Nanxiang Steamed Bun Restaurant

Best known for its soup buns stuffed with pork and crab meat, the eatery offers buns so juicy that a lot of skill is required to get the best from the buns instead of spilling the soup all over yourself. Here is how the locals do it: Carefully raise the bun to your mouth, bite a small hole in the thin skin of the bun and sip the meat soup before devouring the whole bun. Hong Kong pop stars Leon Lai and Faye Wong made this snack globally famous in the film Leaving Me Loving You. Staff members at the Wujiang Road branch speak basic English. There is usually a line at lunchtime and the staff is very busy. Average price per person: 30 yuan for one person. Multiple locations.

De Xing Guan

Founded in 1878, this restaurant is justly famous for its noodles, priced from 10 yuan to 30 yuan. The noodles can be ordered with a variety of sauces, featuring braised pork, smoked fish and pan-fried eel. Also on offer: some of the most flavorful soup buns in Shanghai. The environment is a little bit rough and ready, and the service isn't the best, but you can always order takeaway. Opens at 6:30 am.

471 Guangdong Lu, near Fujian Zhong Lu. 021-6352-2535.

Lyu Bo Lang

Perched on a small three-story Chinese style pavilion in Yu Garden, this hot spot has received guests such as Chinese first lady Peng Liyuan and US power couple Bill and Hillary Clinton. It offers everything from banquets to afternoon tea. The restaurant is best-known for its dim sum specialties, such as osmanthus jelly, patties with turnip shreds and eyebrow-shaped crisps.

115 Yuyuan Lu. 021-6328-0602.

Yang's Fried Dumplings

Yang's may be the most iconic eatery in Shanghai. The pan-fried pork dumplings attract everyone from schoolchildren to movie stars, despite its humble origins in a space so crowded you couldn't even straighten your elbows. Yang's has now moved to a modern mall and has been renovated into a contemporary restaurant. Multiple locations.