Shi Restaurant was found in the
55th year of the Emperor Qian Long’s reign (1790). It used to called Xushunlou
Restaurant with two wooden buildings for operation. Shi Han was the founder of
this restaurant. It used to be a small shop running by the couple themselves.
Until 1920s, great-grandson Shi Ren’an separated the hall and kitchen with
street. Over the years, famous for cooking fresh dishes from Taihu Lake,
this restaurant shapes a complete dish system with ten specialties which named
with Shi. In 1929, Li Genyuan renamed this restaurant as Shi Restaurant and
inscribed a short signage, 4 small boards and a horizontal inscribed board.
Later Ye Gongchuo and Shao Yuanchong wrote the left signage and right signage
respectively. In Republic of China, many celebrities came to Shi Restaurant for
delicacy, such as Yu Youren, Li Zongren, Li Jishen, Shen Junru, Zhang Zhizhong,
Shao Lizi, Ye Chucang, Sha Qianli, Shi Liang, etc.. Li Zongren once wrote in
his epigraph to the restaurant “Pursuing equality and fraternity, share
happiness with the people”. In past Shanghai,
Huang Jinrong and Du Yuesheng would came to Shi Restaurant each time while
traveling Taihu Lake. Other celebrities such as famous
artists of Beijing Opera Gai Jiatian and Zhou Xinfang, Pinghua artist Jin
Shengbo, renowned painter Zhang Daqian.
