The traditions of Shanghai's cosmopolitan past are still dimly apparent in the city's restaurants . Many of the old establishments have continued to thrive and although the original wood-panelled dining rooms are succumbing to modernization year by year, the growth of private enterprise ensures that the choice of venues is now wider than ever. If you are arriving from other areas of China, be prepared to be astounded by the excellent diversity of food in the city, with most Chinese regional cuisines represented, as well as an equally impressive range of foreign cuisine including Brazilian, Indian, Japanese and European. You will also find that restaurants serving both Chinese and international cuisine are more expensive in Shanghai than elsewhere, although prices remain reasonable by international standards. Despite locals' grumbles about how quickly prices are approaching Hong Kong's level, most dishes at Chinese restaurants range from US$3 to 4, and even many upmarket Western restaurants have meal specials that come to less than US$10.

Cheap snack food is easily available in almost any part of the city at any time of night or day - try xiao long bao, a local dumpling speciality. Shanghai has taken to Western fast food in a big way, with ubiquitous McDonald's, Pizza Huts and especially KFC s, the latter with a whopping 51 branches. Finding a good breakfast remains the largest problem of Shanghai's food scene. The best choices include going for the delicious yet very expensive (¥100-150) breakfast buffets at most luxury hotels, or sampling the excellent Japanese and Chinese bakeries along Huaihai Zhong Lu or Nanjing Dong Lu. Unlike many other Chinese, the Shanghainese are famous for their sweet tooth, which is indulged by more than 1800 bakeries, coffee and pastry shops - a tradition that dates back to the period of the International Settlement - selling more than two thousand tons of pastries and confectionery each week. Croissants de France is a decent Western-style bakery chain, which has several branches on Huahai Zhong Lu and Wulumuqi Zhong Lu. Most hotels also have respectable restaurants which serve dim sum at breakfast and lunch.

Compared to, for example, Sichuan or Cantonese cuisine, Shanghai cuisine is not particularly well known or popular among foreigners; nevertheless, there are still some interesting dishes, especially if you enjoy exotic seafood. Fish and shrimps are considered basic to any respectable meal, and if possible eels and crab will appear as well. In season - between October and December - you may get the chance to try dazha crab, the most expensive and supposedly the most delicious. Most cooking is done with added ginger, sugar and Shaoxing wine, but without heavy spicing. One general warning about restaurant dining in Shanghai is the need to establish with absolute clarity - in advance - the prices of the dishes you are ordering. Shanghai restaurateurs are notoriously unscrupulous when it comes to billing foreign tourists.