Foodies will savor a variety of tasty Shanghainese dishes around the city. Everything from the "Four Great King Kongs" to tantalizingly, simple soups are on the menu.

Sugar and soy sauce are a must for Shanghai cuisine as is a healthy dose of oil. Typical dishes include diced chicken with chili pepper and braised pork with soy sauce. From fish to pork, almost all dishes can be cooked in the Shanghai style known as hongshao - braised with oil, soy sauce and sugar. The cuisine usually looks dark red or brown and tastes a bit sweet.

"Don't expect salty and spicy food," says Jiang Laidi, 62, a local chef. "Shanghai dishes rely heavily on soy sauce and sugar. So sweet tooth fans will love Shanghai food just like a duck to water."

Shanghai is also where all kinds of snacks flourish. There are various categories including steamed, boiled, fried and baked. The result is much different from the fresh, light Cantonese cuisine and the fiery food from Hunan and Sichuan provinces.

Breakfast

In traditional Shanghainese families, breakfast is usually eaten at home - rice stewed with water, paofan, and salted vegetables, xiancai, for all. Leftover rice from the previous night will be used for breakfast the next morning. The rice will be mixed with hot water to make paofan. In most families, there are usually several jars of salted vegetables and pickles in the kitchen.

Dim sum is also popular for breakfast in Shanghai. This includes dabing, large flatbread; youtiao, deep-fried twisted dough sticks; doujiang, soybean milk; and cifangao, glutinous rice cake.

They are referred to as the "Four Great King Kongs" as they are the most traditional and popular breakfast foods among Shanghainese people.

Dim sum

From south to north, people in China are good at making pastries. Among countless cakes in Shanghai, the most favorable traditional pastries should be strip cake and mint cake.