Red House (Shanghai)

The Red House (红房子西菜馆 Hongfangzi xicanguan) is a restaurant in Shanghai serving a Shanghainese-style of Western food, known as Haipai cuisine. It is the oldest French-style restaurant in Shanghai. It now belongs to the 新亚富丽华 Xin Ya Fu Li Hua group.^[1]

History

Red House was opened in 1935 by Louis Rovere, an Italian Jew, at 845 Avenue Joffre (then 霞飞路 Xiafei Road ; now 淮海中路 Huaihai Middle Road).with the name Chez Rovere (罗威饭店 Luo Wei fandian).^[2]

When the Pacific War broke out in 1941, Rovere was captured and spent the war in an internment camp. After the Japanese surrender in 1945, he returned to the restaurant business and in 1946 opened another restaurant at 37 Ave du Roi Albert (now Shaanxi South Road), again serving Western food, this time with the name Chez Louis Bar (喜乐意 Xi Le Yi). This building had a bright red exterior, which earned it the familiar name of "the red house".^{[citation needed]}

In the early 1950s, when most foreigners left China, Liu Ruifu 刘瑞甫, a local Shanghainese, bought the restaurant for 2000 yuan and continue to run it as a Western-style restaurant. In 1956, at the suggestion of Peking Opera star Mei Lanfang, the restaurant was re-registered as a public-private partnership restaurant, with the name “The Red House Western Restaurant” (红房子西菜馆).^{[citation needed]}

In the Cultural Revolution, when Western food was considered bourgeois and banned, the restaurant was renamed The Red Flag Hotel, and Chinese food was served in its canteen.

In 1972, with international changes and Nixon’s visit to China, Western style was once again allowed, and the name of the restaurant was changed back to the Red House Western Restaurant.

In 1994, the restaurant was renovated and expanded, and was moved to the site of Louis Rovere's first restaurant at 845 Huaihai Middle Road. In 1998, the Red House, now owned by Asia Furama, was transformed into a joint-stock enterprise. In June 1999, The “Red House” was registered as a trademark (no.1289770).^[3]

The Red House is one of the most famous restaurants in Shanghai. There is a popular saying, "Going to the Red House to eat Western food" （吃西菜到红房子 Chi xican dao hongfangzi). It also appears in literature, for example, in Cao Wenxuan's novel Dragonfly Eyes (曹文轩:《蜻蜓眼》).^[4]

References

^ Farrer, James (2014). "Imported Culinary Heritage: the Case of Localized Western Cuisine in Shanghai". In Cheung, Sidney (ed.). Rethinking Asian Food Heritage, Taipei: The Foundation of Chinese Dietary Culture. pp. 75–104.
^ Farrer, James (2016). "Michelin Stars Over China: French Cuisine in Shanghai's Culinary Contact Zones". Proceedings of the 2015 International Conference on Chinese Food Culture, Taipei: Foundation of Chinese Dietary Culture. pp. 113–38.
^ Shaochang, Qian. "Hongfangzi zeng jiao Xi Le Yi, in Xinmin wanbao 2014-02-23 (钱绍昌. 红房子曾叫"喜乐意". 新民晚报" (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2014-03-24. Retrieved 2025-01-30.
^ "Dragonfly Eyes by Cao Wenxuan". Love Reading 4 Kids. Retrieved 2025-01-30.^{[failed verification]}

[1] Farrer, James (2014). "Imported Culinary Heritage: the Case of Localized Western Cuisine in Shanghai". In Cheung, Sidney (ed.). Rethinking Asian Food Heritage, Taipei: The Foundation of Chinese Dietary Culture. pp. 75–104.

[2] Farrer, James (2016). "Michelin Stars Over China: French Cuisine in Shanghai's Culinary Contact Zones". Proceedings of the 2015 International Conference on Chinese Food Culture, Taipei: Foundation of Chinese Dietary Culture. pp. 113–38.

[3] Shaochang, Qian. "Hongfangzi zeng jiao Xi Le Yi, in Xinmin wanbao 2014-02-23 (钱绍昌. 红房子曾叫"喜乐意". 新民晚报" (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2014-03-24. Retrieved 2025-01-30.

[4] "Dragonfly Eyes by Cao Wenxuan". Love Reading 4 Kids. Retrieved 2025-01-30.^{[failed verification]}

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