Alternative Eats: Tuck Shop Pies
We delve deep into Shanghai’s food underbelly to give youan alternative view of the city’s dining scene.
For those readers who are not familiar with the term “pie”, we are talking about a warm buttery pastry containing hot savoury filling that just fits snuggly in the palm of your hand. Given the current bitterly cold weather in Shanghai at the moment, Tuck Shop Pies couldn’t have picked a better time to warm their way into the hearts of Talk.
Entrepreneurial couple, Ryan McLeod and Olivia Fowler, who started Tuck Shop Pies, were both born and raised in New Zealand; a country that is known for its breathtaking landscapes, rather cold winters and, most importantly, high quality produce. Last year, after boasting to American and Canadian friends about how amazing traditional pies from their homeland can be, they were challenged to prove it. We can only assume that these initial pies went down a storm as not long after, the couple went into production with Tuck Shop Pies (tuck shop being the name for a school canteen where all Kiwi kids buy their daily fix of hot pies), and began selling pies at a friend’s shop. Thus, what was once just a shared passion for pies has given birth to their fledgling business.
The couple currently offer five tasty pies designed to tempt your tastebuds. They are: steak and mushroom, chicken and leek with a creamy white sauce, chicken curry, bacon and egg as well as chicken with cranberry and Brie. There are also five more new exciting flavours on the way. We have heard whispers about a mince and cheese pie that we can’t wait to get our mitts on.
What makes Tuck Shop Pies so special isn’t only the fact that their ingredients are sourced fresh from all over Shanghai, ensuring the finest quality - their premium beef is from Carrefour, their vegetable produce from the Avocado Lady and their dairy products all, naturally, from New Zealand company, Fonterra. Nor is it that they have the best recipes. But, what takes Tuck Shop Pies from simply an ordinary pie to the next level is, as Fowler says, “the love that they put into cooking them.” Mcleod and Fowler feel that the influx of expatriates hailing from New Zealand and Australia, where pies are somewhat a staple, allows Tuck Shop Pies to offer a homely comfort for those who are missing home or reminds foreigners of other nationalities about their mother’s home cooking.
Tuck Shop Pies are currently available in three locations around Shanghai; Pantry (205 Wulumuqi Nan Lu, near Jianguo Xi Lu. Tel: 138 1871 9543. Web: www. pantryshanghai.com), Sumarian (415 Shanxi Bei Lu, near Beijing Xi Lu. Tel: 135 6475 5689. Web: www.sumeriancoffee. com) or The Tap House (74 Yongkang Lu, near Xiangyang Nan Lu). Prices range from RMB 40 to RMB 50 per pie. There are also plans afoot to start selling online. As a relatively small scale business at the moment, we just hope that they can continue to make the same high quality products when producing on a larger scale but, whether you are an expatriate who hasn’t felt the warmth and satisfaction from devouring a delicious hot steak and mushroom pie in a while, or even a local who wants to sample New Zealand and Australian gourmet pies, McLeod and Fowler invite you to share the love and visit your nearest store today.
