Cool soupy summer cooler

Mung bean soup from Ayi's Milk Tea Stall

This is the summer dessert for the city, if not the country. Having a bowl of chilled mung bean soup on summer mornings in Shanghai is as common as having milk or coffee.

In fact, it's such a household favorite that one is hard to find it sold on the streets or in restaurants. It's definitely a mama's exclusive. Fortunately, we found an ayi (auntie) offering this family special.

On Huoshan Road in Hongkou district, a Shanghai lady in her 50s cooks up the green bean soup and serves it from her cramped ghetto-like stall. She calls it Ayi's Milk Tea Stall and she has sold this summer staple for more than 20 years.

While the soup is easy to make and recipes are handy online, the soup from Ayi's, ladled out into a plastic cup for takeaway, is "addictive", and has lured many away from momma's kitchen.

The secret to Ayi's less-than-10-yuan soup is mint. The leaves are soaked in the water overnight before it is used for cooking the soup. The mung beans are steamed for three to four hours until the skin breaks and the bean "flowers".

It is a soup that clears the haze, quiets the city bustle and brings peace in summer, as the long lines waiting for Ayi's soup hail it.

Address: Ayi's Milk Tea Stall, 82 Huoshan Road, Hongkou district.

136-518-37112