Gastronomy

As we make our way toward People’s Square, let’s talk a bit about Shanghai’s culinary specialities. The city’s gastronomy mirrors its diversity and energy, a flavourful mix of regional traditions, foreign influences and contemporary creativity. People eat at all hours, from street stalls to the most refined restaurants. Shanghainese cuisine, rooted in the lower Yangtze region, is known for its mild, subtle flavours, with slow-cooked dishes that are slightly sweet and often enriched with soy sauce and rice wine. Its most iconic dish is without doubt the xiaolongbao, the small steamed dumpling filled with piping-hot broth to be enjoyed in one bite, alongside the shengjianbao, its pan-fried cousin, golden-crisp on the bottom and soft inside, a breakfast favourite. Seafood lovers are in the right place here, as shrimp, river crabs and fish are often steamed or simmered in delicate sauces, and in autumn the Yangcheng Lake hairy crab becomes an institution, celebrated for its tender flesh and rich roe. Shanghai is equally a city of markets and street food, where in lively alleys you can taste stir-fried noodles, spicy skewers, stuffed breads and sesame or red-bean sweets, flavours that tell as much about daily life as they do about local history. Long open to the world, the city merges influences from Suzhou, Hangzhou and Sichuan with Western touches inherited from the former concessions, and today its young chefs are reinventing tradition, pairing the local sweet-savory style with modern techniques, and ingredients from afar. From tiny street stands to Michelin-starred restaurants the city offers a true sensory journey where every dish celebrates its diversity and vitality.