Taste it while you can: Shanghai’s vanishing street food
Meatballs on sticks —
It's like mini hotpot on the go. Meatballs and vegetables are cooked in a broth, sold by the stick and usually eaten from paper cups.
Courtesy Nate Gray
Egg pancake —
Street chefs ladle batter on a hot pan, swirl it into a perfect circle, then break an egg on top. They can fill the center with anything from deep-fried dough and ham sausages to sweet paste and chili sauce with coriander.
Courtesy Gary Soup
Steamed buns —
Known as man tou, these soft and puffy buns can have a variety of fillings. Traditional options include minced pork, chopped vegetables and red bean paste.
Meng Yanyan/cnn
Fried pancakes with spring onions —
These little round wonders are generously greased and exquisitely layered with aromatic spring onions in the middle.
Jake Delois/CNN
Deep fried stinky tofu —
The pungent aroma takes a while to learn to love. But once you do, you'll be rewarded with a batch of puffy smooth tofu, best enjoyed with chili paste and bean curd paste.
Courtesy Li Jin
Tea eggs —
Boiled eggs are simmered in a broth made with soy sauce, tea bags, cinnamon, aniseed and rock sugar. The eggs with cracks on the shell are the most flavorful.
CNN
Pearl milk tea —
A classic cup of pearl milk tea is made with tapioca balls, black tea and condensed milk. A deluxe cup can include -- but isn't limited to -- egg pudding, coco, sago, red beans and herb jelly.
Meng Yanyan/CNN
Octopus balls —
Made in baking trays, octopus balls contain ground shrimp, octopus cubes and octopus paste, topped with a floury coating, special teriyaki sauce and bonito flakes.
Courtesy Gary Soup
Deep-fried chicken steak —
Heavily tenderized and generously battered, these chicken steaks can be as large as two palms. Chefs will sometimes cut them into manageable strips and coat them with plum, chilli and seaweed powder.
Courtesy Leo Chan
Xiao long bao —
Chefs aim for at least 14 pleats on the dumpling skin. The pork-skin jelly inside melts when steamed, mixing with the meaty filling and creating a delicious broth inside the dumpling.
Hippo/CNN
Sheng jian —
Filled with pork and broth, the thick flour dough has a crispy and slightly burnt bottom with sesame and spring onions on top.
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Soup with firm bean curd and vermicelli —
The best partner for sheng jian is a bowl of hearty vermicelli soup. The texture of the silky jelly-like noodles contrasts with the cubes of tofu and pork wrapped in bean curd sheets.
Courtesy Gary soup
Glutinous rice cakes —
There are many types of glutinous rice cakes, including qing tuan. The bright green dessert is sold mostly in April during the tomb-sweeping festival.
Chen Xiaofeng/CNN
Wonton —
The dainty little wonton (xiao hun tun) is a legendary Shanghai street food. Filled with half a teaspoon of minced pork and wrapped with a thinner and smaller pastry than normal, the wontons are served in bowls of eight or 10.
Courtesy Gary Soup
Ma la tang —
This dish is perfectly summed up by its name -- ma la tang means "numb, spicy, boiling hot." You can choose your ingredients -- meatballs, meat fillets, greens, tofu, all sorts of noodle -- and the chef will boil them in a large communal pot of one of the spiciest stocks you'll ever taste.
Courtesy Chenghui
Crayfish —
These bright red crustaceans play a leading role of Shanghai's buzzing street life from spring to early autumn. The crayfish are simmered in a broth of chilli and spices, then served dry.
