01 Food tours
Original food tours, curated with our local tastemakers to showcase the neighbourhood kitchens, markets and family-run eateries that define Shanghai.
No tours listed for Shanghai yet — check back soon.
Sweet and savoury red braised pork, xiao long bao filled with broth, drunken chicken in Shaoxing wine, hairy crab in autumn. Shanghai cooks the softest, sweetest table in China.
04 The pantry
- Shaoxing wine, amber rice wine that flavours every Shanghai dish
- Rock sugar, hard cane sugar for the city's signature red braises
- Hairy crab, autumn delicacy eaten with vinegar and ginger
- Chinese black vinegar, sharp and aged for dumpling dipping
- Fresh soy skin, layered into countless steamed and braised dishes
05 In the kitchen
- Slow-braising hongshao rou pork belly in dark soy and rock sugar
- Pleating xiao long bao soup dumplings with eighteen folds each
- Marinating zui ji drunken chicken in Shaoxing wine for days
- Steaming hairy crab whole with ginger and dark vinegar
- Sweetening sauces with rock sugar for the local tang cu profile
06 Eat this first
- Xiao long bao, soup dumplings pinched shut around pork and hot broth
- Hongshao rou, red-braised pork belly glossy with rock sugar
- Sheng jian bao, pan-fried pork buns with a crisp base and juicy filling
- Zui ji, cold drunken chicken marinated in Shaoxing wine
- Da zha xie, hairy crabs steamed and eaten with black vinegar
What happens inside a hammam kitchen
A morning with the cooks who feed the neighbourhood before dawn. Charcoal, dough, the smell of a bakery working its second oven.
10 Field Notes
Quick field notes to help you get accustomed to Shanghai.
Weather
Humid subtropical — hot, sticky summers (32°C-plus) with typhoon risk in late summer, and cold, damp winters (near freezing but rarely snowing). Spring and autumn are the sweet spots.
Currency
The Chinese yuan (CNY); WeChat Pay and Alipay dominate — cards are rarely used at street level. Set up mobile payment before you land.
Language
Mandarin Chinese is universal; Shanghainese is the local dialect. English is more common than in most Chinese cities, especially in the former French Concession.
Etiquette
Cosmopolitan and business-forward — accept business cards with two hands and don't rush the exchange. Don't stick chopsticks upright in rice.
Getting around
The metro is huge, cheap, and easy to navigate — signage is bilingual. Didi is the local ride app; the Maglev links Pudong Airport in eight minutes.
Prayer
Officially secular. Jing'an Temple, Longhua Temple, and the Xiaotaoyuan Mosque all sit in the city centre and welcome respectful visitors.