Eat like a local at these six beloved Shanghainese restaurants, and use the 'Essential Orders' index for places that have Chinese-only menus. 

Noodles and Dumpling Shops

Dumplings: one of the best reasons to move to Shanghai as far as we're concerned. Same goes for noodles. While Shanghai has many, many dumpling and noodle eateries that are absolutely worth exploring, here are three of our tried and tested favorites that we keep coming back to for second helpings.

Dong Tai Xiang (东泰祥, RMB15-60 per person)

Like a slightly less organized version of Din Tai Fung, the 24-hour branch of Dong Tai Xiang near People's Square is a real delight for Shanghainese xiaochi, literally ‘small eats.’ The term might as well be translated to comfort food, especially when fried soup dumplings (shengjian bao, 生煎包) factor into the equation. 

Dong Tai Xiang’s shengjian bao are made in batches throughout the day, and come filled with pork, or pork and shrimp, and scalding hot pidong pork stock. Served on trays with sauce compartments (fill yours with the obligatory black vinegar), the crunchy and meaty textures will show you why these are the true kings of dumpling world.

The house wontons are similarly delicious. These also come in two varieties, da huntun (大馄饨, big wontons, above) and xiao huntun (小馄饨, small wontons, below). The former filled with shepherd’s purse and pork, are smothered in tasty sesame paste sauce, sprinkled with scallions, and best enjoyed with an additional dousing of vinegar and chili sauce. The latter come in a clear broth soup with shredded omelet, and are filled with minced shrimp. Add white pepper to make the flavor come alive.

As for noodles, we think their ‘scallion oil’ banmian (葱油拌面) is the best we’ve ever tried, in fact, we’ll admit that we didn’t really understand the virtues of this dish until we tried their version. Laden with an abundance of fragrant and crunchy fried scallions, dried shrimps and a complex soy-based dressing, mix the bowl together for the ultimate bite of Shanghai. Sweet, savory, salty – pure perfection.

Essential Orders:

• Fried pork dumplings (shengjian bao, 生煎包)

• Sesame paste shepherd's purse wontons (majiang jicai da huntun, 麻酱荠菜大馄饨)

• Shrimp wontons in soup (xiaohuntun shangtang, 小混沌上汤)

• Scallion oil noodles (congyou banmian, 葱油拌面)

See a listing for Dong Tai Xiang

Lao Di Fang Noodle House (老地方面馆, RMB20-50 per person)

With a name that literally translates to 'Old Place,' a line of hungry locals regularly stretches out the door of this 20-seater restaurant. They're waiting for bowls of noodles with assorted old school toppings, and deep-fried pork chops doused with Worcestershire sauce.

Our favorite is the spicy bean sauce noodles with marinated potato and tofu chunks (zhajiang banmian, 炸酱拌面), noodles with Chinese celery and beef strips (qincai rousi banmian, 芹菜牛肉丝拌面), and river eels with scallions (shansi banmian, 鳝丝面).

However, we're told the thing to order is the pork belly noodles (zouyou rou banmian, 走有肉拌面), a whole piece of meat braised to tender and served with simple steamed veggies. Good luck eating dinner after this beast of a meal.

Menus are only in Chinese, but the lady who runs the shop is forgiving to foreign accents and friendly – we ended up showing her Dianping pictures of what we wanted when our Mandarin failed. Make sure to specify 'banmian' (拌面) for dry noodles, and 'tangmian' (汤面) for soup noodles. Like most Shanghai noodle houses, the the broth isn't really much to write home about, so our vote is with banmian every time.

Essential orders:

• Deep-fried pork chop (zha zhupai, 炸猪排)

• Spicy bean sauce noodles (zhajiang banmian, 炸酱拌面)

• Celery and beef noodles (qincai rousi banmian, 芹菜牛肉丝拌面)

• River eels with scallion noodles (shansi banmian, 鳝丝拌面)

• Braised pork belly noodles (zuoyourou banmian, 走有肉拌面)

See a listing for Lao Di Fang

Lin Long Fang Specialty Soup Dumplings (麟笼坊特色小笼包, RMB20-100 per person）

Lin Long Fang serves what we consider to be the city's best xiaolongbao soup dumplings. Why are they so special? The fact they're made and steamed to order right in front of your eyes probably doesn't hurt, and we love that their vinegar dip has slivers of fresh ginger marinating in it for extra flavor. Let the dumplings sit in it for a few seconds to cool down.

Choose from pure hairy crab (chun xiefen xiaolongbao, 纯蟹粉小笼包), pork and salted egg yolk (xiandanhuang xiaolongbao, 咸蛋黄小笼包), or exquisite pure hairy crab (chun xiefen xiaolongbao, 纯蟹粉小笼包). The latter is best enjoyed when the crab is in season, from late October to early January.

For those who can't go a meal without noodles, Lin Long's spicy meat varietal are particularly good. Bump up the la with a spoonful or two of ground dried chili paste, and maybe a splash of vinegar while you're at it. Menus available in English.

Essential Orders:

• Pure pork soup dumplings (xianrou xiaolongbao, 鲜肉小笼包)

• Pure hairy crab soup dumplings (chun xiefen xiaolongbao, 纯蟹粉小笼包)

See a listing for Lin Long Fang

Shanghai 'Benbang Cai' Restaurants

Shanghainese cooking often gets a bad rap when compared to the pantheon of Chinese cuisine; its sweet, oily, vinegary, scallion-laden and occasionally alcoholic characteristics can take some acclimatizing to. Below is a selection of some of Shanghai’s most admired eateries and their famous dishes, which we think will show you benbang cai ('local cuisine,' 本帮菜) in its best light.

Old Jesse (老吉士, RMB120-250 per person)

There is a reason nearly every guidebook or local will point you in the direction of the original Tianping Lu branch of Old Jesse – it’s really that good. The menu is chock full of dishes that capture the essence of Shanghainese cooking, wine-cured crab (or shrimps during the warmer seasons), jujubes stuffed with sticky rice, unctuous pork belly braised in sweet and savory soy-based sauce, and cod head served with an abundance of fried scallion stems atop it, which imbue their fragrance into the fish.

The menu is in English as well as Chinese, and helpfully, they’ve highlighted which dishes are the classics, though by all means take a chance on something that takes your fancy; we’ve found some of our favorites that way.

If you're keen on ordering what we consider the house specialties (cod head with scallions, or braised pork trotters stuffed with sticky rice) be sure to place your order when you make your reservation. Reservations are only accepted in Chinese, and should be made a few days in advance to guarantee success.

Essential Orders:

• Cod head fried with scallions (congkao yapian yutou, 葱烤鸦片鱼头)

• Braised pork trotter stuffed with 'eight treasures' (babao zhuti, 八宝主题)

• Hairy crab with fried rice flour squares (xiefen shao fenpi, 蟹粉炒粉皮)
  

• Crab/shrimp cured in yellow wine (zuigao xie/xia,0 醉膏蟹/虾)

• Sweet and sour short ribs (tangcu xiaopai, 糖醋小排)

• Braised pork belly (jishi hongshao rou, 吉士红烧肉）

See a listing for Old Jesse

Lan Ting Canting (兰亭餐厅, RMB60-120 per person)

Lan Ting used to command a formidable 45 minute to two-hour wait at its closet-sized former location. Thanks to a recent move to a modern building near People's Square, the simple, no-frills renditions of feel-good Shanghainese cooking can be yours in a fraction of that time.

Much of the menu hinges on the sweet and savory soy-based sauce that gives Shanghai’s quintessential dishes their character, and is the core element of the best thing to order here: jijiang gu (鸡酱骨, ‘chicken sauce bone’). Sweet and rich to the point of butteriness, the thick, demi-glace-like sauce is a perfect match to the tender chicken, still on the bone just as local tastes like it.

A similar expression of this sauce is in the ‘oil fried’ shrimp (youbao xia, 油爆虾) which shows a fascinating method of cooking freshwater prawns that is said to have originated in nearby Zhejiang. In a sauce rich with rice wine, sugar, soy sauce and vinegar, the shrimps are quickly stir-fried in extremely hot oil; the heat causes the shrimp meat to separate from the shell, meaning they absorb the flavor of the sauce and take on a satisfying crunchy texture. Eat them whole, minus the antennae.

Also unmissable is the stir-fried water spinach with (non-stinky) fermented beancurd (furu kongxincai, 腐乳空心菜), and the deep-fried yellow croaker fillets with vinegar (miantuo huangyu, 面拖黄鱼). Note that menus are only available in Chinese.

Essential orders:

• Stir-fried water spinach with fermented beancurd (furu kongxincai, 腐乳空心菜)

• 'Oil exploded' shrimp (youbao xia, 油爆虾)

• Braised chicken on the bone with sweet soy sauce (ji jiang gu, 鸡酱骨)

• Deep-fried yellow croaker filets with vinegar dip (miantuo huangyu, 面拖黄鱼)

• Vermicelli noodles with minced meat (roumi fensibao, 肉糜粉丝煲)

• Stir-fried clover blossom with yellow wine (jiuxiang caotou, 酒香草头)

See a listing for Lan Ting Canting

Baoluo Jiu Lou (保罗酒楼, RMB100-200 per person)

Something of an institution in Shanghai, this family-style restaurant on Fumin Lu is old school to the point retro, and we love it. Beloved local favorites are a throwback to an era of old Shanghai when foreign influence brought about tastes for certain elements of Western cuisine, like the bizarre house favorite 'Swiss steak' (ruishi niupai, 瑞士牛排), which for the record should only be ordered out of curiosity.

The shengjian bao here are probably the best reason to visit. Made with a leavened dough, they are fluffy and filled with balls of loosely compacted fatty pork and soup. The bottoms are completely coated with sesame seeds, which protects the shell from the oil and heat of the skillet and results in a perfectly light and crispy bite.

Baoluo’s peeled river shrimp might look simple, though the preparation of this dish is complex. Each shrimp should be no larger than a tiny one Jiao coin, hand-peeled, marinated with egg whites, and sautéed ‘until jade white’ with a few drops, and occasionally leaves, of Longjing tea. A quick dip in the accompanying vinegar ensures a tart and juicy mouthful.

Bilingual menus available.

Essential orders:

• Shengjian bao (shengjian bao, 生煎包)

• Peeled freshwater shrimps with ‘oil exploded’ shrimps

• Marinated eggplant (yanzhi qiezi, 腌制茄子)

See a listing for Baoluo Jiulou (Polo)

READ MORE: 4 Legendary Shanghai Noodle Shops You Need to Visit