Shanghai does not have a definitive cuisine of its own, but modifies those of the surrounding provinces (mostly from adjacent Jiangsu and Zhejiang coastal provinces). What can be called Shanghai cuisine is epitomized by the use of alcohol. Fish, eel, crab, and chicken are “drunken” with spirits and are briskly cooked / steamed or served raw. Salted meats and preserved vegetables are also commonly used to match the dish.

The use of sugar is common in Shanghai cuisine, especially when used in combination with soy sauce. Non-natives tend to have difficulty identifying this usage of sugar and are often surprised when told of the “secret ingredient”. The most notable dish of this type of cooking is “sweet and sour spare ribs”. Red-cooking is a popular style of stewing meats and vegetables with soy sauce.

Lion’s head meatball

Beggar’s Chicken is a legendary dish of Beijing origin, wrapped in lotus leaves and covered in clay. Though usually prepared in ovens, the original and historic preparation involved cooking in the ground. The lion’s head meatball and Shanghai-style nian gao (glutinous rice cakes) are also unique in Shanghai, as well as the Shanghai fried noodles, a regional variant of chow mein that is made with Shanghai-style thick noodle. 
 
Chinese mitten crab (Da Zha Xie大闸蟹)

Facing the East China Sea, seafood in Shanghai is very popular. However, due to its location among the rivers, lakes, and canals of the Yangtze Delta, locals favor freshwater produce just as much as saltwater products like crabs, oysters, and seaweed. The most notable local delicacy is Shanghai hairy crab. Chinese mitten crab (Da Zha Xie (大闸蟹)) a kind of crab found in the Yangcheng Lake. And it is normally consumed in the autumn (September & October in every year). The crabs are tied with ropes/strings, placed in bamboo containers, steamed and served.

Shanghainese are known to eat in delicate portions (which makes them a target of mockery from other Chinese), and hence the servings are usually quite small. For example, notable buns from Shanghai such as the xiaolong mantou (known as xiaolongbao in Mandarin) and the shengjian mantou are usually about four centimeters in diameter, much smaller than the typical baozi (steamed bread with stuffings) elsewhere.

Recommended Foods:

Sheng Jian Bao 

 
Breakfast is commonly bought from corner stalls which sell pork buns, for the best small steamer bun. These stalls also sell other types of buns, such as Shengjian Mantou (ç"Ÿç…Žé¦'头, literally fried bun) and Guo Tie (fried jiaozi), all eaten dipped in black vinegar.

Xiao Long Bao

 
A notable Shanghai delicacy is the xiao long bao, sometimes known as Shanghai Dumplings in English-speaking countries. Xiao long bao, or “small steamer bun” (literally translated) as mentioned above, is a type of steamed bun that is filled with pork (most commonly found) or minced crab, and soup. Although it appears delicate, a good xiao long bao is able to hold in the soup until the xiao long bao is bitten. They are steamed in bamboo baskets and served with vinegar and in some places, shredded ginger. A common way of eating the xiao long bao is to bite the top off, suck all the soup, then dipping it in vinegar before eating.

Typical Shanghainese breakfast

Shanghainese people do not usually spend too much time on having breakfast, so breakfast in Shanghai is pretty simple. Shanghainese are used to grabbing some food in small snack stores or having a bowl of pao fan (泡饭/rice in soup or water) at home.

A typical breakfast combination is you tiao, a doughlike food that is deep fried in oil until crisp and is eaten in all parts of China, wrapped in thick pancake, accompanied by soybean milk.

"Four Heavenly Kings”

The most well-known foods for breakfast are the “Four Heavenly Kings” (四大é‡'刚), which include da bing (大饼) (Chinese pancake), you tiao (deep-fried dough stick), ci fan tuan (steamed sticky rice ball) and soybean milk.

The unfinished ci fan tuan (steamed sticky rice ball)

Among “Four Heavenly Kings”, ci fan tuan belongs to typical Shanghai food. It is made of warm steamed sticky rice. Shanghainese likes putting sugar and you tiao inside the steamed sticky rice. They also put salty duck egg yolk, rou song (crushed dried pork) or other stuffings in ci fan tuan.

Recommended Restaurants:

Da Gong Guan Restaurant

Add: 7 Donghu Rd.
Tel:　+86 21 6415 7777
Open: 11:00 - 23:00
Website: www.ddg.com.cn
Introduction: Built in 1920s, this elegant house was designed by a French designer. Now it was reconstructed to become a restaurant. The original pattern was fully preserved. The local style dishes are carefully selected and meticulously prepared here.

Fu 1039 Restaurant

Add: 1039 Yuyuan Rd.
Tel:　+86 21 5237 1878
Open: 11:00 - 14:00, 17:00 - 23:00
Introduction: It is a restaurant offering local-style dishes. In every room of this 3-story house, there is western style furniture of the old times in Shanghai. It serves old Shanghai dishes.

Guilin Garden 1931

Add: 188 Caobao Rd. (inside Guilin Park)
Tel:　+86 21 6451 5098
Open: 11:00 - 23:00
Website: www.guilingarden.com
Introduction: Guilin Garden was the private residences of Huang Jinrong – Shanghai’s most powerful mob boss of the 1920s and 1930s. It includes five major with Luck, Wealth, Longevity, Happiness and Immortal themed architectures. Food on offer in Guilin Garden is fine dining Chinese-style, with much of the ingredients imported. This is a good choice for business dinner, birthday feast, wedding, product launch, family celebration and other events.

La Villa Rouge

Add: 811 Hengshan Rd.
Tel:　+86 21 6431 9811
Open: 11:30 - 21:00
Introduction: Set up in 1921, this was the China Record Factory in 1954. The restaurant now serves Italian dishes. On the walls are photos of movie stars of that time.

Peace Restaurant

Add: 158 Fenyang Rd.
Tel:　+86 21 6437 5193
Open: 11:00 - 23:00
Introduction: Located on Fenyang Rd., it is a good quiet place of remembering old times. There are about ten big trees of 100 years old in the garden. It serves dishes of Shanghai, Hong Kong and Canton.

Shen Yue Xuan Restaurant

Add: 849 Huashan Rd.
Tel:　+86 21 6251 1166
Open: 09:00 - 23:00 (Sat. & Sun.), 11:00 - 23:00 (Mon. - Fri.)
Introduction: It is well-known as the Ding Xiang Garden and regarded as the best garden building in Shanghai. Building No. 1, with the style of that in British countryside, is a house of 3-story. There is a round lotus pond and fountain, a large space lawn and gardens. Now the Shen Yue Xuan Restaurant is in building No. 2. It offers delicate Cantonese dishes.

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