Ginger (¥24). It’s a really tasty bowl of rice. Topped with tiny baby mussels — the smallest I’ve ever seen. Small but mighty, these mussels pack a ton of sea-fresh flavor. Beneath them is a layer of finely minced ginger, which gives the dish its spicy kick. And I can’t believe it’s only ¥24.
In Summary
Everything was really tasty and truly does come across as healthy, since most dishes are steamed or boiled. You could easily come in for a soup and a bowl of that mussel rice and walk out for under ¥100. A great addition to the street.
