Shanghai French Concession: 10-Dish Food Tour & Local Eats

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Free cancellationTravelers' pick

1/17

Duration3h 30m

GroupUp to 12

LanguagesEN

Mobile ticketAccepted

Ten dishes hidden in Shanghai's French Concession, where the real old-city food still lives

You walk through the French Concession with a local guide, eating at four real restaurants and trying 10+ dishes that tourists usually miss — xiaolongbao, pan-fried buns, pork belly, and fresh dessert. All meals and drinks are included, the group stays small, and you finish with craft beer near the subway so you can get back on your own time.

3h 30m

Step-by-step itinerary

Explore Shanghai's French Concession cuisine

Introduction to old Shanghai cuisine
Try Xiaolongbao at local dumpling joint
Eat scallion noodles and dumplings
Enjoy Shanghai-style pork belly dish
Taste fresh mango sago dessert
End with local craft beer

The Experience

Hands tear into a steamed bun, steam rising off the pleated top, and you realize you're standing in a kitchen that's been doing this the same way for decades. That's where the French Concession food tour starts — not with a lecture about Shanghai's 1936 foreign occupation, but with the actual work of making xiaolongbao, the soup dumplings that define the city. Your local English-speaking guide takes you through four sit-down restaurants across the neighborhood, and you'll eat at least 10 dishes that most visitors never find because they're not in guidebooks or on tourist maps. They're just where people from the neighborhood eat.

The tour moves through the old streets on foot, stopping first at a dumpling joint that competes with the Michelin-starred places without the crowds. From there you hit a spot known for scallion noodles and dumplings with sesame sauce, then a restaurant where the kitchen shows off the labor-intensive process of making pan-fried buns — that technique was designated Local Intangible Cultural Heritage. The pork belly comes next, a Shanghai favorite that takes a full day to braise, and you'll understand why once you taste it. Small groups stay under twelve people, so there's room to ask questions and actually talk to the guide instead of just following a flag.

Dessert is fresh mango over chilled sago cream with pomelo at a cozy shop run by a Shanghainese owner who makes everything without shortcuts. The tour wraps with a locally made craft beer at a brewery ten minutes' walk from South Shaanxi Road Subway Station, where you can feel the modern Shanghai that the world knows. All the food, all the drinks, bottled water throughout — it's included. If you're vegetarian, let them know when you book and they'll adjust the stops.

What’s included

Your day includes a local English-speaking guide, all food at four sit-down restaurants, unlimited local beer and soda, bottled water throughout, and a craft beer at the final brewery stop. The group stays small (2–12 people), vegetarian options are available with advance notice, and you can reach the subway easily from where the tour ends.

Good to know

Easy physical levelPublic transport nearbyInfants must sit on laps

Operated by Lost Plate

Is this one for you?Book this if you want to eat what locals actually eat in Shanghai without spending hours researching restaurants or navigating menus alone — the guide takes the planning out of it and the fixed route means you hit four solid spots in one evening instead of wandering and guessing.