It’s no secret that rapid urban development has squeezed Shanghai’s street food scene to within an inch of its life in the last couple of decades. But despite the rise and rise of mall dining (not always a bad thing we might add), there is a particular breed of hole-in-the-wall dining that continues to thrive in the city, and one that we suggest all visitors try at least once during their stay.
In many cases these old-school eateries have been run by the same families for decades, with almost no changes to the menu (or, for that matter, décor) in the interim, and offer a taste of the Shanghai dining scene that existed before we’d even dreamt of Michelin stars – though it’s worth mentioning that some of these spots have since earned some!