Long-lasting love affair with Western cuisine in Shanghai

Opened in 1935 by a Jewish Italian and his French wife, Red House was originally named Chez Revere in Shanghai. After 1950, the red-brick restaurant continued serving Western food and changed its name to Red House at the suggestion of Peking Opera legend Mei Lanfang.[Provided to China Daily]

Despite the ever-changing dining scene in Shanghai, some Western-style restaurants kept serving their original dishes throughout the decades. The classic tastes they serve are still the favorite of loyal clients, who are known as laokela.

In Shanghainese, laokela are senior gentlemen who know how to enjoy life. This is a term which possibly was derived from "old clerk", someone who has a good job and leads a middle-class life.

Red House Restaurant, known in Chinese as Hong Fangzi, and Deda Western Food Restaurant are two of the oldest Western restaurants in Shanghai that enjoy high recognition among gourmets.

Many senior Shanghainese had their first date in one of two restaurants, and until now, the Red House's baked clams a la maison, Deda's fried pork chop, hand-made salad sauce, and sweet and sour borsch are still ordered by Shanghainese when they come back to recall old times.

Red House

Opened in 1935 by a Jewish Italian and his French wife, Red House was originally named Chez Revere and located on the city's busiest Middle Huaihai Road.

The French restaurant soon won its reputation among Shanghai's foreign residents who enjoyed genuine Western food there.

In 1941, Louis Revere, owner of the restaurant, was put in a concentration camp after the outbreak of the Pacific War because he was Jewish. When Revere was released in 1945, he purchased a restaurant on South Shaanxi Road and renamed it Chez Louis.

Like many of his counterparts, Revere went back to his homeland in the early 1950s, and the restaurant was purchased by Shanghainese Liu Ruifu for 2,000 yuan ($323 in current exchange rate). The red-brick restaurant continued serving Western food and changed its name to Red House at the suggestion of Peking Opera legend Mei Lanfang.

The Red House became more famous after two top leaders tasted its dishes－Chen Yi in 1954, when he was mayor of Shanghai, and Liu Shaoqi in 1959, when he was the president of China.

Since then, "go to Red House to have Western cuisine" has become a catchphrase among local residents. In the early 1980s, people lined up to get a seat at the Red House Restaurant. Sometimes, they even sat on the stairs because the queuing was too exhausting.