Eat Like a Local: a Guide to Chinese Cuisine
a culinary bucket list & menu resource (with visuals, of course)
One of the top questions I got when I came back from my trip to Shanghai was, “How was the food?! What was your favorite?!” which, after reading this post, you’ll understand just how difficult of a question that is to answer quickly! The short, “tl;dr” answer is, “MARVELOUS.” The unabridged version is…below 😘
but first, a preamble
When you’re visiting China, it’s not about where to eat, but what to eat, because there’s honestly so much good food everywhere, you can’t go wrong! To avoid getting sensory overload or having decision fatigue, here’s a “bucket list” of foods that I’d recommend you hit up as a starting point. 😊
Since Shanghai is a big city, the food on its streets and in its restaurants are not strictly “local” (and honestly, with the world’s globalization, it’s rare to find any city that strictly has its own indigenous cuisine). You’ll see Szechuan-style, Beijing-style, and other regional Chinese cuisine styles, as well as restaurants offering really really good international food—Indian, Korean, Japanese, you name it! Since there is such a wide variety of food represented in the Shanghai food scene, I’ll use the below key to communicate which ones are Shanghai specialties, my favorites, a must-try…you get my drift:
a key, a legend
✅ recommended for your bucket list—easy on the palate to people new to Chinese food, yet also classic. Include this on your bucket list because you don’t want to miss it!
🈸 Shanghainese cuisine (本帮菜, běn bāng cài)—we’re talking traditional, indigenous, Shanghai-style dishes/eats that my parents grew up on; also known as “Shanghai-style” (上海特色, shànghǎi tèsè); I’ll be using this for specialty snacks too! p.s., can we have a moment for the fact that there’s an emoji for 申 (shēn), another name for Shanghai?!
❤️ my favorites—the stuff I could eat every day and not get sick of
💕 my husband’s favorites—the stuff my husband really enjoyed and would request on repeat!
table of contents
**as a reminder, there’s a built-in navigational panel on the left side of the screen too :)
street food // (小吃, xiǎochī) food you typically find at a street vendor stall or at a casual eatery; these are typically enjoyed for breakfast, as a grab-n-go snack
Deep fried dough stick [✅❤️]
Fried pork chop with rice cake [🈸✅]
Fried pork cutlet
Fried turnip cake [✅🈸❤️]
Flakey shredded radish pastry
Flatbread (allll the types...scallion pancakes are under here!) [✅🈸❤️]
Fried glutinous rice sesame balls [✅💕]
Fried pocket filled with Chinese chives & vermicelli noodles
Fried rice cake [✅🈸❤️]
Fried wheat gluten tofu skin soup
Glutinous rice balls
Hot pepper soup
Jianbing
Kebabs
Pan-fried beef buns
Pan-fried buns [✅🈸❤️💕]
Pan-fried dumplings [✅💕]
Pork chop soup noodles [🈸]
Preserved vegetables & shredded pork noodles [❤️]
Pumpkin porridge
Rice flour cake [✅]
Rice flour pancakes [🈸]
Rice with salted pork and greens [✅🈸❤️]
Savory pork mooncakes [✅🈸❤️💕]
Scallion oil noodles [✅🈸]
Shumai [✅]
Spring roll
Soup dumplings [✅🈸❤️]
Steamed bun [✅]
Steamed buns with filling [✅❤️💕]
Stinky tofu [✅]
Stuffed sticky rice roll [✅🈸💕]
Tea eggs [✅]
Tofu pudding [✅]
Wheat gluten
Wontons [✅🈸💕]
Zha Jiang Mian [✅]
schnackos // (点心, diǎnxīn) defined as anything from a nibble, to a packaged treat, to a dessert (甜点, tiándiǎn); anything edible that the responsible adult in you wouldn’t comfortably qualify as meal material but wish could be
Black sesame soup [✅💕]
Butter shortbread cookies [✅🈸]
Chinese yogurt [✅🈸❤️]
Cold dessert soup [✅❤️]
Croissant
Dong Bei Da Ban [✅❤️]
Durian cream puffs
Egg tarts [✅❤️]
Fried mochi filled with brown sugar syrup [💕]
Green mochi with red bean filling [✅🈸]
Mung bean cakes [✅🈸💕]
Ox hide candy [✅🈸❤️]
Palmier cookies [🈸]
Sesame crackers [✅🈸]
Tang yuan [✅]
food food // (饭菜, fàncài) repetitive word usage to emphasize legit-ness of its qualification as being meal material; defined as anything that contains nutritional value to fuel that hot bod of yours. These are dishes you typically find at sit down & order restaurants, or are cooked at home.
Boiled pig stomach
Braised belt fish [🈸❤️]
Braised kaofu with mushrooms [✅🈸💕]
Chinese celery, pressed tofu, and shredded pork stir fry [❤️]
Chinese chive boxes [✅❤️]
Chinese spiced braised beef shank [✅❤️]
Clam and scrambled egg stir fry
Cold jellyfish salad [🈸]
Crab puff pastry
Crab roe noodles
Crab roe tofu [🈸]
Dry pot cauliflower [❤️]
Dry radish and edamame stir fry [❤️]
Eight treasures stir fry [✅🈸❤️]
Fried wonton omelet [✅🈸]
Glutinous rice balls in sweet fermented rice wine [✅🈸❤️💕]
Hot and sour fish noodle soup [✅]
Ma lan tou and spiced tofu [✅🈸❤️]
Old duck vermicelli soup
Pickled vegetables, edamame, and shredded pork stir fry [❤️]
Razor clams in scallion oil [🈸]
Red noodle soup
Rice cake stir fry [✅🈸]
Salt and pepper pork ribs [✅❤️💕]
Salted pork soup with bamboo shoots and tofu [✅🈸❤️]
Sautéed Chinese broccoli [✅❤️💕]
Shanghai-style braised pork belly [✅🈸❤️💕]
Shanghai-style sweet and sour ribs [✅🈸❤️💕]
Shanghai xun yu [✅🈸❤️]
Shanghai-style white cut chicken [✅🈸]
Shepherd’s purse and yellow croaker soup [✅🈸]
Shrimp stir fry [🈸❤️]
Soy-glazed anchovies [🈸❤️]
Spicy pork noodles [✅🈸💕]
Steamed whole fish [✅❤️💕]
Stir-fried eel [🈸💕]
Stir-fried frog legs [✅❤️]
Stir-fried yellow beef [✅❤️💕]
Sweet and sour mandarin fish [✅🈸]
Sweet lotus root with osmanthus sticky rice [✅🈸]
Typhoon shelter bullfrogs [✅❤️]
Wine fragrant sautéed edible clover [✅🈸]
Yellow braised chicken [✅❤️]
bevvies // (饮料, yǐnliào) defined as anything you drink through a straw or sip through those coffee drink lids; anything that semi-quenches thirst
Black rice porridge [✅]
Chinese orange soda [✅]
Coca-Cola
Coffee
Millet porridge [✅]
Mineral water
Soy milk
Sugarcane juice [✅]
Tea
Vitasoy
Wang Laoji
street food (小吃, xiǎochī)
Deep fried dough stick [✅❤️]
油条 (yóutiáo) are yeast-leavened, wheat-flour based dough sticks that blow up like beautiful balloons when they hit the hot oil. You’ve got to have these fresh, they are an absolute crispy airy delight!
Fried pork chop with rice cake [🈸✅]
排骨年糕 (páigǔ niángāo) are a very classic Shanghainese street food that became popular in the 1930’s. This dish pairs a fried pork chop with fried rice cakes, then douses it in Shanghai Worcestershire sauce.
Fried pork cutlet
炸猪排 (zházhūpái) originated from Austria or the UK; Shanghai has their own style of fried pork chops that are crispy on the outside and tender on the inside (but it was hard for me to tell it apart from tonkatsu). You’ll see this as a popular side item to order at any casual meal, especially to go with noodles (usually served with Shanghai Worcestershire sauce)!
Fried turnip cake [✅🈸❤️]
油墩子 (yóudūnzi) are also called “deep fried shredded radish fritter” (萝卜丝饼油墩子, luóbosībǐng yóu dūnzi). This is a nostalgic treat that my dad remembers fondly. It’s comprised of shredded daikon radish seasoned with salt and a peppery spice and drenched in enough batter that yields a 1.5-2 inch hunk of thick cake after it’s fried. The golden exterior is SO crispy and the inside is tender and juicy. Better than any veggie fritter I’ve had!
Flakey shredded radish pastry
萝卜丝饼 (luóbosībǐng) are seasoned shredded radish encased in a flakey pastry that resembles that of the pastry used with savory mooncakes. Cooked on a griddle to have browned tops and bottoms!
Flatbread
饼 (bǐng) is a generic term used to describe a wheat-flour pancake that can be filled or not filled, yeast-leavened or not leavened. An all-encompassing term for a round flat disc of carb, basically.
baked & leavened flatbread (烧饼, shāobǐng)—also called shao bing, baked wheaten pancake (火烧, huǒshāo), or Chinese sesame flatbread. This is a popular snack in northern China and originated from the Shandong province. It is made by brushing layers of wheat flour dough with a sesame paste and baked in a wood-fired oven. Menus will offer “small” and “large” sizes, with the large flatbreads typically filled with something sweet or savory and the small flatbreads served plain and loaded with salt, scallions, seasoning, etc. within its dough folds. Examples of ones I tried below:
large flatbread filled with meigan five-spice minced meat (梅干菜五鲜肉大烧饼, méigāncài wǔxiānròu dà shāobǐng) [❤️]—a great ratio of filling to flatbread. I loved the flavor on this one and could eat it frequently
large flatbread (大烧饼, dà shāobǐng) small flatbread (小烧饼, xiǎo shāobǐng)—a little too plain to eat on its own, so make sure you pair it with something flavorful
small flatbread (小烧饼, xiǎo shāobǐng)
fried & leavened flatbread (饼, bǐng)—these are cousins of the baked flatbreads, with the difference being that instead of baking the filled flatbread, the flatbread is pan fried on a griddle (menus aren’t great at clearly labeling these differently from the baked flatbreads, so it can be a guessing game)
beef flatbread (牛肉饼, niúròu bǐng)—flatbread filled with seasoned beef, then pan fried to cook. The texture was dry & tough, yet crispy & flakey
📍张记油条 (zhāng jì yóutiáo) salt & pepper flatbread (椒盐饼, jiāoyán bǐng)—while definitely a savory pancake, it wasn’t super salty nor peppery and was filled with scallions and onions
📍张记油条 (zhāng jì yóutiáo)
fried + unleavened flatbread (also… 饼, bǐng)—which ends up translating into “pancake,” even though normal pancakes use baking soda/baking powder, and these don’t...Anyway, semantics! There’s really only one type, the classic scallion pancake:
scallion pancake (葱油饼, cōngyóubǐng) [✅🈸]—unleavened flatbread made with wheat flour and folded with oil and finely minced scallions once/twice; this can be more doughy with fewer layers and is less crispy
📍老上海葱油饼 (lǎoshànghǎi cōngyóubǐng) 
📍豫园商场 (yù yuán shāngchǎng) scallion grab pancake (葱抓饼, cōng zhuā bǐng) [✅🈸❤️]—a variety of scallion pancake that layers oil & scallions between dough folds multiple times (3+ times), which produces a more flakey, tender texture that is reminiscent of Indian paratha
scallion grab pancake (葱抓饼, cōng zhuā bǐng)
Fried glutinous rice sesame balls [✅💕]
芝麻球 (zhī má qiú) also known as “麻球” (má qiú) for short; are absolutely heavenly to bite into when they are fresh out of the fryer. I love the ones filled with red bean paste, but street vendors can also sell it unfilled too.
Fried pocket filled with Chinese chives & vermicelli noodles
韭菜盒子 (jiǔcài hézǐ) are a deep fried dumpling that uses wheat flour, yielding the crispiest texture. The one from this shop reminded me of a pastelillo I had in Puerto Rico once (which was a HUGE empanada made with a wheat-flour wrapper, deep fried golden)
Fried rice cake [✅🈸❤️]
粢饭糕 (cī fàn gāo) is another nostalgic classic for my dad! You shape leftover rice (mixed with salt, and other aromatics if you want to get fancy) into a rectangular container and press to condense. Then slice and fry till a crunchy gold shell forms. I LOVE the one from Da Fu Gui (大富贵, dàfùguì).
Fried wheat gluten tofu skin soup
面筋百叶汤 (miànjīn bǎiyè tāng) is a popular breakfast/quick meal option for many locals. It’s a hot soup that contains fried wheat gluten and tofu skin that are both filled with a seasoned ground pork (that ends up having the texture of a meatball), in a savory broth.
Glutinous rice balls
冷团 (lěng tuán), also called Chinese mochi (糯米糍, nuòmǐ cí), are served at room temperature. While fillings can vary, a classic one is red bean (红豆沙, hóngdòu shā) with schmear of black sesame (黑芝麻, hēi zhīma), and rolled in desiccated coconut (椰丝, yē sī)
Hot pepper soup
胡辣汤 (húlàtāng) is a spicy soup from Henan region that is a popular breakfast item in northern China. The soup usually contains ingredients like a sliced meat, vermicelli noodles, ginger, vinegar, and vegetables (i.e., potatoes, carrots, zucchini, etc.). It has a thick, viscous texture. Sort of reminded me of the hot & sour soup from American Chinese takeout restaurants in flavor (though hot pepper soup is not as sour) and with more stuff.
Jianbing [✅]
煎饼 (jiānbǐng) is a Chinese crepe usually made with a mung bean based batter. You can customize it with add-ons, but the original way it comes has egg, lettuce, a deep-fried dough stick (油条, yóutiáo), crispy wonton wrapper (薄脆, báocuì), and a savory-sweet sauce.
menu tips: look for “原味杂粮煎饼” (yuánwèi záliáng jiānbǐng), meaning “original flavor jianbing with crispy filling,” or “煎饼馃子” (jiānbing guǒ zǐ), meaning “deep-fried dough sticks rolled in a jianbing”
Kebabs [✅]
串 (chuàn) are also known as “skewers.” I didn’t realize how common these were near touristy areas, but they are very prevalent and actually taste pretty good! We were able to try the lamb (烤羊肉串, kǎo yángròuchuàn) and squid (鱿鱼串, yóuyú chuàn) variations, but my favorite is definitely the lamb.
Pan-fried beef buns
牛肉煎包 (niúròu jiān bāo) are a heftier cousin of pan-fried buns (生煎包, shēngjiānbāo), with quite a few notable differences: (1) the yeast-leavened bun is bready and fluffy, (2) it is pan-fried on both sides and steamed in shallow water between frying, and (3) the filling uses ground beef and does not have any broth.
Pan-fried buns [✅🈸]
生煎包 (shēngjiānbāo) are kind of a mash up between a dumpling and a steamed bun with filling, or soup dumpling’s girthier and crispier cousin. They look like bao, but are cooked like potstickers where their bottoms are fried in shallow oil until golden brown and super crunchy. The wrappers of pan-fried buns are made with wheat flour and are yeast-leavened, and depending on the restaurant, the texture varies. Some examples:
thicker, fluffy, bread-like bun dough (not my preference):
big shrimp & ground pork (大虾生煎包, dàxiā shēngjiānbāo)—item #3
seasoned ground pork (鲜肉生煎包, xiānròu shēngjiānbāo)—item #2
📍大壶春 (dàhúchūn) thinner, chewy-from-a-partial-proof, slightly thicker-than-a-dumpling-wrapper bun dough (I love this kind; soooo good!) [❤️💕]:
big shrimp & ground pork (大虾生煎包, dàxiā shēngjiānbāo)—item #3
crab roe & ground pork (蟹粉生煎包, xièfěn shēngjiānbāo)—item #2
seasoned ground pork (鲜肉生煎包, xiānròu shēngjiānbāo)—item #1
📍 小杨生煎 (xiǎoyáng shēngjiān)
Pan-fried dumplings [✅💕]
锅贴饺子 (guōtiē jiǎozi) are also known as “potstickers” (锅贴, guōtiē). Traditionally, these are filled with ground pork that’s seasoned with soy sauce, ginger, garlic, white pepper, and sesame oil. If the filling also has vegetables, there’s a high chance it’s one of the following: shepherd’s purse (荠菜, qícài), cabbage, or Chinese chives (韭菜, jiǔcài). I love the kind where there’s also a pool of broth when you bite into it!
Pork chop soup noodles [🈸]
排骨面 (páigǔmiàn) can also be seen on menus as: 红烧大排面 (hóngshāo dàpáimiàn), or “braised pork chop noodles.” This is a Shanghai specialty where pork chops are marinated and braised in a soy sauce-based sauce with other seasonings and aromatics. It typically looks like a dark brown, viscous sauce, with scallions, all ladled on top of a bed of wheat noodles.
Preserved vegetables & shredded pork noodles [❤️]
咸菜肉丝面 (xiáncài ròusīmiàn) is also called “pickled cabbage & shredded pork noodles” (雪菜肉丝面, xuěcài ròusīmiàn), or can include edamame in the mix (咸菜毛豆肉丝面, xiáncài máodòu ròu sī miàn). This dish takes the humble homestyle stir-fry of preserved/pickled veggies and julienned pork and serves it on top of soup noodles (my preferred way to eat this is over rice though); this flavor profile was frequent at my family’s dinner table and still strikes nostalgic craving chords for me.
Pumpkin porridge
南瓜粥 (nánguā zhōu) is typically eaten for breakfast, and is literally just pumpkin stewed with rice and water. The flavor is slightly sweet from the pumpkin, but you can always add additional sugar to enhance the pumpkin’s natural sweetness.
Rice flour cake [✅]
松糕 (sōng gāo), also known as “Chongming cake” (崇明糕, chóngmíng gāo), is a snacky cake bar that is made with a higher proportion of rice flour to glutinous rice flour, yielding a loose yet chewy texture that holds together. It’s subtly sweet, making it great for any time of day. I’ve only had the “peppermint and almonds” (薄荷杏仁 , bòhé xìngrén) flavor.
Rice flour pancakes [🈸]
米饭饼 (mǐfàn bǐng) is a pancake cooked on a griddle, whose batter consists of rice flour (粘米粉, nián mǐfěn; also called: 大米粉, dàmǐfěn), yeast, fermented rice, water, and sugar. It has a light and spongy texture to it, and is subtly sweet. My dad said that when he was a kid, ordering a rice flour pancake with a deep fried dough stick sandwiched between was always a special treat.
Rice with salted pork and greens [✅🈸❤️]
青菜咸菜肉饭 (qīngcài xiáncài ròufàn), also called “Shanghai cai fan” (上海菜饭, Shànghǎi cài fàn), or “Shanghainese rice,” is basically a fried rice with preserved vegetables, bok choy, shredded pork or salted pork or cured ham, and is just sooo savory and homey. I wish my parents made this more at home when I was growing up!
Savory pork mooncakes [✅🈸❤️💕]
鲜肉月饼 (xiānròu yuèbǐng), like its sweet mooncake cousins, used to be a treat reserved just for the Mid-Autumn Festival (15th day of the 8th month of the Lunar calendar). Now, you can buy mooncakes all year round and also have easy access to different region’s mooncakes (each region makes them slightly differently), our modern day selves are so spoiled! This flaky savory goodness is the Shanghai, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang region’s style, and is traditionally filled with seasoned ground pork and wrapped in a pastry-dough-like crust that is layered, buttery, and crumbly. You have to eat this hot, and preferably from a vendor selling it fresh. It’s just not the same if you let it get cold!
Scallion oil noodles [✅🈸]
葱油拌面 (cōngyóu bànmiàn) is another Shanghai classic: topping wheat noodles with scallion oil mixed with soy sauce and sugar, and garnished with frizzled julienned scallions. I love carbs, but I did find myself missing some veggie and protein here! Definitely recommend ordering side dishes to enjoy with your scallion oil noodles to diversify and round out the meal.
Shumai [✅]
骚麦 (sāo mài) is a delight that most people first get exposed to at dim sum restaurants, but in China, you can order it at most of the street vendor stalls that also sell steamed buns and potstickers! These can be vegetarian—i.e., savory shiitake mushroom (香菇馅骚麦, xiānggū xiàn sāomài)—or meat-filled (like the one pictured below, with shrimp and ground pork), but always combined with a base of glutinous rice to make for a delightfully chewy consumption experience.
Spring roll
春卷 (chūnjuǎn) are not just an appetizer you see at American Chinese restaurants! A typical Shanghainese spring roll filling includes shredded cabbage, shiitake mushrooms, and pork, and are so fragrant and delicious.
Soup dumplings [✅🈸❤️]
小笼包 (xiǎolóngbāo) are also seen on menus as: 汤包 (tāngbāo), meaning “soup bun.” But its more popular moniker, “xiaolong bao,” literally translates into “little steamer buns,” which I feel like is more descriptive to what they actually look like. The wrappers for soup dumplings use unleavened, wheat flour dough, and the best kind are rolled out thin—so there’s barely anything separating the world from that plump pouch of flavorful broth! I love mine with a lot of filling, a broth that is super fresh, and a wrapper that is delicately thin (a peak experience when all three of these qualities are met!). Filling options include the following:
100% crab roe (纯蟹小笼包, chún xiè xiǎolóngbāo)
📍馋三尺 (chán sānchǐ) crab roe and ground pork (蟹粉小笼包, xièfěn xiǎolóngbāo)—the Chinese name doesn’t indicate there’s anything but crab in here, so you have to learn to look for the character “纯” (chún), meaning “pure,” to make sure it’s only one type of meat; also seen on menus: 蟹粉鲜肉汤包 (xièfěn xiānròu tāngbāo)
📍佳家汤包 (jiā jiā tāngbāo) ground pork (鲜肉小笼包, xiānròu xiǎolóngbāo)—also seen on menus: 鲜肉汤包 (xiānròu tāngbāo)
📍老马记 (lǎomǎ jì) salted egg yolk and ground pork (蛋黄鲜肉汤包, dànhuáng xiānròu tāngbāo)—salted egg is known to impart a yummy umami savory flavor to anything, and it went well with the ground pork! Totally recommend :)
example of a subpar soup dumpling👇wrapper is thick, the meat filling was juicy but had an “off meat” taste. Evenly visually you can tell it wasn’t pleated in-house…like a machine was used.
Steamed bun
馒头 (mántou) are yeast-leavened, wheat flour bread rolls that are cooked with a steamer and not filled with anything. Stereotypically, people from Northern China prefer mantou and noodles as their primary starch while people from Southern China prefer rice, but the difference is becoming less and less stark as time goes on.
scallion steamed bun (葱圈馒头, cōng quān mántou) [✅]—also called: scallion flower bun/wreath/twists (葱油花圈, cōngyóu huāquān); when the dough used to make bao is layered with oil, fresh scallions, and salt, and wrapped up like you would a cardamom bun
top: you can tell this was freshly made with the defined layers // bottom: looks reheated from frozen
Steamed buns with filling [✅]
包子 (bāozi) are also called “bao,” or “steamed bao buns.” These are essentially 馒头 (mántou) filled with anything you can imagine! Here are some filling varieties:
black sesame (黑芝麻包, hēizhīmá bāo) [💕]—also seen on menus: sweet aromatic sesame bao (香甜芝麻包, xiāngtián zhīmá bāo), or black sesame lava bao (黑芝麻流沙包, hēi zhīma liúshā bāo). This black sesame bun is my husband’s new favorite food of all time, because the filling is deliciously sweet-but-not-too-sweet, and tastes like a cousin of almond butter that’s almost chocolate-y…sadly, the black sesame flavors you can typically try in the west don’t taste close to this at all!
📍天津大包王 (tiānjīn dàbāo wáng) Chinese chives & vermicelli noodles (韭菜粉丝包, jiǔcài fěnsī bāo)—Chinese chives are also called garlic chives. I’m not usually a fan of vermicelli/any noodles in my dough-wrapped foods, but I love the flavor profile of Chinese chives
📍天津大包王 (tiānjīn dàbāo wáng) mala tofu (麻辣豆腐包, málà dòufu bāo)—like the dish you can order at most Chinese restaurants, just in a bao; it’s a great flavorful vegetarian option
📍天津大包王 (tiānjīn dàbāo wáng) meigan & pork (梅干肉包, méigān ròubāo) [❤️]—also seen on menus: meigan vegetables & pork bao (梅干菜肉包, méigān cài ròu bāo); meigan is dried preserved mustard greens, and comes with a unique savory flavor that I just love
📍天津大包王 (tiānjīn dàbāo wáng) pork (鲜肉包, xiān ròubāo)—also called: aromatic pork bao (鲜香肉包, xiānxiāng ròubāo）
📍天津大包王 (tiānjīn dàbāo wáng) potherb mustard (香辣雪菜包, xiānglà xuěcài bāo)—the full name is “spicy potherb mustard”; is another type of preserved vegetable whose flavor is so nostalgic to me
📍天津大包王 (tiānjīn dàbāo wáng) red bean (豆沙包, dòushā bāo) [💕]—also seen on menus: rose red bean bao (玫瑰豆沙包, méiguī dòushā bāo), and sweet sticky red bean bao (甜糯豆沙包, tiánnuò dòushā bāo), which both tasted the same—like regular red bean lol
📍天津大包王 (tiānjīn dàbāo wáng) shepherd’s purse (荠菜包, qí càibāo) [🈸]—also known as “Chinese mustard greens.” This is a leafy green wild vegetable eaten most commonly in & around the Shanghai area; as a filling, it’s commonly paired with ground pork
shiitake mushroom & bok choy (香菇青菜包, xiānggū qīng càibāo) [❤️]—also frequently called vegetable bao (素菜包, sùcài bāo); these always leave me feeling so nourished afterwards. Typically, the shiitake mushroom isn’t overwhelming, so don’t worry about the flavor being mushroomy, it’s not! This one is my dad’s favorite too :)
📍天津大包王 (tiānjīn dàbāo wáng) shredded pork with garlic sauce (鱼香肉丝包, yúxiāng ròusī bāo)—the filling is inspired by a dish from Chengdu, China, which is a mix of julienned pork and veggies (wood ear, bamboo shoots, carrots, etc.) tossed in a spiced garlic sauce
📍天津大包王 (tiānjīn dàbāo wáng) shredded sea kelp (香辣海带丝包, xiānglà hǎidàisī bāo)—the full name: “spicy aromatic shredded sea kelp,” is a bao filled with a thicker seaweed that has a crunch and tastes mildly oceanic
📍天津大包王 (tiānjīn dàbāo wáng) spicy shredded radish (香辣萝卜包, xiānglà luóbo bāo)—slightly spicy, but tastefully so. These were so good, I was surprised I hadn’t tried it earlier!
📍天津大包王 (tiānjīn dàbāo wáng)
Stinky tofu [✅]
臭豆腐 (chòudòufǔ) is tofu that is fermented in a brine, and the longer the fermentation, the darker the color! The smell is distinct and strong in a “pungent” aged cheese kind of way versus a sulfurous “stinky.” It is popular over many regions, but in China there are three main styles: Changsha (from Hunan Province, where it’s fried till the surface is crispy, and topped with chopped mustard and chili sauce), Sichuan (where it’s stir fried and then boiled, and imparts a mala flavor), or plain and served with this trio of condiments: sweet bean sauce (甜面酱, tiánmiànjiàng), hot sauce (辣酱, làjiàng), and vinegar (醋, cù).
Stuffed sticky rice roll [✅🈸💕]
饭团 (fàntuán) is like a Chinese-style sushi burrito, and is a favorite breakfast/lunch for many people because it can hit all five tastes: salty, sweet, sour, bitter, and umami. The rice is a mix of white rice (白米, báimǐ) or black rice (黑米, hēi mǐ) and sticky rice, so the rice “shell” is just chewy enough but not too tacky. Here’s a list of the typical filling options:
bacon (培根, péigēn)
Chinese pickled cabbage (咸菜, xiáncài)
dates (蜜枣, mìzǎo)
deep fried dough stick (油条, yóutiáo)
dried pickled radish (萝卜干, luóbogān)
green onion/scallion (葱花, cōnghuā)
hardboiled egg (煮鸡蛋, zhǔjīdàn)—they usually just use the yolk (蛋黄, dànhuáng) though; such a waste!
hot dog (火腿肠, huǒtuǐcháng)—a brand you’ll see a lot: 双汇福 (shuānghuì fú)
pork floss (肉松, ròusōng)—sweet and savory pork tenderloin that’s been transformed to have a cotton-candy-like texture through shallow frying and processing into small fibers
pork tenderloin (脊肉, jǐ ròu)—seasoned with a savory sauce
sugar (糖, táng)
Tea eggs [✅]
茶叶蛋 (cháyèdàn) are hardboiled eggs infused with the flavors of Chinese tea and spices like star anise, cloves, and soy sauce. They are known to have a marbled look once peeled, from cracking the shell before immersing it in the braising liquid overnight. You’ll find them at many of the street food vendor stalls in China! Woks of Life has a recipe where the tea egg yolk is not as hard and crumbly, for those who like a softer yolk.
Tofu pudding [✅]
There is a savory (豆腐脑, dòufunǎo) and a sweet (豆腐花, dòufuhuā) version. Savory tofu pudding is typically more popular in northern China (“Beijing-style”) while sweet tofu pudding is more of a southern China thing. That said, street vendors in Shanghai seem to sell more of the savory version and that’s also the one my family prefers. Both savory & sweet tofu puddings are served hot, and use a fresh, uncurdled tofu that is almost softer than silken tofu, making it super slurpable. Savory tofu puddings in Shanghai are topped with soy sauce, dried shrimp, seaweed, and zhacai; while the sweet tofu puddings are served with a gingery syrup.
Wheat gluten
面筋 (miànjīn) is also called “seitan” (Japanese term for the ingredient), a great high-protein option for vegan/vegetarian dishes. The Chinese directly translates to “dough tendon” to convey the chewiness of the texture, and is made by taking a basic wheat flour + water dough and rinsing the dough with lots of water until the starch separates from the flour’s gluten/protein, leaving behind starchy water and an elastic wheat gluten (sort of similar to how overmixing heavy cream leaves you with buttermilk and butter?). There are many different wheat gluten types, such as kaofu (烤麸, kǎofū) and fried gluten!
Wontons [✅🈸💕]
馄饨 (húntún) are like the more “delicate” cousin of dumplings. Wonton wrappers are square-shaped and thinner than dumpling wrappers, so the techniques used for folding are also different. Wontons in Shanghai typically fall into two buckets:
large wontons (大馄饨, dà húntún)—the wrappers are marginally thinner than those you use for dumplings, with the filling being a smidge less or equivalent to the amount you’d find in a dumpling. Typical combinations use both a meat and a vegetable, menus will usually have:
ground pork & shepherd’s purse (荠菜大馄饨, jìcài dà húntún)
vegetable & ground pork (菜肉大馄饨, cài ròu dà húntún)
📍大壶春 (dàhúchūn) small wontons (小馄饨, xiǎohúntún)—the wrappers on small wontons are thinner and more translucent compared with the wrappers of large wontons. There is also less filling compared with a large wonton (between a penny to a nickel’s size versus a 1-2 tablespoons), and the wrapping process is more casual (squeezing the wrapper together like you would crumple paper up into a wad). The most basic filling only includes seasoned ground pork, with fancier mixtures blending in shrimp (虾鲜肉小馄饨, xiā xiānròu xiǎohúntún) or crab roe in with the pork.
📍大壶春 (dàhúchūn) 
left:📍大富贵 (dàfùguì) // right: Shanghai Film Park restaurant
Zha Jiang Mian [✅]
炸酱面 (zhájiàngmiàn) directly translates to “fried sauce noodles,” and is a popular Beijing/northern China wheat noodle dish that uses three sauces: dry yellow soybean paste (干黄酱, gàn huángjiàng), fermented yellow soybean paste (黄豆酱, huángdòu jiàng), and sweet bean sauce (甜面酱, tiánmiànjiàng), versus its Korean cousin, Jajangmyeon, that uses a Korean black bean paste.
schnackos (点心, diǎnxīn)
Black sesame soup [✅💕]
黑芝麻糊 (hēi zhīma hú) is a type of Chinese sweet soup dessert that is thick and creamy, made with blended black sesame, peanuts, glutinous rice flour, water, and sugar. Some variations add tang yuan (汤圆, tāngyuán) for a more decadent treat.
Butter shortbread cookies [✅🈸]
牛油咖啡曲奇 (niúyóu kāfēi qǔqí) is a type of cookie I feel like every culture ends up having (folks love their shortbread cookies I guess), and China is no exception! These ones sold by Peace Food Gifts (和平食礼, hépíng shí lǐ) are popular among the Shanghai locals for its buttery flavor and sandy melt-in-mouth texture. It’s pretty good with coffee or tea in the afternoon 😏
Chinese yogurt [✅🈸❤️]
酸奶 (suānnǎi) is characterized by its subtly sweet and slightly tangy top notes, and an aftertaste that is intensely milky. Depending on the variety you order, it can be thin and drinkable, like “old Shanghai yogurt” (上海老酸奶, shànghǎi lǎosuānnǎi), or thicker in consistency and requiring a spoon to eat.
Cold dessert soup [✅❤️]
清补凉 (qīng bǔ liáng) is basically American cereal but SO much better in overall nutritional value. It is comprised of many types of solid toppings that are submerged in a cold, creamy, coconut milk (椰奶, yēnǎi). This is a popular treat in the hotter seasons, and originates from the Hainan, Guangxi, and Hong Kong areas. Topping options include:
cassava cubes (冬瓜薏, dōngguā yì)—couldn’t find a great translation of these, but they’re essentially moderately sweet cubes of chewy carbs made of cassava flour, glutinous rice flour, and sweet potato flour. The Chinese name has the word “wintermelon” in it…not sure why, but it sort of looks like cubes of wintermelon?
corn (玉米, yùmǐ)
crushed peanuts (花生碎, huāshēng suì)
dried red date slices (红枣片, hóngzǎo piàn)
grass jelly (仙草冻, xiān cǎo dòng)
melon (瓜, guā)—including cantaloupe (哈密瓜, hāmìguā), honeydew (蜜瓜, mìguā), and/or watermelon (西瓜, xīguā)
mung bean (绿豆, lǜdòu)
raisins (葡萄干, pútáogān)
red bean (红豆, hóngdòu)
sago (西米落, xī mǐ luò)
taro balls (芋圆, yù yuán)—can also be made of yams
tubular pasta (通心粉, tōngxīnfěn)—the shape closely resembles macaroni, but the texture is more crumbly; unconfirmed if this uses wheat flour or a gluten-free flour
Croissant
可颂 (kěsòng), which is probably the cutest Chinese translation ever (I love myself a good cognate moment). I feel like there have been quite a few more French-style bakeries (the super hip and trendy kind) that have opened since circa 2019. I’m sad I only had a chance to try one, but the stomach only has so much room. Incoming pics on… 📍Pain Chaud:
Dong Bei Da Ban [✅❤️]
东北大版 (dōngběi dàbǎn) is an ice cream brand with multiple different ice cream bars, but the best and most classic flavor is their “grass-fed pure milk ice cream bar” (草原奶奶味冰淇淋, cǎoyuán nǎinai wèi bīngqílín). The flavor is like a full fat whole milk in its richness, with a deep vanilla flavor. Soooo nostalgic. I always have to have one when I’m in town!
Durian cream puffs
爆浆榴莲 (bàojiāng liúlián) has a pastry shell that is light and airy like a choux with a super creamy, custardy durian filling. To eat, we were given straws to sip some of the durian filling first, so when you bite into it it wouldn’t be as messy!
Egg tarts [✅❤️]
蛋挞 (dàntà) are the cousin of Pastéis de Nata, or Portugal’s custard egg tarts, and are very well known on dim sum menus. Usually these aren’t mind blowing to me, but my cousin treated us to these “caramel croissant egg tarts” (焦糖可颂蛋挞, jiāotáng kěsòng dàntà) from Cha of Yulian (裕莲茶楼, yùlián chálóu), and I finally see the appeal! Their brûléed tops, flakey crusts, and velvety middles are egg tart #goals. Of course, I get that not every egg tart can compare with brûléed tops and flakey croissant crusts, but the bar has been SET.
Fried mochi filled with brown sugar syrup [💕]
红糖糍粑 (hóngtáng cíbā) directly translates to “red sugar rice cake.” This snack is from the Sichuan region and is made with glutinous rice flour to give it that chewy mochi texture.
Green mochi with red bean filling [✅🈸]
青团 (qīng tuán) is also seen on menus as “豆沙青团” (dòushā qīng tuán); and is another one of those “used to be seasonal but now can be purchased any day” item. This one is specifically traditional to the springtime celebration of the Dragon Boat Festival.
Mung bean cakes [✅🈸💕]
綠豆糕 (lǜdòugāo) are cakes that look like mooncakes, but aren’t because the batter uses split mung beans (yellow in color), unsalted butter, and sugar (while traditional mooncakes use wheat flour for the exterior). They are filled with red bean paste or mung bean paste (not split, so green in color). A Buddhist temple in Shanghai, Longhua Temple (龙华寺, lónghuá sì), is known for theirs! Linking the specific product here because it was delicious: Longhua Chan Shi Traditional Snack Mung Bean Cake (净素绿豆糕, jìng sù lǜdòugāo)
Ox hide candy [✅🈸❤️]
牛皮糖 (niúpí táng) is a Yangzhou (扬州, yángzhōu)/Shanghai regional specialty. It’s a taffy-like confectionary that is transparent, elastic, and chewy in a sticky-but-doesn’t-stick-to-your-teeth kind of way. You’ll always see it wearing a uniform of sesame seeds, giving it an aromatic crunch in every bite. And is another food item I remember fondly!
Palmier cookies [🈸]
蝴蝶酥 (húdié sū) is Shanghai’s signature pastry, and while you can buy these at almost any bakery in Shanghai, the Park Hotel Bakery is one of the signature places to get them. The Chinese literally translates to “butterfly cookie” for their shape, and were brought over during the French Concession period. My cousin got us these chocolate-dipped big palmier cookies (巧克力大蝴蝶酥, qiǎokèlì dàhúdié sū) from Peace Food Gifts (和平食礼, hépíng shí lǐ) because apparently they’re super popular in Shanghai and are usually sold out before the end of the day, it’s crazy how popular this cookie is when we don’t think twice about it in America!
Sesame crackers [✅🈸]
芝麻酥 (zhīma sū) are made of white sugar and/or maltose syrup, black/white sesame seeds and/or other nuts like peanuts, walnuts, etc. all melded together in a non-stick pan. The texture is crisp and crunchy like a cracker, and the flavor is nutty and aromatic. My dad typically isn’t into sweets, but this one has his heart!
Tang yuan [✅]
汤圆 (tāngyuán) is also known as “Chinese glutinous rice balls.” This is the broad term for round dumplings made with glutinous rice flour, and have many variations: plain & unfilled (this is what’s usually used in glutinous rice balls in sweet fermented rice wine (酒酿圆子, jiǔniàng yuánzǐ)) or filled with black sesame paste, red bean paste, etc. This is “the thing” to eat on the 15th day of Chinese New Year, also called the Lantern Festival.
food food (饭菜, fàncài)
Boiled pig stomach
白切肚尖 (báiqiē dùjiān) is a dish where pig stomach is thoroughly washed then simmered in cooking wine and water for an hour. Once cooked and cooled, it is served with a sesame oil + white pepper + soy sauce dipping mixture. I don’t get the hype, but it is a classic cold appetizer you’ll frequently see on menus!
Braised belt fish [🈸❤️]
红烧带鱼 (hóngshāo dàiyú) is something my dad used to cook biweekly (but I wouldn’t have minded having it daily lol), it’s a true family favorite! Belt fish is widely popular in Shanghai, and you’ll see that steaming and deep frying are other popular cooking methods.
Braised kaofu with mushrooms [✅🈸💕]
红烧烤麸 (hóngshāo kǎofū) is also called “four happiness wheat gluten” (四喜烤麸, sìxǐ kǎofū); it’s like the vegetarian/vegan version of the Shanghai-style braised pork belly (subbing the pork belly with kaofu, a type of wheat gluten). Often served at room temperature or as a cold appetizer. The typical dish includes the ingredients: wood ear mushroom (木耳, mùěr), shiitake mushroom (香菇, xiānggū), bamboo shoots (竹笋, zhúsǔn), peanuts (花生, huāshēng), and kaofu (烤麸, kǎofū). Some variations also include soy sauce braised hardboiled egg (卤蛋, lǔdàn)
Chinese celery, pressed tofu, and shredded pork stir fry [❤️]
芹菜干丝肉丝 (qíncài gānsī ròusī) is a classic stir fry combination, where Chinese celery (more tender and petite), pressed tofu, and pork tenderloin are julienned, then sautéed over high heat. It’s so fresh and crisp, like you’re literally eating springtime.
Chinese chive boxes [✅❤️]
韭菜煎饼盒子 (jiǔcài jiānbǐng hézi) is also called “crispy pan-fried Chinese chive pancakes” (香煎韭菜饼, xiāngjiān jiǔ càibǐng). These are popular in northern China and are so tasty that many sit-down restaurant menus have adopted it in their snack/appetizer sections! The filling is mainly comprised of Chinese garlic chives, but there are variations that add ground pork, minced shrimp (like the ones pictured below), or chopped glass noodles into the mix. The crunch of these pockets can’t be beat, and remind me of that of a spring roll wrapper crunch ✨
Chinese spiced braised beef shank [✅❤️]
酱牛肉 (jiàngniúròu) is also called “braised beef shank” (滷牛腱, lǔniújiàn), this is a dish you have to plan ahead to make that is served as a super flavorful cold appetizer (that I LOVE). The beef shank is simmered in a braising liquid comprised of star anise, tangerine peel, cinnamon sticks, cardamom pods, etc., then soaked in the sauce overnight to intensify the flavors.
Clam and scrambled egg stir fry
蛤蜊炒蛋 (gélí chǎodàn) is a popular homestyle dish for its quick cooking time and short ingredients list. Exactly as its name suggests, you scramble the eggs and stir fry the clam meat separately, then combine together and season. The addition of clam didn’t add a whole lot for me, so I probably wouldn’t seek this dish out intentionally.
Cold jellyfish salad [🈸]
涼拌海蜇皮 (liángbàn hǎizhépí) is a Chinese-style jellyfish salad that originates from Shanghai. It typically uses aged “flame jellyfish” (海蜇, hǎizhé), a species of jellyfish that can be eaten. This texture is super crispy, almost like a cucumber (x3)! And the dressing is a mix of sesame oil, soy sauce, vinegar, chili oil, sugar, to hit all of the five tastes.
Crab puff pastry
酥皮蟹斗 (sūpí xiè dòu) is also called “crispy crab bucket.” This is usually found on the dim sum menu, where the meat is removed from crab shells, mixed with other ingredients like mushroom, bamboo shoots, etc. to create a stuffing to fill the empty shell. A square of puff pastry is then used to cover the filled shell, and baked till golden. Ours came with a syringe of soy sauce to inject for additional flavor!
Crab roe noodles
蟹粉拌面 (xièfěn bànmiàn) can also be made vegetarian with salted egg yolk, and is then called “素蟹粉拌面” (sù xièfěn bàn miàn). A crab roe gravy is served on top of wheat noodles, and once mixed, the gravy imparts a silky texture and crab roe’s signature savory-umami flavor. A lot of people love this because you get the deliciousness of hairy crab without having to do any of the work (of course, prices get expensive!).
Crab roe tofu [🈸]
蟹黄豆腐 (xièhuáng dòufu) is a popular dish in Shanghai where silken tofu is cooked in a savory broth that’s bursting with umami flavor from hairy crab roe. Shanghai’s hairy crab season is in the fall, in case you want to plan accordingly for fresh hairy crab 💥(although I had a hard time tasting the crab roe in the one from 好宴世家 (hǎoyàn shìjiā) restaurant)
Dry pot cauliflower [❤️]
干锅菜花 (gānguō càihuā) is another cornerstone on many Chinese restaurant menus. It uses Taiwanese cauliflower (other names: flowering cauliflower, karifurore cauliflower, etc.), which is known for its small flower buds, long, light green stems, sweeter flavor, and more tender texture. The dish cooks everything at high heat, yielding crispy, tastefully charred bits with lots of flavor.
Dry radish and edamame stir fry [❤️]
萝卜干毛豆 (luóbogān máodòu) is a nostalgic dish that my parents used to make at home all the time. The pairing of the edamame with the dry pickled radish is a match made in heaven: the plainer-tasting edamame mellows out the saltiness of the pickled radish, yielding a flavorful yet super nutritious meal that comes together super quickly. And the texture on this! Crunchy and snappy~
Eight treasures stir fry [✅🈸❤️]
八宝辣酱 (bābǎo làjiàng) is a traditional Shanghainese dish, getting its name from containing 8 different ingredients including, but not limited to: pressed tofu/spiced bean curd, carrots, edamame, lean pork, peanuts, green pepper, shiitake mushrooms, bamboo shoots, etc. (in the Chinese drama Meteor Garden they make a riff off of this dish and add pineapple). Its signature sauce is a combination of spicy bean sauce (辣豆瓣酱, là dòubàn jiàng) and chili oil with black bean from the Lao Gan Ma (老干妈) brand. It can also be on menus as “traditional Shanghai-style hot sauce topping” (本帮传统辣酱浇头, běnbāng chuántǒng làjiàng jiāotou) and served on top of wheat noodles.
Fried wonton omelet [✅🈸]
蛋煎馄饨 (dànjiān húntún) or direectly translated as “fried wontons with egg.” This dish is like a cousin to fried dumplings, where wontons are pan fried and cooked in shallow water to develop a crispy bottom, and before serving a beaten egg is poured to create an egg skirt connecting all of the wontons. When I first saw this dish, it blew my mind, it was ingenious and I always love expanding my wonton-enjoying repertoire! I’d say the only con to it is that the wonton bottoms don’t stay very crispy.
Glutinous rice balls in sweet fermented rice wine [✅🈸❤️💕]
酒酿圆子 (jiǔniàng yuánzǐ) is a dish that originates from the Jiangnan/Shanghai region, and my family loves capping every restaurant meal with this. Variations include using tang yuan instead of plain glutinous rice balls, and including osmanthus or dried goji berries in the viscous sweet fermented rice wine soup. (the one pictured below uses black sesame filled tang yuan)
Hot and sour fish noodle soup [✅]
酸辣鱼面 (suānlà yúmiàn) is a warming and umami dish that originates from Sichuan. It uses Chinese black vinegar, chili oil, and Sichuan peppercorns to impart its signature hot and sour flavor profile. The fish in this noodle soup is always so melt-in-mouth tender ✨
Ma lan tou and spiced tofu [✅🈸❤️]
马兰头香干 (mǎlántóu xiānggān) is a classic Shanghainese appetizer using ma lan tou, a wild vegetable that only grows in the Shanghai area, with spiced pressed tofu.
Old duck vermicelli soup
老鸭粉丝汤 (lǎoyā fěnsī tāng) is also on menus with the prefix: “whole family fortune” (全家福, quánjiāfú), indicating it includes “all of the fixin’s.” This is a clear stock soup made with flavorful bone broth, and contains the following solid components: duck innards (blood cubes, intestines, and gizzards), mung bean vermicelli noodles, and fried tofu (which are delicious in this, they just soak up all of the flavor). I’m not a big fan of “innards,” so also not my go-to dish, but it’s popular among locals for how nourishing it can be.
Pickled vegetables, edamame, and shredded pork stir fry [❤️]
咸菜毛豆肉丝 (xiáncài máodòu ròusī) definitely falls under the homestyle cooking category, and is a dish my parents used to make all the time. It’s one of my favorites for its crunchy textures and salty-umami flavors from the pickled vegetable and pork!
Razor clams in scallion oil [🈸]
葱油蛏子 (cōngyóu chēngzi) is a seafood dish frequently seen on Shanghai menus and uses razor clams that are native to China and Japan. This style of cooking is the most popular: stir-frying clean razor clams with ginger, garlic, soy sauce, a pinch of sugar, and scallions, which enhances the taste of the clams instead of covering it up. A major favorite for my dad!
Red noodle soup
红汤面 (hóng tāngmiàn) is a dish that is “basic” and homestyle, something you’d whip up when you’ve got nothing in your pantry! It’s pretty plain jane without a lot of flavor nuance: comprised of wheat noodles swimming in a soy sauce and chicken bouillon broth (and if you want to get fancy, add a pork chop or chicken to zhuzh it up).
Rice cake stir fry [✅🈸]
炒年糕 (chǎo niángāo) is a distinctively Shanghai stir fry comprised of pork, leafy greens, and rice cakes (the kind that’re oval-shaped slices) in a soy sauce-based sauce. Not a personal favorite of mine, simply because there’s too much starch for me, but my brother loves this one.
Salt and pepper pork ribs [✅❤️💕]
椒盐排骨 (jiāoyán páigǔ) originated in the Guangdong province of China, and is a staple on most Chinese menus (even in America). The dish gets its name from the usage of salt and three types of “peppers:” Sichuan peppercorns, white pepper, and a topping of sauteed chili peppers. You can always expect it to be a flavor bomb!
Salted pork soup with bamboo shoots and tofu [✅🈸❤️]
腌笃鲜 (yān dǔ xiān) is a soup with broth that has BIG flavor, and all of the cred goes to including both salted pork and fresh pork belly. Then you add the fresh bamboo shoots that just soak up all of the umami flavor from the broth, and the tofu skin knots that add texture and balance out the saltiness, and you have Shanghai’s Queen of Soups!
Sautéed Chinese broccoli [✅❤️💕]
芥蓝 (gàilán) is sometimes also dubbed “Chinese kale,” “Chinese flowering cabbage,” or “purple flowering stalk” (清炒菜苔苗, qīngchǎo càitái miáo). It feels too simple to order at a restaurant, but this veggie’s presence always rounds out the meal. I also love cooking this at home, super quick and easy.
Shanghai-style braised pork belly [✅🈸❤️💕]
红烧肉 (hóngshāoròu) is also seen on menus: 红烧肉尖椒 (hóngshāoròu jiānjiāo). This dish is famous because the melt-in-your-mouth pork belly is a textural dream, and paired with the soy sauce concoction it steeps in, you’ll be in savory heaven!
Shanghai-style sweet and sour ribs [✅🈸❤️💕]
糖醋排骨 (tángcùpáigǔ) is served as a cold appetizer to allow the black Chinese vinegar to shine through, but I’ve enjoyed it fresh off the stove too, and it’s equally as tasty then!
Shanghai xun yu [✅🈸❤️]
本帮熏鱼 (běnbāng xūnyú) directly translates into “smoked fish,” but the fish is not actually smoked...it gets its signature texture from being deep fried twice, and its flavor from being marinated in a special sauce. It usually uses pomfret/butter fish (鲳鱼, chāngyú). Also seen on menus as: 徽州熏鱼 (huīzhōu xūn yú), “fish explosion” (爆鱼, bào yú)
Shanghai-style white cut chicken [✅🈸]
白斩鸡 (báizhǎnjī) is different from Cantonese poached chicken (白切鸡, bái qiē jī) in that after double blanching the chicken, the Shanghai-style calls for removal of the chicken skin and drizzling with hot oil. Another variation is Shanghai-style salt rubbed chicken (上海手擦咸, shànghǎi shǒu cā xián jī), where the chicken gets a salt rub and is marinated for a couple of hours before blanching.
Shepherd’s purse and yellow croaker soup [✅🈸]
荠菜黄鱼羹 (jìcài huáng yúgēng) is a dish very well-known and popular in Shanghai. The combination of the fresh yellow croaker with the fragrant shepherd’s purse and wisps of egg white “egg flowers” (蛋花, dànhuā) is like a super elevated egg drop soup that can be a main dish all on its own. A variation on this is “Shepherd’s purse tofu soup,” which is also a Shanghainese favorite.
Shrimp stir fry [🈸❤️]
油爆虾 (yóubàoxiā) in Shanghai, is a dish that can be made with both freshwater shrimp (smaller and petite) and saltwater shrimp (larger). It uses a special sauce made of soy sauce, vinegar, scallions, salt, black pepper, and red pepper. Its name comes from the loud popping noises that it makes when you cook it.
Soy-glazed anchovies [🈸❤️]
烤子鱼 (kǎozǐyú) is also seen on menus as: “fried phoenix tail fish” (炸凤尾鱼, zhà fèngwěiyú). This dish deep fries a type of freshwater fish whose size is no bigger than your hand, and is finished with a sweet-savory soy glaze.
Spicy pork noodles [✅🈸💕]
辣肉汤面 (làròu tāngmiàn) is a rare sighting of a spicy dish in Shanghai cuisine; the flavor of the spicy pork topping paired with the chili oil in a noodle soup dish is a level of tasty you wouldn’t expect.
Steamed whole fish [✅❤️💕]
清蒸鱼 (qīngzhēngyú) uses a cooking method that’s from Cantonese cuisine (Shanghai-style would braise the fish in soy sauce), where the fish is steamed with ginger, scallion, soy sauce, and cooking wine. It is freakin’ DELICIOUS when executed well. Oh the beauty in simplicity!
Stir-fried eel [🈸💕]
清炒鳝丝 (qīngchǎo shànsī) is also seen on menus as “油爆鳝糊” (yóu bào shàn hú). It is often served topped with white pepper, minced garlic, chopped scallions, hot sizzling oil, all over a little burning candle. The key is to mix everything together right when it’s served so the flavors dissolve evenly while everything’s still hot!
Stir-fried frog legs [✅❤️]
酱爆田鸡 (jiàngbào tiánjī) is where frog legs are marinated then fried in shallow oil till golden brown, and then covered with a thickened soy sauce-based, chili pepper sauce. The frog legs are super tender and flavorful!
Stir-fried yellow beef [✅❤️💕]
小炒黄牛肉 (xiǎochǎo huángniúròu) is a dish originating from Hunan region, another moniker for it is “Hunan beef” on American Chinese restaurant menus. It is made with velveted beef, fresh peppers and onions, and seasoned with a soy sauce and aromatics, and it is SO tasty (the savory-ness of this dish somehow allows me to eat twice as much rice as I normally have room for)! This recipe concept can be applied to other proteins too, for example, I’ve eaten pork belly slices (五花肉片, wǔhuāròu piàn) that were cooked a similar way, and it was equally as tasty.
Sweet and sour mandarin fish [✅🈸]
松鼠桂鱼 (sōngshǔ guì yú) is also colloquially called “squirrel fish in sweet and sour sauce.” I actually first saw this dish in Culinary Class Wars, and didn’t realize it was Shanghainese! The dish is usually made with yellow croaker (黄鱼, huángyú) that is deeply scored, battered, then fried so the scored flesh protrudes from the fish’s body so it looks like a porcupine, and glazed with a sticky orange sweet and sour sauce.
Sweet lotus root with osmanthus sticky rice [✅🈸]
桂花糯米藕 (guìhuā nuòmǐ ǒu) is also called “osmanthus sweet lotus root” (桂花糖藕, guìhuā táng ǒu). It’s a classic cold appetizer for the Jiangsu/Shanghai region, one of my cousin’s favorites. The appeal lies in its subtly sweet floral flavor (due to simmering in a sugary broth) and its textural contrast between the crisp lotus root and sticky glutinous rice (糯米, nuòmǐ).
Typhoon shelter bullfrogs [✅❤️]
避风塘牛蛙 (bìfēngtáng niúwā) differs from stir-fried frog legs in that the frog legs in this dish are battered with a mixture of egg, flour, breadcrumbs, garlic, white pepper powder, salt, and deep fried till crispy. The second best part of this dish are the breadcrumbs frizzled with chili peppers and fried garlic to make the tastiest crispy garnish on top. I could eat that alone by the bucketful!
Wine fragrant sautéed edible clover [✅🈸]
酒香草头 (jiǔxiāng cǎotóu) is an edible clover (wild vegetable) that is native to the Shanghai region, and when cooked has a sweet and slightly grassy flavor. The sautéed edible clover is tossed in a splash of Chinese white spirit (白酒, báijiǔ) to bring out umami flavor notes.
Yellow braised chicken [✅❤️]
黄闷鸡 (huáng mèn jī) is also called “Chinese braised chicken,” or “yellow stewed chicken.” This originated from the Shandong region, and gets its namesake from the golden-yellow gravy it’s braised in. The key to its iconic flavor comes from the combination of soy sauce and fermented yellow soybean paste (黄豆酱, huángdòu jiàng), and cutting the chicken into smaller segments to add flavor (however, that does mean you’ll hit some bone shards when eating, so be careful). Some variations also use sweet bean sauce (甜面酱, tiánmiànjiàng).
bevvies (饮料, yǐnliào)
Black rice porridge [✅]
黑米粥 (hēimǐ zhōu) is porridge made with forbidden rice (also called “black rice,” or “purple rice”), sometimes quinoa/corn/other grains, water, and sugar. This is sold by street vendors in sealed plastic cups with lids that you puncture with a straw to drink from! The thickness is slightly thicker than millet porridge.
Chinese orange soda [✅]
橙桔汁汽水 (chéngjúzhī qìshuǐ) is specifically from the Beijing brand, Arctic Ocean Soda (北冰洋, běibīngyáng), which was established in 1950. It’s recognized by its polar bear logo, muted orange color, and use of real orange juice. It’s different from Fanta in that it’s not as carbonated and not as artificially sweet.
Coca-Cola
可口可乐 (kěkǒukělè)…no notes, self explanatory :)
Coffee
咖啡 (kāfēi) experienced a huge boom in the early 2000’s in Shanghai, and since 2024 the city’s denizens make up half of the country’s to-go coffee consumption! There’s a coffee chain like Starbucks, Luckin Coffee, Manner Coffee, etc. on every street, and also a huge growth in artisan coffee shops (especially in the French Concession area). Including some coffee terms for fun:
cappuccino (卡布奇诺, kǎ bù jī nuò)
latte (拿铁, ná tiě)—the first and only latte I had a chance to try was in the airport before our flight back, at a SeeSaw! Their fall seasonal, Starry Osmanthus Latte (繁星桂花拿铁, fánxīng guìhuā ná tiě)—decently floral :)
📍SeeSaw
Millet porridge [✅]
小米粥 (xiǎomǐ zhōu) is made with millet grains, water, and sugar, and consumed via a straw (which may be misleading since it’s called porridge, but it’s thin enough). I love how it feels like a drink, but is more substantial.
Mineral water
矿泉水 (kuàngquánshuǐ) is a term that refers to bottled water
Soy milk
豆浆 (dòujiāng) is different from the commercial soy milk brand Vitasoy. The soy milk I’m referring to here is sold in a humble drink pouch from a street vendor. Its soy flavor is very strong, so it’s definitely not for everyone (for example, it’s not my preferred drink but my brother loves it), and there are various types: you can buy either the sweet, savory, or plain version! It’s easily one of the most popular morning beverages in China.
Sugarcane juice [✅]
甘蔗汁 (gānzhè zhī) took me by surprise. When I first heard of this, I was skeptical about its health benefits, but did you know? The nutritional density of sugarcane juice is actually pretty impressive! While it does have 30 grams of sugar in 8 oz., it also has fiber, amino acids, minerals, vitamins, etc.; more details here: 10 Amazing Benefits of Sugarcane Juice
Tea
茶 (chá) is a term that has evolved from its narrow scope of traditional Chinese tea culture to a broader definition that includes hipster tea shops (in Shanghai, at least). Now you can buy tea to-go hot, cold, blended, with toppings (like tapioca pearls, sago, etc.), with milk, without milk… (sadly, dairy-free milk isn’t easy to find as of 2025). There’s probably a chain at the ready to fulfill your preferences!
Vitasoy
维他奶 (wéitānǎi) is a Hong Kong beverage company founded in 1940, known for their high protein soy milk. Now they’ve branched into other beverages too!
Wang Laoji
王老吉 (wánglǎojí) is a brand of sweetened Chinese herbal tea founded during the Qing Dynasty (around 1828), sold in a can
Lastly, I’m sharing some of my favorite resources for China food guides & Chinese recipes, because if this trip did nothing else, it inspired me to cook more Chinese cuisine:
Woks of Life // they have many Shanghainese recipes (courtesy of Judy being from Shanghai) and even a Shanghai food guide! I love how they break down the nuances of different Chinese vegetables, sauces, pickles, etc. when I frequently refer to their recipes for Chinese cooking
Omnivore’s Cookbook // if Woks of Life doesn’t have a recipe, I peruse Maggie’s site. Her photos are gorgeous and directions are meticulously written ❤️
& that’s a wrap
If you made it to the end, you’re a champ. Thank you for reading, and I hope this was a helpful resource! My other Shanghai-related posts are linked below 😊
Where To Eat in Shanghai
A list of the restaurants we tried in Shanghai 🍴 sharing everything you need to know about our experience, the restaurant's vibe, what we ordered, and if it is overall worth going to. This post will give you a peek into the Shanghai food scene... 👀
The Shanghai Travel Guide I Wish I'd Had
Where I share key places to see, from the notable landmarks to the hidden local gems, and fun facts & digestible pieces of history when applicable. Plus a self-illustrated map! As the name suggests, this is everything I wish I had to navigate this beautiful city. ✨
Preparing for China: Not as Tough as It Seems
Preparing for a trip to China can feel daunting, so I put together something to alleviate that anxiety and stress that comes from not knowing. From getting a visa, to packing, to the flight, I hope that sharing how the travel prep process went for me will help you a little bit!
This is so helpful I LOVE this!!!