The New Year parties during the recent holiday season have undoubtedly given the city a festive atmosphere. However, for most Chinese, the traditional New Year or Spring Festival in the lunar calendar is a much more important event.

This year, February 10 will mark the start of the Chinese New Year, the year of the snake, which follows the year of the dragon and precedes the year of the horse in the Chinese zodiac.

Symbol of evil

The well-known Aesop's Fables tells the story of how a farmer saved a freezing snake, while the cold-blood creature sought to attack the farmer at the same time. This was one of the earliest tales in which the snake was painted as a symbol of evil. However, as one of the 12 Chinese zodiac animals, the snake embodies some positive characteristics in China. For instance, Tale of the White Snake, a popular Chinese folk story which highlights the faithful love between a doctor and his wife who is actually a "snake spirit," has helped make the snake a symbol of the pursuit of love and happiness. Moreover, the snake, alongside the turtle and the crane, also embodies longevity in traditional Chinese culture.

Snakes are also highly regarded as a "treasure" in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) as almost all of its body parts are said to have health-giving qualities. 

Medicinal treasure

According to TCM, snake bile helps improve the vision, to relieve coughs, to reduce phlegm and to expel inner heat and humidity. And the skin that the snake naturally sheds is rich in bone collagen, and functions well in the treatment of convulsions and itchy skin. 

Meanwhile, snake blood is said to alleviate rheumatoid arthritis, while snake venom is not only used to make anti venom serums, but is also applied in the treatment of paralysis.

And as originally suggested in the Compendium of Material Medica written during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), the body fat of a snake can help prevent frostbite and chapped skin and is now used in skin care products for precisely this effect.

Dried snake is referred to as "animal ginseng" for its rich concentration of amino acids, which are particularly helpful for old people, pregnant women and patients suffering from neurasthenia and chronic headaches.

Steeping snakes in liquor also has medicinal uses in concoctions such as sanshejiu (three kinds of medicinal snake liquor), wushejiu (five kinds of medicinal snake liquor), and guishejiu (medicinal snake and turtle liquor).

Nutritional delicacy

Rich in amino acids and low in cholesterol, snake meat has long been a traditional ingredient in Cantonese cuisine. China is said to be one of the largest consumers of snake meat in the world, but in Shanghai gourmands searching out snake meat are relatively thin on the ground. 

"To cook snake meat involves removing the scales and bones and reducing the unpleasant odor of the meat, which is usually beyond the ability of most ordinary people," a restaurant manager in Hongkou district, who asked not to be named, told the Global Times.

"The most popular dishes in local restaurants are made from the commonly seen Black-tailed snake, the Chinese water snake and the King Ratsnake. The snake meat can be spicy and fried, or be boiled in a hotpot or with rice porridge, while the snake skin can be dressed with coriander and sauce in cold dishes."

Below are a number of restaurants serving snake in the city and which have scored excellent ratings on dianping.com, the leading online platform for restaurant diner reviews.

Linlin Restaurant 霖霖小馆

Located in a narrow longtang on Xingfu Road (the same lane as the nightclub Dada), this small restaurant is dedicated to cooking snake meat dishes, which range from spicy fried snake meat, to pigeon soup with snake meat and snake skin salad. The hot and spicy griddled Black-tailed snake meat with bullfrog meat is also one of the popular dishes in the restaurant.

Opening hours: 11 am to 2 pm, 4:30 pm to 11 pm

Add: 115 Xingfu Road

幸福路115号

Tel: 6283-5793

Wanxian Hong Kong-Style Hotpot 万先港式打边炉

This Hong Kong-style restaurant has a history of more than 17 years, and offers snake meat hotpots with Chinese medicinal herbs which are said to enhance absorption of the nutrients in snake meat. Spicy fried King Ratsnake is one of the most popular dishes in the eatery, while different kinds of hand-made beef, fish, and chicken ball dishes are also big favorites.

Opening hours: 3:30 pm to 3:30 am

Add: 452 Jiangxi Road North

江西北路452号

Tel: 6307-2556

Home's Restaurant in Shanghai 家里面菜馆

The snake meat dishes in this restaurant include rice porridge with snake meat, snake meat salad, griddled bullfrog and snake, and spicy fried Chinese water snake. The restaurant also features an array of Sichuan-style and Shanghai-style dishes. To order King Ratsnake porridge in the restaurant requires making a reservation one day in advance.

Opening hours: 11 am to 9 pm

Add: B1/F, Yalong International Plaza, 500 Jinling Road East

金陵东路500号亚龙国际广场B1楼

Tel: 6373-6670