Cantonese food (yuè cài or粵菜) is possibly the best-known Chinese cuisine outside of China. This is down to two reasons. Firstly, most Chinese migrants to the West were from Taishan in Guangdong Province (formerly known as Canton) and Hong Kong, and brought their style of food with them to their new homes. That’s why most people in America and Western Europe are familiar with egg drop soup, dim sum, beef chow fun, and egg foo yung. Another reason for Cantonese food’s notoriety is the staggering array of food available. The trading history of Guangdong and Hong Kong have bequeathed a legacy of flavours, and pretty much anything with a pulse will be consumed – snakes, insects, offal, feet, dogs, and cats (although the last two are slowly being phased out thanks to protests from animal rights activists.

Thanks to its coastal location, Cantonese food has a seafood bias, with plenty of lobster, scallops, crabs, and prawns on the menu. Fresh fish and meat will be cooked delicately with only very light sauces and condiments; stuff that is less fresh will be deep fried or stir fried with garlic. Cantonese usually serve soup before meals – light broths slow cooked in clay pots. Herbal medicine is sometimes added for health. Soup is so integral to the Cantonese diet that being able to cook a decent one is apparently necessary for a women looking for a husband!

Sauces and glazes give Cantonese food its unique flavour. Popular sauces include oyster, plum, hoi sin, and black bean, and are added to meat dishes or used as dips for fried tofu, wantons and siu baau (the equivalent to baozi buns). Siu mei rotisseries with rows of glazed roasting ducks, geese, cuttlefish and pork necks are a common sight in Cantonese restaurants.

Another interesting feature of Cantonese dining is dessert. Unlike most regional cuisine, Cantonese revels in sweet dishes, including red bean soup, steamed egg custard tarts, shaved ice, coconut bars, and sweet pastries.

This all sounds pretty tempting, so the big question is… where to eat good Cantonese food in Shanghai? Here are our picks:

Tsui Wah 翠华餐厅
291 Fumin Lu, near Changle Lu

For a great introduction to Cantonese dining, try Tsui Wah. Everything about this place is big and brash, from the multi-page epic of a menu to the cavernous dining hall and space-age silver pod seats. Tsui Wah is a Hong Kong chain, and its Shanghai branch is proving to be popular. Their range of food is quite breath-taking – every Cantonese delicacy imaginable, plus general South East Asian cuisine. We’re not sure how they do it, but (thankfully) they do. Prices are cheap too, and their egg tarts from the mini bakery are a must.

Crystal Jade 翡翠酒家
2/F, No.6-7 South Block Xintiandi, Lane 123 Xingye Lu, near Madang Lu

If it’s dim sum you’re after, get yourself to Crystal Jade. Bang in the middle of chi-chi Xintiandi, it’s a bit of a tourist trap, but the food is great. It’s a mixture of Shanghainese and Cantonese, so it’s a good place to take visiting friends and/or parents for a lesson in Chinese food. (Hopefully they can food the bill too – it isn’t the cheapest!)

Cha’s 查餐厅
1/F, 30 Sinan Lu, near Huaihai Zhong Lu

Ever fancied stepping back in time to Tsim Sha Tsui circa 1950? Well, you’re in luck. Sinan Lu has recently become home to Cha’s, a Hong Kong diner complete with ersatz stained glass, lino-clad booths, and stodgy, tasty yuè cài. It’s always packed with diners nursing steaming pots of soup and noodles, and prices are low enough to make it a regular haunt. 

Tan Wai Lou 滩外楼
5/F, 18 Zhongshan Dong Yi Lu, near Nanjing Dong Lu

Far removed from your humble cha cantings, Tai Wai Lou is the place to come if you want to guzzle your dim sum in style. For a decent feed, don’t expect to pay any less than ¥500 for you and your beau/belle. The Bund location is part of the exclusivity, but the food is excellent, and worth the price. Their shark fin soup is particularly good. (Incidentally, the restaurant’s name actually means ‘Bund building’ backwards, and not some descriptive Cantonese epithet!)

Kowloon Ice House 九龙冰室
48 Fengxian Lu, near Shimen Er Lu

There’s something incredibly cosy and comforting about the Kowloon Ice House, despite its rather frosty-sounding name – especially in winter when you can colonise a little booth, watch condensation mist the windows, and chow down on some Cantonese broth. Kowloon’s does amazing, cheap noodle dishes, omelettes, rice bowls and soups, and it has a really authentic, homey air, despite its location near busy Nanjing Xi Lu.

Bi Feng Tang 避风塘
Xuhui: 175 Changle Lu, near Maoming Nan Lu
Luwan: Unit 101, 1 Dapu Lu, near Zhaojiabang Lu
Hongqiao: 1/F, 37 Shuicheng Nan Lu, near Guyang Lu
Pudong: 1-2/F, 501 Zhangyang Lu, near Pudong Nan Lu

This multi-branch chain is perennially popular thanks to bright décor, warm atmosphere, and reliably good food. Go there for the dim sums – they have a huge variety.

Find more Cantonese restaurants in Shanghai

Warning：The use of any news and articles published on eChinacities.com without written permission from eChinacities.com constitutes copyright infringement, and legal action can be taken.