The 11 Dishes We'll Miss Most After We Leave Shanghai

Everyone has different things they'll miss about Shanghai, but we all put food at the top of our lists. Sumptuous hairy crabs scuttle the streets like a belated plague of Egypt, and 10RMB never bought you so many wontons. Certain watered down versions of Shanghai's best dishes can be found back home (they're to real Shanghai dishes what Egghead Bagels is to Russ & Daughters in New York), but there are some eats you can't replace in the West. Here are 11 of them. 

11. Hairy Crab Anything 

It's debatable whether hairy crab meat is delicious enough to warrant the meticulous dissection process required to extract it. But what's not up for debate is that the eggs and meat on their own (xiefen) is one of the best condiments on earth -- gooey, savory, succulent. Shanghaiers are like Westerners with pumpkin: come fall they'll put it in everything from meatballs to xiaolongbao. We're partial to the hairy crab scrambled eggs at Hai Jin Zi, and the hairy crab over soft tofu at Guang Ming Cun.

10. Roast Cod Head At Jesse Restaurant (葱烤鱼头, 葱烤鱼头, cong kao yu tou)

Old Jesse Restaurant is a Shanghai staple. Their signature dish is roasted cod head with caramelized onions (though the moistness leads us to believe they steam the fish beforehand). It resembles something that washed up on the beach; but there's a reason one of these adorns every table in the house. 

The roast crust caves in to unveil a moist meadow of buttery cod with hints of almond, while the sweet glaze clings to onions like droplets of sticky, caramelized dew. The flavor profile might remind you of Japanese miso cod. It might even be the best piece of fish in Shanghai.

Everyone else seems to agree, which is why you have to reserve the cod head up to a week in advance at the original Old Jesse. Even then, they're sometimes out when you arrive -- defeating the point of a reservation. 

Find it: 41 Tianping Lu (near Huaihai Xi Lu) 天平路41号 (近淮海西路), Tel: [phone]

9. Fried Dumplings At Da Hu Chun

Yang's Fried Dumplings might be synonymous with fried dumplings, but it's the emperor's new clothes. The real dumpling in the rough is found at Da Hu Chun, which has been frying shengjian mantou practically since the dish's creation almost a hundred years ago. While most street vendors use the "troubled water technique" (混水, hún shuǐ) or frying it on the pleated side, Da Hu Chun uses the "clear water method" (清水, qīngshuǐ) so the non-pleated side gets browned. The result looks a bit decrepit, almost like it could use a couple presses of the bike pump, but it's one of the most sumptuous pairings of pork and dough in the city. 

Find it: Da Hu Chun // 11 Sichuan Nan Lu, near Yan’an Dong Lu (四川南路11号, 近延安东路). Tel: [phone]

8. Braised Pork Shoulder

When people say the word "meat (rou)" in Shanghai, they're talking about pork -- unless they specify otherwise. The most ubiquitous dish are cubes of braised belly meat, but we prefer the shoulder (hongshao tipang, 红烧蹄髈). Rui Fu Yuan's rendition hits pitch perfect. Allot 40 minutes for it to stew in the holy trinity of rock sugar, soy and Shaoxing wine until meltingly tender. 

It arrives like a looming promontory of pork shimmering with tarry braise (RMB88). Striking a balance between sweet and sour, the sticky, resin-like marinade is the antidote to the wimpy versions all too common in Shanghai. Use your chopsticks to peel swaths of marbled meat off the bone, and enjoy. It practically slinks off. You’ll want to bring some friends to help you scale this meat mountain. 

Find it: 32 Maoming Nan Lu (near Fuxing Zhong Lu) 茂名南路132号乙 (近复兴中路), Tel: [phone]

7. Seafood Congee at Chaoshan Shaguo

Seafood congee marries two of my favorite things: rice porridge and sparklingly fresh sea creatures fresh from the tank. Cantonese joint Chaoshan Shaguo does a banging rendition with mud crab, while shrimp and dried scallops. It evokes the best seafood risotto you've ever had. 

Find it: 805 Dingxi Lu (near Yan'an Xi Lu) 定西路805号 (近延安西路), Tel: [phone]

6. Roast duck

Eating roast duck in braise-inundated Shanghai seems like the equivalent of ordering Chicago deep dish pizza in New York. But there's a reason it's world-renowned. Our favorite spot is the duck lady on the corner of Ningbo Road and Shandong road. Every street has one of those, right? This one sustains a thriving business despite only being open from 3-6pm, and it has a mile-long line of octogenarians -- old-timers won't suffer a stale bird. After you order, they bronze your duck in a medieval-looking steel drum until the skin vacuum-seals in the juices. One bird runs you around 40RMB.

Find it: Ningbo Lu (near Shandong Lu)

5. Roast squab

The one bird that trumps roast duck is roast squab, baby pigeon simmered whole in an earthenware vessel filled with cinnamon and star anise-spiked broth until cooked through, then drained, dried and deep fried. The best version can be found at Tang Gong. Livery, crackly, and luscious -- this is what it tastes like 'when doves fry.'

Find it: 1-2/F, 103 Dongzhu'an Bang Lu (near Jiangsu Lu) 东诸安浜路103号1-2楼 (近江苏路), Tel: [phone]

4. Yanduxian at A Shan

A harbinger of Spring, this dish entails winter bamboo shoots, ham and fresh pork, and knotted tofu sheets. The cured meat symbolizes last year's bounty while the fresh meat and bamboo shoots represent prosperity in the New Year. We like it because it's freaking delicious. Go for the version at A Shan; they only serve this dish in February-March, so the bamboo shoots are always fresh.

Find it: 2378 Hongqiao Lu (near Hongjing Lu) 虹桥路2378号 (近虹井路), Tel: [phone]

3. Cumin Ribs At Di Shui Dong

You can keep those gratuitously sauced American baby-backs. We'll take Di Shui Dong's spicy cumin ribs any day. A light smattering of assertive spices like cumin and chili prickle your mouth, but don't camouflage the deliciously marbled meat. Bring your friends, and mow through these until your plate resembles an elephant graveyard.  

Find it: 2/F, 56 Maoming Nan Lu (near Changle Lu) 茂名南路56号2楼 (近长乐路)

2. Roast Catfish At Yumen Kezhan

A River Monster's-sized catfish (seriously, the smallest one's like 3 jin) that's splayed open, carpet-bombed with pickled chilies, Chinese celery, and other veg, and roasted over charcoal until the skin crackles between your teeth. What's not to like?

1. Xiaolongbao

The quintessential Shanghai dish. A Shanghai xiaolongbao stand on the smallest street corner's better than anything you'll find outside of Shanghai (aside from maybe Taiwan). Don't get us started on those flaccid douche balloons they call xiaolongbao in the US. You can tell a Shanghai version by the skin, which is silky enough to melt in your mouth yet tensile enough to hermetically-seal in the piping hot juices and minced pork ball. Bad versions are overly-starchy and break apart like wet tissue paper. We're partial to the ones at Jia Jia Tang Bao, Fu Chun. Come November, we also like eating the version with hairy crab and pork at Cheng Long.

Cheng Long: 216 Jiujiang Lu (near Henan Zhong Lu) 九江路216号 (近河南中路), Tel: [phone].