Shanghai's food scene is one of the world's most underestimated. From silky xiaolongbao to caramelized hong shao rou, discover the dishes that define China's most cosmopolitan city.
Learn the art of Shanghai's most famous export — the perfect soup dumpling
Taste hong shao rou, bao yumi, and the "taste of home" that defines Shanghai cooking
Crispy-bottomed, juicy Shanghainese dumplings found only in this city
Experience a live wet market through a food expert's eyes
Hands-on Benbang cooking with a professional Shanghai chef
Traditional tea ceremony paired with Shanghai-style dim sum desserts
Shanghai's most famous contribution to the world's table is the xiaolongbao — a soup dumpling so perfectly balanced between dough, pork, and gelatin broth that eating one correctly requires instruction. Today you'll master it.
Every great food city starts in the morning at the market. Day two takes you into the beating heart of Shanghai's neighborhood food culture — then puts you in the kitchen to cook it yourself.
"I've eaten my way through Chinatown in San Francisco, London, and New York. But the Shanghai food tour was something else entirely. Our guide knew not just what to eat but why it matters — the history of hong shao rou, the cultural significance of the morning market. I cried eating xiaolongbao for the first time (the right way, with the soup and everything). Book this."
Benbang (本帮) cuisine — literally "local flavor" — is the cooking style of Shanghai and surrounding areas. Unlike the spice-heavy cuisines of Sichuan or the subtle precision of Cantonese cooking, Benbang is characterized by its use of "hong" (red-cooking: braising in soy sauce and sugar that turns pork a deep mahogany), generous portions of "gao tang" (thick broths and soups), and an emphasis on seasonal freshwater fish and crabs. The defining dish is hong shao rou — pork belly braised until it's simultaneously silky, savory, and sweet. Benbang also has a uniquely sweet tooth compared to other Chinese regional cuisines, reflecting Shanghai's historical role as a sugar trading hub.
Yes, and this is one of the tour's most popular moments. The "correct" way to eat a xiaolongbao is a multi-step process: (1) Place the dumpling on a spoon, (2) bite off the very tip to create a small hole, (3) sip the hot broth through the hole (this is the crucial step — the broth is near-boiling), (4) dip in black vinegar with slivered ginger, and (5) eat the rest. Eating it in one bite before releasing the broth will result in a spectacular but painful burst. Your guide will demonstrate this with every dumpling variety. The good news: even if you mess it up, you get to try again.
Shanghai has excellent vegetarian options within Benbang cuisine, including blanched greens with garlic, century egg with tofu, vegetable fried rice, and the wide variety of vegetarian dim sum. However, some standard Benbang cooking uses meat stocks and oyster sauce. We can arrange fully vegan cooking classes and vegetarian restaurant reservations — but please inform us at least one week in advance so we can research specific menus and communicate with restaurant kitchens. Cross-contamination in traditional restaurants is a risk we'd like you to be aware of.
Shanghai hairy crabs (yangcheng lake daxiang hong) are available from September through December, with the peak being October-November. They are considered one of China's most prized delicacies and feature in premium Benbang dining. If you visit during hairy crab season, we can add a crab-focused experience to your tour — including a crab feast dinner. Outside of this season, Shanghai's culinary calendar offers other seasonal stars: winter's yellow croaker, spring's river shrimps, and summer's lotus root and water chestnuts.
Yes — in fact, many travelers find that two days isn't enough. We can extend the tour to three days, adding: a rooftop bar hopping experience (Shanghai has some of the world's best), a distillery visit (Shaoxing wine or Shanghai's craft baijiu scene), a specialized breakfast tour focusing purely on morning food culture, or a day trip to nearby Tongli or Wuzhen water towns for their distinct culinary traditions. Contact us to discuss adding a longer food immersion to your Shanghai itinerary.