Despite the ever-changing dining scene in Shanghai, some Western-style restaurants kept serving their original dishes throughout the decades. The classic tastes they serve are still the favorite of loyal clients, who are known as laokela.

In Shanghainese, laokela are senior gentlemen who know how to enjoy life. This is a term which possibly was derived from "old clerk", someone who has a good job and leads a middle-class life.

Red House Restaurant, known in Chinese as Hong Fangzi, and Deda Western Food Restaurant are two of the oldest Western restaurants in Shanghai that enjoy high recognition among gourmets.