A Thai boat noodle shop in Jing’an has been blowing up on social media recently, and for good reason — the noodles here are excellent, served in a rich beef bone broth that’s brimming with flavor.
Silom Road Thai Boat Noodles Shanghai
Silom Road Thai Boat Noodles is located on Xinzha Lu in Shanghai’s Jing’an district. It appears to be a ramshackle pop-up that’s taken over the front area of Fantasy Box bar, marked by bright blue corrugated metal fencing, a plastic tent, and weather-worn awning.
Inside, it’s more roadside-chic hawker with tables and stools cramped together in intentional fashion. A lively stall bearing its namesake is boxed in with crates of bottled beverages, a garland of instant Thai noodles packets, just for show, dangles above. It opened about six months ago.
The Noodles
There are four noodles to choose from, flat rice noodles, rice vermicelli, egg noodles, or regular rice noodles.
The signature bowl is the “Three Treasures Beef Boat Noodles” for ¥68, which comes with all-beef toppings of tendon, braised cheek, tenderloin slices, and meatballs.
The soup is fantastic — the star of the show.
It is rich and flavorful yet also clean tasting. It’s colored a deep brown caramelized hue, of which I’m told is a northern style of broth, seasoned with herbs and spices imported from Thailand. The soup is speckled with crispy fried garlic along with a few strands of morning glory and fresh herbs. It is absolutely ambrosial.
Its accompaniments are equally desirable. Tendons melt like butter, stewed into submission, and are coated with a sticky glaze of reduced marinade. Tenderloin slices are as tender as they get, and the meatballs have a nice bounce and flavor.
Any order of noodles also entitles you to a serving of free additional noodles, which comes in a bowl with some broth.
Orders are via a QR code menu.
The backers of this project are all Chinese, and both founder and chef have lived in Thailand for many years. Silom Road Boat Noodles just opened a second location on Donghu Lu, also in the similar fashion of a roadside eatery.
In Summary
At lunch, the queue on Xinzha Lu can seem daunting. Thankfully, it does move quickly. It’s worth the wait! Good Thai boat noodles in Shanghai are hard to come by!
Silom Road Thai Boat Noodles 是隆路船麺
Address: 1311 Xinzha Lu 新闸路1311号
Tel: 18621311695
Hours: Mon-Fri, 11am-2pm, 5pm-8:30pm; Sat-Sun, 11am-8:30pm
Address: 9 Donghu Lu 东湖路9号
Tel: 19921619258
Hours: Daily, 11am-8:30pm
