A Must-Try Popular Snack on Gulangyu Island: Shen’s Cheung Fun with Silky Skins and Generous Fillings

▲ Shen’s Fujian-style Cheung Fun wrapped with egg crepes and various toppings.

Text & Photos / Jiu Wu E Fu

Gulangyu Island in Xiamen is one of the area’s most popular tourist attractions, and as a result, the island is dotted with numerous food stalls and restaurants. Among them, the long queue outside Shen’s Fujian-style Cheung Fun caught the attention of Jiu Wu E Fu.

Traditional Fujian-style cheung fun is a common snack in the rural areas of Xiamen. Despite having a similar name to other types, its taste and preparation method are quite different. In this cramped shop, which can only fit four people at a time, each person has their own task — whisking eggs, steaming the pancakes, sprinkling toppings, and handling payments — creating a seemingly magical assembly-line process. A steaming hot portion of cheung fun is served up in no time. For an extra egg or meat, the price is 9 RMB (about 45 TWD).

▲ The long line of customers is a common sight at Shen’s Cheung Fun.

Looking through the thick steam inside the shop, you’ll see that Shen’s chefs use a tiered steamer. They pour a layer of rice batter onto each metal plate before sliding them into the steamer drawers. An assistant helps whisk the eggs, and once the chef brushes the cheung fun skin with egg wash and adds cabbage, it goes back in to cook. Once cooked, the pancake is removed, rolled up, and sliced before being placed in a bowl. The assistant then drizzles on sauce, scallion oil, pickled vegetables, and cilantro before handing it over to the customer.

▲ The making of Shen’s Cheung Fun.

Compared to the more common Cantonese-style cheung fun, Fujian-style versions offer more variety in toppings. The translucent cheung fun skin paired with egg has a silky and smooth texture with a slight chewiness. The dark, seemingly heavy sauce also has a surprisingly refreshing taste, with bold flavors from scallion oil and sauces but without being overly salty. The greens add a refreshing crunch and brighten the dish. Within this simple-looking bowl of cheung fun lies a medley of textures — soft, silky, and crispy — making it a great snack while exploring the area. Adding some chili oil makes it even more satisfying.

▲ Cheung fun topped with scallion oil, vegetables, chili oil, and various seasonings.

As a tourist hotspot, Gulangyu has relatively high prices — a bowl of Shacha noodles, for example, costs around 20–25 RMB (100–125 TWD). This makes Shen’s Cheung Fun a more affordable option. Jiu Wu E Fu noticed from the shop’s introduction that the Shen family has been the main wedding banquet chef for several generations in their village. By chance, they came to Gulangyu to sell Fujian-style cheung fun. To ensure great taste, they use locally milled rice for the batter and locally grown scallions for making scallion oil, not skimping on ingredient quality.

▲ Next to the cheung fun shop is an ice cream stand, where many customers can be seen hunched over their cheung fun.

However, due to the small space and fast service at Shen’s, there are no seats. Customers simply stand next to the ice cream shop or in nearby alleys after purchasing, quickly slurping down their hot cheung fun — a unique street scene on Gulangyu.

Shen’s Fujian-style Cheung Fun
Address: No. 57 Fujian Road, Gulangyu Island, Xiamen
Price: 9 RMB (approx. 45 TWD) per serving of cheung fun