| Shanghai cuisine is a special hybrid. When Europeans arrived, Chinese chefs began combining their own recipes and ingredients with those of the West. Shanghai cuisine presents interesting dishes, especially if you enjoy exotic seafood. Fish and shrimps are considered basic and if possible eels, carp and crab will appear as well. In season (between October and December) you may get the chance to try the celebrated Shanghai crab (dazha crab), the most expensive and the most delicious. The rich Yangtze delta is a natural garden for Chinese vegetables as well as French beans, peas, cabbage and a range of fruits.
Shanghai dishes are braised, steamed, saulted, fried or grilled. Sauces are made of ginger, sugar, Shaoxing wine and soy, but without heavy spicing. Shanghai dishes require a lot of oil, so the dishes should be eaten hot. Among the local concoctions are Beggar's Chicken, 'Lion Head' meatballs with cabbage, smoked fish and eel in garlic. You can often find dumplings, wontons, you tiao (ough sticks), Shanghainese fried noodles, and baked and fried breads being sold by street vendors throughout the city. As a staple food, Shanghainese eat dumplings and noodles as well as rice.
Shanghai is also famous for its sweets, including glutinous rice cakes, steamed bread filled with meat (baozi), dough sticks, French pastries, fruit pies and sweets. Unlike many other Chinese, the Shanghainese are famous for their sweet tooth, a tradition that dates back to the period of the international settlement-selling more than two thousand tons of pastries and confectionery each week.
Western food has also become increasing available, with foreign establishments arriving on the scene monthly. In addition, China's opening has made fast-food joints popular among locals, who frequent KFC and McDonald's. Today it is become more a way of life than just a meal, with families taking their one child for a hamburger treat or couples lovingly sharing a pizza.
Chinese people follow a very strict eating schedule, so if you're dining at a more traditional Chinese restaurant, you can expect larger crowds between 11:30AM and 12:30PM and between 5:30 and 6:30 PM. At some restaurants you must arrive early for dinner, or you'll miss all the best food. Many restaurants also have menus, and you may find it difficult to order at the ones that don't. If you can't find a server who can translate for you, pantomime and drawings usually work fairly well.
You're nor obliged to tip, as it's not a custom in China. Actually , almost all restaurants in Shanghai tack on a lO%~15% service charge, which technically takes care of the tip even though your server may not see any of it. If there is no mandatory service charge, tipping is still not required or expected.
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