Until the beer arrives, the faint breeze from the spreading of the blue-and-white tablecloth by your waiter may be the last cooling sensation you experience at this rustic shrine to Hunan's chilli-laden cuisine. Loved by Shanghainese and expats in equal measure, dishes are ferried in by sprightly peasant-attired staff to tables stuffed with enthusiastic, red-faced diners.
The claim to fame is the Hunan-style cumin-crusted ribs, but there’s no excuse not to sample the làzi jīdīng (fried chicken with chillies), the excellent Hunan-style fried crab in a clay pot or even the classic boiled frog. Cool down with the crowd-pleasing caramelised bananas for dessert.
