The commercial capital of the People's Republic
of China, boasts of one of the best and distinctive cuisines of the
country. The neighbors of Shanghai also contribute to the diversity
of the city's cuisine. The proximity of Shanghai to the Yangtze
River delta, results in abound dishes made from fresh water fish and
shellfish. At Shanghai, you can enjoy all the best food from home
and abroad completely suiting your budget type. The traditional
Shanghai cuisine, also known as Hu Cai, includes two categories
Benbang cuisine, literally meaning local cuisine and Haipai cuisine,
meaning all-embracing cuisine.
The Benbang cuisine and the Haipai cuisine are the top cuisines on
which mostly dishes in the region are prepared. The local Benbang
cuisine always has a great taste and bright color, derived from
preparing it in oil and soybean sauce. The local people of Shanghai
have sweet tooth and hence mostly sugar is used in the preparation
of dishes. The local delicacies mostly taste fresh, mellow and a
little sweet. The chefs of China have taken the most advantage of
the cosmopolitan culture, Shanghai enjoyed from the past four
centuries. The Haipai cuisine is the best example of the same. The
Haipai cuisine blends the best flavors of other local cuisines of
China and western cuisines as well. Both the cuisines commonly
however, make abundant use of fresh meat, fish, chicken, shrimps,
crabs and vegetables.
Shanghai has lately however been undergoing a healthy trend, with
the dishes becoming less oily and using lower amounts of rich
ingredients. Eating in Shanghai is not expensive, if one is on a
budget. Here you will find street-side kiosks, middle-range priced
restaurants and other eating joints. At the same time, one can also
experience luxurious and fine dining experience at many of the star
rated restaurants located in the city. At Shanghai you can savor
large amounts of freshly prepared sea-food. Some of the must-try
dishes are You Bao He Xia made from live shrimps, Xia Zi Da Wu Shen
noted for its great taste and nutritional value, smoked fish,
Shanghai hairy crabs and sautéed shelled shrimps among
others. Here you can also try your hands at stewed chicken and local
snacks like fried stuffed buns, vegetable stuffed buns, chop rice
cake, yellow crab pastry, Leisha dumplings and Wonton. One of the
famous sweet delicacies of Shanghai is Nian Gao, a Chinese New
Year's cake, without any butter or eggs inside, made of 80 percent
water and 20 percent glutinous rice flour. In Shanghai, the
vegetarians can also be satisfied, as there are a host of vegetarian
and fast food international chains present in the city.
Dining in Shanghai is going to be an experience
of a lifetime, as what awaits you is not just the best food from the
region but also foreign foods which have been aptly blended with
Shanghai cuisine.