Shanghai: Food – Snacks

Food in Shanghai

Food in Shanghai is like any global metropolis. You are able to find all sorts of International cuisines in this city, from Western steaks to Japanese sushi. Popular food and beverage chains like Mac Donald’s, KFC and Starbucks can be commonly spotted too. However if you are in Shanghai, you must try the Shanghainese cuisine and snacks.

Must Try Shanghai Snacks

Shanghai is the paradise of snacks, and its Snacks could be traced back to as early as the Southern Song Dynasty and became more exquisite in cooking when Shanghai grew into an important city in early Ming Dynasty.

After Shanghai was listed as a trading port by the end of the Qing Dynasty, various regional snacks were assimilated, developed and refined, bringing forth the specialty of Shanghai style. Four must-haves Shanghai Snacks are:

• Baked Sesame Pan Cake,
• Deep-fried Dough Sticks,
• Soybean Milk,
• Sticky Rice Combo

As well as dozens of kinds of pastries, buns, stuffed dumplings and cakes.

Shanghai snack is famed for being light, fresh and tasty, and has long been diners’ favourite for its characteristics.

Famous Snack Streets

There are a number of Famous Snack Streets (小吃街 xiǎo chī jiē : snack street) in Shanghai, such as:

• Qibao snack street – Minghang district
  • 七宝老街 (qī bǎo lǎo jiē : Qi Bao Old Street)
• Wujiang road snack street – Luwan district
  • 新吴江路 (xīn wú jiāng lù : New Wujiang Road) – near Metro Line 1 Nanjing Xi lu Station
• Huanghe food street – Huangpu district
  • 黄河路 小吃街 (huáng hé lù xiǎo chī jiē : Huanghe Road Snack Street)
• Zhapu road snack street – Hongkou district
  • 乍浦路 美食街 (zhà pǔ lù měi shí jiē : Zhapu Road Delicacy Street)
• Yunnan South road snack street – Huangpu district
  • 云南南路 小吃街 (yún nán nán lù xiǎo chī jiē ：Yunan South Road Snack Street)
• Guling road snack street – Jing’an district
  • 牯岭路 小吃街 (gǔ lǐng lù xiǎo chī jiē : Guling Road Snack Street)
• Chenghuang Temple – Huangpu district
  • 城隍庙 小吃广场 (chéng huáng miào xiǎo chī guǎng chǎng : Chenghuang Temple Snack Square)

Famous Restaurants Popular for its Snacks

There are also some Famous Restaurants Popular for its Snacks.

He Feng Lou

He Feng Lou brings all Chinese snacks together and introduces 144 snacks and dishes from 8 major styles and their 16 sub-cuisines. The two-storey restaurant serves on the first floor buffet-style Chinese cuisine numbering 300 in kinds according to their origins such as Shanghai, Sichuan & Hunan, Taiwan, Jiangsu, etc. The second floor features special Chinese and overseas snacks including Japanese Teppanyaki and is popular with tourists.

Address: 10 Wenchang Road

Tel: 021-63557878

Transportation: Bus 55, 930, 932, 980

Guang Ming Cun Restaurant

Guang Ming Cun Restaurant, open in 1948, is known for its dim-sum and snacks with over ten dishes awarded “Shanghai specialty snacks”. Those snacks are highly appreciated including Juicy Chicken Wanton Soup, Fried Crabmeat Stuffed Bun and Steamed Pork Stuffed Bun. Some signature dishes are superb like Crystal Shrimp, Peppery Beef Fillet with Honey, Crispy Duck, Turtle and Snake Soup with Herbs, Eye Brow-shaped Crispy Cake and Milky Date. The restaurant is popular with customers for its inexpensive price, authentic taste, comfortable ambience and excellent service.

Address: 588 Huaihai Road (M.)

Tel: 021-53067878

Transportation: Bus 42, 911, 945

Lu Bo Lang Restaurant

Lu Bo Lang Restaurant, located by nine-twist-bridge at Old City God Temple (Chenghuang Temple), has an elegant and peaceful surrounding matching the elegance of Mid-Pond-Pavilion tea house next door. It is well-known for its carefully selected raw materials and meticulous preparations and is highly praised by gourmands from home and abroad. The signature dish “Osmanthus Cake” is so sticky in texture that it gets stuck on plate or chopsticks but does not stick to your teeth and feels smooth in the mouth, carrying a faint fragrance of rice wine.

Address: 115-131 Yuyang Road

Tel: 021-63280602

Transportation: Bus 11, 64, 66, 126, 920

Wang Jia Sha Restaurant

Wang Jia Sha Restaurant, lying at the crossing Nanjing Road (W) and Shimen Road, enjoys high popularity in Shanghai for its wide selection, meticulous preparations and delicious taste. The most popular four must-eat dishes are its tasty and fried stuffed bun, delicious shrimp wanton soup, crunchy red bean pastry and crispy double-side fried noodle. Recently the restaurant has created a new and unique crab meat dim-sum series and dishes.

Address: 805Nanjing Road (W.)

Tel: 021-625330404

Transportation: Bus 21, 17, 112, 921

Feng Yu Restaurant

On early mornings of autumn or winter, it is a delight to visit this cozy restaurant and have some hot fried stuffed bun and fried tofu rice noodle soup. The white skin breaks once bitten.  The warm delicious soup and golden dough crusts are so luscious that they cover the slight grease of the buns. Inexpensive and tasty, Feng Yu is fairly popular in Shanghai.

Address: 41 Runjin Road (NO.2)

Tel: 021-53061742

Transportation: Metro Line 1 (Shaanxi Road (S) Station), Tourist Line 10, Bus 26, 945

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Read our following article on More Shanghai Snacks!