As for the cuisine of Shanghai, it is the shopwindow of different local foods. Shanghai cooking may be a “cosmopolitan combination of many Chinese cooking styles” but it is based solidly on both Jiangsu and Zhejiang cooking, both of which are much more influential than Fujian cuisine.

Shanghai cuisine, with a history of more than 400 years, is the youngest major cuisine in China, and traditionally it was originated in Ming and Qing dynasties. Baking, stewing and deep-frying are the basic method used in the cooking and the cuisine usually looks shiny. During the 19th transitional period the basic flavor structure, cooking style and technique norms were from by virtue of absorbing the merits of other recipes condiments and maintenance of the flavor of the materials are both emphasized in the cooking with the precondition of freshness and crispness. What can be called Shanghai cuisine is epitomized by the use of alcohol. Fish, eel, crab, chicken are "drunken" with spirits and usually served raw. Salted meats and preserved vegetables are also commonly used to spice up the dish. The use of sugar is very unique to Shanghai cuisine. Shanghai cuisine is special, because the cooks of Shanghai tend to cook with more flair than do their counterparts in other Chinese regions.

Shanghai people usually like to cook in house and then enjoy the cuisine, besides shanghainese do not eat a lot at one time. Interestingly Shanghai men are almost good at cooking and know how to satisfy their taste with few materials.

The impressive cuisines are below: Hot & Sour Soup , Shanghai Veggie, Rice Hot and Sour Soup ingredients, Pork Juliene, Pork Blood Clot, Bean Curl, Wood Fungus Juliene, Bamboo Shoot Juliene etc. Other than the Chinese-style food or cuisine, the western food also could be easily found such as KFC, McDonalds, and Starbucks and so on. If you are in Shanghai, you will not be unsatisfied with its hospitality and the affordability of diverse food surely meets your demands and preference in eating. In a word, the culture of Shanghai is typically traditionalized with the help of westernized culture.