The draw of Shanghai might be the gleaming skyline, but to born-and-bred locals the charm of the city is street food. Shanghai’s street food scene is a jungle — rapidly disappearing but still immense enough to overwhelm you.
The draw of Shanghai might be the gleaming skyline, but to born-and-bred locals the charm of the city is street food. Shanghai’s street food scene is a jungle — rapidly disappearing but still immense enough to overwhelm you.
Photo:Ctrip
The egg pancake rolling fresh off the pan at wet markets, the steaming baskets of soup dumplings served at local canteens or the pungent stinky tofu in the Old Town alluring every passerby.
While skyscrapers are shooting up in Shanghai, the heartwarming scene of buying and eating from the streets is slowly disappearing.
Xiao long bao
Chels aim for at least 14 pleats on the dumpling skin. The pork-skin jelly inside melts when steamed, mixing with the meaty filling and creating a delicious broth inside the dumpling. Photo:CNN
An authentic xiao long bao has pork skin jelly in the meaty filling and at least 14 pleats on the skin.
Melted after being steamed, the jelly forms a delicious and precious broth inside the dumpling.
Nanxiang Man Tou Dian in Yu Garden is the most famous xiao long bao restaurant in Shanghai — attracting long lines round the clock. (85 Yuyuan Lu, near Ninghui Lu, Shanghai; +86 21 6355 4206; Open 8 a.m.-9 p.m.);
Neighborhood canteens, such as Fu Chun, Xiao Long on Yuyuan Lu and De Xing Guan on Guangdong Lu, serve excellent baskets too.
Sheng jian
Filled with pork and broth, the thick flour dough has a crispy and slightly burnt bottom with sesame and spring onions on top. Photo:CNN
Sheng jian and guo tie are two types of fried dumplings.
Sheng jian looks like a mini version of steamed buns.
It has a crispy and slightly burnt bottom, thickish flour dough and black sesame as well as spring onions as garnish.
Chain canteen Xiaoyang Sheng Jian is a hugely popular destination for the dish.
Guo tie, on the other hand, is fried pork jiao zi without any garnish.
Sometimes it comes in a yellow curry flavor, stuffed with minced beef.
Soup with firm bean curd and vermicelli
The best partner for sheng jian is a bowl of hearty vermicelli soup. The Texture of the silky-like noddles contrasts with the cubes of tofu and pork wrapped in bean curd sheets.
The best partner for sheng jian is a bowl of hearty vermicelli soup.
It was originally sold from makeshift night stalls with tiny coal-powered stoves.
Now the best ones come from Fengyu Sheng Jian (Ruijin Er Lu, Shanghai) a chain restaurant that also makes excellent sheng jian.
The texture of the silky jelly noodles is contrasted by cubes of fried firm bean curd and pillow-shaped pork dumplings wrapped with bean curd sheets.
Wonton
The dainty wonton(xiao hun tun) is a legendary Shanghai street food. Filled with half a teaspoon of minced pork and wrapped with a thinner and smaller pastry than normal, the wontons are served in bowls of eight or 10. Photo:CNN
Wonton is the Shanghainese rival to jiao zi dumplings, which are more popular in northern China.
Usually considered a meal rather than a snack, the dainty “little wonton” is a legendary Shanghai street food.
They usually come in batches of eight or 10, filled with half a teaspoonful of minced pork and wrapped with a thinner and smaller pastry than normal wontons
Jixiang Hun Tun (26 Fuxing Xi Lu, near Wulumuqi Nan Lu, Shanghai; +86 21 6437 5947; 24 hours), the emperor of wonton selling, delivers a bowl guaranteed to satisfy.
The brand has a limitless menu that appears to cover every wonton you could possibly imagine.
Ma la tang
This dish is perfectly summed up by its name — ma la tang means”numb, spicy, boiling hot.” You can choose your ingredients — meatballs, Meat fillets, green, tofu, all sorts of noodle — and the chef will boil them in a large communal pot of one of the spiciest stocks you will ever taste. Photo:CNN
It’s hard to find a dish with a more straightforward name: it translates to “numb, spicy and boiling hot.”
From what’s usually a hole in the wall, diners get to choose their own ingredients from a large fridge — meatballs, different meat fillets, leafy green, bean curd products, all sorts of noodles.
Customers hand ingredients to the chef to boil in a large communal pot filled with spices and bone stock.
The cooked meats and vegetables are served in a tongue-numbing broth for eating in or takeaway.
Crayfish
These bright read crustaceans play a leading role of Shanghai’s Buzzing street life from spring to early autumn. The crayfish are simmered in a broth of chilli and spices, then served dry. Photo:CNN
Served in bucket and paired with cold beer, these bright red crustaceans play a leading role in Shanghai’s buzzing street life from spring to early fall.
Purposely bred crayfish are simmered in a broth with chili and abundant spices, then served dry.
Shouning Lu, a small street near People’s Square, has become famous for its crayfish spectacle.
Diners spill out from jam-packed restaurants, sit on tiny plastic stools indoors or outdoors, and order bucket after bucket of the delicacy.
Source:CNN
