SHANGHAI · FOOD GUIDE
Eating in Shanghai
Shanghai's cuisine (本帮菜, Běnbāng cài) is defined by soy sauce, rock sugar, and Shaoxing wine — producing dishes that are amber-glossed, subtly sweet, and deeply savoury. The city also absorbs Cantonese dim sum, Jiangsu refinement, and a cosmopolitan dining scene shaped by decades of international exchange.
小笼包
Xiaolongbao
Thin-skinned steamed dumplings filled with seasoned pork and a spoonful of jellied broth that melts to liquid in the steamer.
Where to try: Din Tai Fung (鼎泰丰) Xintiandi; Jia Jia Tang Bao (佳家汤包) on Huanghe Road.
红烧肉
Red-braised Pork
Pork belly slow-cooked with soy, rice wine, and sugar until lacquer-dark and meltingly tender.
Where to try: Jesse Restaurant (吉士酒家), Tianping Road; Old Shanghai Restaurant (老上海饭店), Jingan.
生煎包
Shengjianbao
Pan-fried pork buns with crispy bottoms and juicy filling; sprinkled with sesame seeds and spring onion.
Where to try: Yang's Dumplings (小杨生煎), multiple branches; Da Hu Chun (大壶春), Sichuan North Road.
大闸蟹
Hairy Crab
Steamed freshwater crab from nearby Lake Yangcheng, served with ginger-infused black vinegar; in season October–December.
Where to try: Wang Bao He Restaurant (王宝和酒家), Nanjing Road; riverside restaurants in Zhujiajiao.
葱油饼
Cong You Bing
Flaky spring-onion flatbread fried on a griddle; a standard breakfast or snack.
Where to try: Street stalls on Wujiang Road pedestrian lane; morning markets in old Zhabei neighbourhood.
French Concession (Xuhui / Jing'an)
Xian Qiang Steamed Dumplings
鲜墙坊
- Address
- 786 Julu Road, Jing'an
- Hours
- 07:00–21:00 daily
- Metro
- Changshu Road (Lines 1/7)
- Order
- Xiaolongbao, steamed pork buns
Fu 1088
福1088
- Address
- 375 Zhenning Road, Changning
- Hours
- 11:30–14:00, 17:30–22:00
- Metro
- Jiangsu Road (Line 2)
- Order
- Red-braised pork, braised fish tail, bamboo shoot soup
Commune Social
- Address
- 511 Jiangning Road, Jing'an
- Hours
- 12:00–23:00 daily
- Metro
- Changping Road (Line 7)
- Order
- Seasonal small plates, house cocktails
Xintiandi / Huangpu
Ye Shanghai
夜上海
- Address
- 338 Huangpi South Road, Huangpu
- Hours
- 11:00–23:00 daily
- Metro
- Xintiandi (Line 10)
- Order
- Smoked fish, lion's head meatballs, Shanghai crab
Nanxiang Steamed Bun
南翔馒头店
- Address
- 85 Yuyuan Road, Huangpu
- Hours
- 07:00–21:00 daily
- Metro
- Yuyuan Garden (Line 10)
- Order
- Crab roe xiaolongbao, pork xiaolongbao
Lost Heaven Bar & Restaurant
花马天堂
- Address
- 17 Yan'an East Road, Huangpu
- Hours
- 11:00–23:30 daily
- Metro
- East Nanjing Road (Lines 2/10)
- Order
- Yunnan mushroom hotpot, cold noodle salad
Wujiang Road pedestrian lane (吴江路) in Jing'an is a compact block of breakfast stalls and cheap lunch spots — particularly good for cong you bing and lu wei (soy-braised cold cuts). Yunnan South Road food street near People's Square is lively in the evenings. The wet market at Jiangning Road has excellent produce, tofu, and fresh noodles for self-catering visitors staying in apartments.