Holy Good Canteen (好好餐室) is a Cantonese-style hotpot restaurant in Shanghai with a singular obsession: chicken.
The Space
From the bold, rooster-branded signage to the neon-drenched Hong Kong dapaidang-inspired dining room (open-air stalls/hawker center), this place demands attention.
It’s taken over the former Yasmine’s Steakhouse space on Xiangyang Bei Lu, and walking past, you’d be forgiven for doing a double take. The design is pure nostalgia, a cinematic throwback to old-school Cantonese canteens — only with better AC and zero grime. There’s one private room available, and it’s also dog-friendly inside.
FYI: Holy Good Canteen the sister brand of Yi Lau Yi Hotpot (一楼一火锅), a very popular Beijing-born Chaoshan restaurant chain founded by a Hong Kong native who spent years in the capital.
The Food
The menu is hotpot-first, with nearly a dozen broths, most of them chicken-based. Think abalone-braised Qingyuan chicken (their signature), pork stomach and chicken, or herbal wine chicken broth. There’s also a roster of Cantonese street snacks, skewers, stir-fries, and roasts.
Like any proper hotpot, you pick your broth, then load up on add-ins: seafood, meatballs, veggies, dumplings. And when eating Cantonese hotpot, you’re meant to sip the soup before dunking in your ingredients.
The Abalone Braised Chicken hotpot — starting at ¥198 for half a Qingyuan free-range bird — is one of the highlights, and comes with already simmered diced chicken and four pieces of abalone.
The meat is impressively fresh, with a firm, springy texture.
For something lighter, the Coconut Chicken Soup (¥48) is all about naturally sweet, fragrant broth, bolstered by hunks of fresh coconut flesh — though you’ll want to supplement with extra meat, since the base is mostly chicken carcass.
Sauce condiments differ from your usual hotpot, and skew ginger-heavy, including not only fresh ginger but also lesser galangal (沙姜). Lesser galangal is more pungent and complex than ginger and has hints of citrus and maybe a bit of camphor. If you’re not accustomed to the aroma, I suggest to add that one sparingly.
Beyond hotpot, there’s a hefty selection of cold dishes, barbecued skewers, and wok-tossed plates. Don’t miss the Poached Chicken with Ginger Scallion Sauce (¥138/half) — the bird’s texture is impeccable, taut and juicy, buried under a mountain of shallots.
The Chaoshan-style Threadfin Fish (¥168) exemplifies the region’s distinctive approach to seafood. Served chilled, the fish reveals delicate, flaky flesh with a clean, natural sweetness. It’s good, but it’s not my preferred way to eat fish.
Blue Girl beer available for ¥18/¥29.
In Summary
Really though, it’s the vibe that seals the deal. This isn’t your typical hotpot den — it’s loud, bright, and buzzing, a place where the experience is as much a draw as the food. And the food is good: fresh, flavorful, and worth revisiting.
Next time, I’m zeroing in on the drunken pigeon (¥48) and drunken crab (¥138).
P/S: The menu’s English translation has its quirks — some names don’t quite match the Chinese, so be sure to double check when you order.
Holy Good Canteen (好好餐室)
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