7 Best Foods in Shanghai
I just came back from Shanghai on a mad adventure where I had the most incredible experience and lot of it was due to its cuisine!
I was determined to try the best foods in Shanghai and the only thing I really wanted was to be as authentic as possible.
Those who are new here, visiting China has been my dream since 2018, I fell in love first by its history and culture, then by its people and now by its food. Of course there is a disclaimer: I only ate 1% of the food in Shanghai, let alone China.
With this post I hope to introduce you to my travel experience around food in Shanghai, China.
What are the best foods in Shanghai?
Xiao Long Bao
On my first day I met my guide who took me to try Xiao Long Bao, which translated to Little Bao Dumpling with Soup.
Inside of the dumpling you normally have pork, but you can have vegetables or fish. To eat it, you need to bite the tip of the dumpling, soak it on the vinegar, the hole made by your bite will allow the vinegar to mix with the soup. Then eat it. It is so juicy and delicious – just be aware that the soup normally is very hot!
My experience was insane, when I was trying Xiao Long Bao a lot of locals started to feed me so they could see my reaction to their foods ahah! Some of them were taking pictures and I kept saying “Hao Chi“ which literally means good eat! I assumed they rarely seen a western girl eating their traditional foods and being so surprise with the taste!
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Moon Cake Shanghai version
I also tried the Moon Cake Shanghai version. Autumn festival is starting soon and moon cakes are a tradition delicacy around this time. However, I got given by a local the Shanghainese version. Instead of sweet flavour inside, I got given the hot pork version that was soo good! The Moon Cake was hot and the pastry was crackling. Very succulent! The locals that fed me said that it used to be less greasy, but for my taste buds this famous Shanghainese Moon Cake was the best it could be!
Going back to the locals filming my reaction when trying local Chinese foods, I found the experience super cute and rewarding. Perhaps this was the reason of this post. Their interest on my reaction, and how I could not fake it. For example, I much preferred the Moon Cake Shanghai Version than the Egg Crepe, they could tell by how I liked the spoon versus how my eyes shined after trying the Moon Cake.
Jianbing – Egg crepe
Shanghai and China in general have some French influence and maybe not related, but they love to snack on this eggy thin crepe.
I say that China has influence from the French crepe, but who knows if it is not the other way round? Regardless, it is very delicious and cheap! You can buy one of these Egg crepes for 6RMB which is basically $0.75.
Fried noodles
I have also tried the Shanghainese fried noodles, which were super mega tasty. It was a bit more expensive than the rest, but perhaps because it was a lunch in a hotel downtown Shanghai. It cost me 140RMB which is about $15. But it was well worth it!
The noodles were thicker rather than thiner, which made me very satisfied quite quickly. It was cooked with sesame oil and then the prawns were soft and easy to peel. I even used chopsticks to peal the prawns of so soft there were ahah!
Chongqing noodles
On the second night we went out to try more local cuisine. We ended up in an Asian Fusion place. We got the Chongqing Noodles, and they were very spicy. I couldn’t handle them. I am a bit bad with spice to be honest. I am better, but still can’t handle most of the chillies.
They were tasty, but the spicy took over my mouth pretty quickly.
They used a special beef stock for these noodles, and instead of thick as the Shanghainese noodles, they used thiner ones and more water to cook them.
Golden Nectar Plum
I went to Shanghai to meet some clients. One of them gave me these small little golden balls as a gift. The client was originally from Beijing, so I left unsure if the fruit is more from the north of China, however, Hao Chi/好吃 (it means very good in mandarin). They looked like cherry tomatoes, but it tasted like honey and water.
Sesame Ball
In Shanghai I went food crazy. I like to try different foods but not always I am good at finding new best eats until Shanghai. I went all in and I put this little sesame seedy friend ball in my plate during lunch. It was an incredible experience. The Sesame Ball exploded and it was sweet inside mixed with sesame flavour. I really liked it and I completely understand that might not be for every taste buds, mine, were certainly happy about this delicacy. The dough is a kind of sticky Bao, covered in sesame seeds and inside is a sesame and honey flavour liquid. Delicious!
Other Best Foods to Try in Shanghai
There are many more foods to try in Shanghai and I hope to go back again to try more unique ones.
As I said in the beginning of this post, almost everything is eaten in China, I saw a whole frog (they say it is Hao Chi!), Soft Shell Crab, Squid, Octopus, more variety of noodles and dim sum.
I do suggest you to go to China with an open mind, China has a very different culture to Western countries, it is very different than what I am used to and perhaps that is why I loved it so much.
When you are walking through Shanghai you will be come across with all different aromas and smells. For example, when I arrived to Yuyuan Gardens I could feel the smell of fried sea food and coincidentally there was where I found majority of the fried crab, and seaweed delicacies.
One thing I noticed is that you find tasty looking dishes everywhere in Shanghai. There are not many places that won’t be serving tradicional dishes such as the ones above. I had such a great fun exploring each flavour and traditional dish! However, there are still a lot of meals and snacks that I have to go back for, for example:
- Ci Fan Tuan (Glutinous Rice Balls)
- Peking Duck (I had it in a salad but not the same)
- Steamed Hairy Crab
- Cong You Bing (Scallion Pancakes)
And this my friends, is some of the best foods that I came across in Shanghai. I did see other things but I didn’t try. To answer some of the main questions about Shanghai Food. I felt safe eating in Shanghai, the food is good in China, and I hope this post gives you more apetite and confidence to try more foods when you are out there.
If food is part of the reasons why you travel, definitely do a food tour in Shanghai.
If you would like to know more about how I plan my trip to China, including the visa appointment, hotels where I stayed, feel free to check my other post Everything you need to know before going to China.
I look forward to share more about my China trip!
Safe travels !
M x
