Shanghai Evening Food Tour
6:30pm Daily • 3.5 Hours • Walking Tour
Overview
Activity details
In 1936, half of Shanghai was controlled by foreign powers. For decades, its had a negative birth rate and millions of immigrants, meaning the inheritance of the true cuisine of old Shanghai is limited to select insiders. On this tour, you’ll try at least 10 dishes on a journey through the clandestine cuisine of old-Shanghai, hiding in plain sight in the French Concession.
What's included
Far more than a meal’s worth of food, local beer, and soft drinks at 4 sit-down, safe-to-eat restaurants, plus one craft beer bar.
Itinerary
Shanghai's Famous Soup Dumplings
Xiaolongbao (local for soup dumplings) are Shanghai’s most famous claim to fame, but do you know how to tell the good from the great? We’ll let you know at our favorite local dumpling joint that can compete with the touristy Michelin recommended restaurants.
Try All the Carbs
Scallion noodles, dumplings with sesame sauce, local curry, and more! Don’t forget to check out the kitchen on your way in, the labor intensive pan-fried-bun making process has been selected as Local Intangible Cultural Heritage.
Explore Shanghai's French Concession by Foot
Discover the homes and lanes that laid the foundation of this quaint neighborhood, now home to long-time locals and trendy markets, cafes, and bars. As we walk, we’ll visit restaurants that are hidden in plain sight and only visited by those “in the know.”
Discover Classic Shanghainese Dishes
Two words: Pork Belly. Shanghai’s favorite dish takes an entire day to prepare, and for a good reason. Enjoy this plus other “only in Shanghai” dishes that celebrate quality ingredients with fresh preparation.
Shanghai's Sweet Secret
Driven by a passion for dessert and community spirit, the Shanghainese owner of this cozy shop caters to the local neighborhood, crafting fresh desserts without pre-made shortcuts. Fresh mango atop chilled sago cream with a dash of pomelo…we’re drooling already!
Local Craft Beer Taphouse
Mingle street-side or cozy-up inside this 15-seat taphouse for an inside look (and taste) into China’s evolving micro-brewery scene. The taphouse is located near to South Shaanxi Road Subway Station.
Highlights
Where to eat in a city of 26 million inhabitants?
Shanghai is a mind-bendingly huge modern metropolis, carved up by foreign occupiers since the 19th century and modernized at lightning speed over the last 3 decades. Through it all, there’s been a preservation of Chinese tradition; totally hidden behind modern facades and tiny alleyways.
The clue even lies in the name: did you know that the word for old-Shanghai cuisine is “Benbang” meaning local? Local, as opposed to outsider. Think about that, a food culture that’s chosen its name and identity in relation to foreigners in their own homeland. And when you walk around, there’s plenty of outsider food on display – but where do the insiders eat? (Hint: With us. It’s with us.) Characterized by meticulous presentation, delicateness, and a refined use of quality ingredients, this insider’s cuisine is truly an art form you don’t want to miss.
Additional information
Special requirements
This tour can accommodate travelers with vegetarian, dairy-free, no-spicy, and no-nut dietary needs. However, we are unable to accommodate vegan and gluten-free diets.
FAQs
What if I have special dietary requests?
All dietary requests must be communicated at the time of booking. When booking online, you will have the opportunity to let us know if you have any dietary requirements or special requests. Please use the following information to understand if this tour is right for you.
This tour can accommodate vegetarian travelers, including those who are pescatarian and those who do not eat beef, pork, seafood, shellfish, and/or mutton. However, there will not always be direct substitutes for every dish that we try on the tour. Vegetarian guests will have fewer choices and may miss out on some signature dishes, such as soup dumplings and pan-fried buns at the second stop. Instead, we’ll order extra vegetarian items. Please note that every stop we visit during the tour does use meat in their kitchen.
This tour cannot accommodate vegan or gluten-free travelers. Wheat products are featured at every stop, in sauces like soy sauce and in tour highlights like steamed buns and fried doughs. There are no substitutes or alternatives available.
This tour also cannot accommodate severe allergies as we do not have control over the preparation for your food. Travelers that don’t eat nuts are welcome, but kitchens do use nuts and cross-contamination is possible.
If you have any questions not answered here, please contact us prior to booking.
How much food and drink will I get?
We are not a tasting tour, we provide much more than a full meal’s worth of food so we recommend you come prepared to eat.
This menu features a minimum of 8 dishes depending on group size and dietary requirements. Food is varied and plentify, and there’s also unlimited bottled water, soft drinks, and local beer until we reach the taphouse, where we’ll provide your first pint!
Will I need to walk very far?
This is a walking tour; let’s just get that out of the way. This tour covers about 2 km/ 1.25 miles by foot, so we recommend leaving the heels at home. This distance is split up between 5 stops, so it’s roughly a 5-10 minute walk between each stop and a great chance to digest a bit before the next stop. We also find that exploring by foot is the best way to enjoy the sights of the French Concession.
What happens if it rains or the weather is hot or cold?
All of our tours are rain-or-shine, so we suggest you dress for the weather. If rain is possible, an umbrella, along with shoes that can get wet, is a good idea. In rare cases of extreme weather, your guide will cancel the tour and provide a full refund. During times of extreme air pollution (AQI over 400) our tours will run but refunds will be provided if you are unable to join due to health concerns.
Should I sign up for multiple Lost Plate Tours? Are they all different?
We have many happy customers who do more than one of our tours in Beijing and across China! We have designed our tours to focus only on food from each city. This means that each dish, story, and vibe is unique to each tour and there aren’t any repeats.
Most people are very surprised how much the cuisine changes as they travel throughout China, and our tours are a good way to discover those differences. We encourage you to pick the tours that best fit your itinerary and we offer a 10% discount if booking more than one tour.
Cancellations
Bookings cancelled 24 hours or more before your tour begins are fully refundable (100% refund). Bookings cancelled less than 24 hours before your tour begins are not refundable. Rescheduling requests made less than 24 hours before your tour begins will be charged an additional 50% of your previous total.