Long Legs Mutton

Long Legs Mutton is a tiny, dusty and dilapidated eatery hidden in a long narrow lane of Zhoupu Town in Nanhui District, above an hour's drive from downtown. The town itself is small and unremarkable and Long Legs isn't a real restaurant. It only has a small butcher's counter where mutton is sold and six dusty tables and some chairs outside.

It fits the description of those secret little food havens in martial arts novels. Even most Shanghainese don't know about it. Most people pass by because it's closed for most of the day.

The mysterious Long Legs Mutton belongs to Uncle Long Legs, whose real name is kept secret, but he has been selling mutton in the area for at least 25 years. He only sells broiled mutton, intestines, noodles and rice wine.

Mutton is about 40 yuan (US$6) per pound (0.45 kilogram) and rice wine is 4 yuan per bowl.

The shop opens at 4am daily and starts wrapping up around 8am, when everything is sold out. Uncle opens again briefly around 2pm, and closes again when the mutton is sold out - it goes fast.

Many seniors in town have been going there for more than 20 years. They gather at the four tables in the narrow lane in early morning, eating mutton and noodle soup and drinking rice wine. They also take the fresh meat home.

There are long lines that include folks who woke up early and drove to the legendary spot.

An entire town of mutton

Compared with tiny Zhoupu, Qibao Ancient Town in Minhang District is more famous as the new popular watertown, after Zhouzhuang and Zhu Jiajiao.

The town is named after a small temple in the town, built at least 2,000 years ago by a rich family named Lu as a place to pray to ancestors. The temple was expanded many times, and crowds drawn by the temple helped develop the town into one of the richest in the area in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).

The town has numerous, well-preserved buildings, old family shops, folk crafts and delicious food.

It's famous for its mutton. Almost all shops sell broiled mutton and the largest restaurants even provide an entire meal of mutton - more than 10 dishes of different parts of the sheep, cooked in different ways. Everything but the "baa" is eaten.

Wise and wonderful mutton

Cangshu is a small town in Suzhou, missed by most travelers on a brief trip. It's quite ordinary compared with other attractions in Suzhou, except for its appealing name.

Cang means hiding and shu means books. Apart from its beautiful scenery and gardens, Suzhou is famous for producing scholars. Many famous ancient scholars, writers, poets and painters were born in the area.

After the Emperor Qin Shihuang unified China in 221 BC, he became notorious for burning the books of intellectuals and burying Confucians alive. Local tales in Cangshu tell of book burning.

Long ago students and scholars there had to bury their books to protect them, and to save their own lives. They dug them up 15 years later when the brief dynasty ended and named the town after their sad experience.

Ancients believed that all the plants and trees in the town absorbed the wisdom and the aroma of buried books, through their roots.

Local sheep grazing on the wise grasses ingested the wisdom - and that's why mutton in the town doesn't have that strong odor.

A charming story. Castration is the real story; the male hormones create a strong smell.

Although some Shanghai restaurants sell mutton from Cangshu, the most authentic mutton is sold in the old town. The most famous is cooked with soy source, and it's possible to eat a full-course mutton meal.

In addition to mutton, the town has a long history of stone carving.

All-in-one town

Zhujiajiao is the famous "Venice of Shanghai" in Qingpu District and dates back more than 1,000 years. Ancient buildings and bridges are well preserved.

Much larger than other watertowns like Tongli or Zhouzhuang, Zhujiajiao also has more attractions. It's easy to get lost. It's recommended to take it in this order: one bridge, one street, one temple, one plaza, one pavilion, two gardens, three bays and 26 lanes - and that's just the first visit.

The town is known for producing literati and for its book collections. It is said more than half the old families collect books as a family tradition and even own valuable copies of ancient books.

The varied cuisine is a major attraction. There's not a single specialty, but many dishes, from lake fish and crustaceans to snacks.

The most popular are the wrapped meat, the zongzi or glutinous rice dumplings, and pig's feet cooked with soy source. Although you can buy them in downtown Shanghai as well, it's fresher, tastier and much cheaper.

(Shanghai Daily February 23, 2009)