Eat Like A Local: Shanghai Night Food Tour

This tour was incredible - My only regret is that we attended on our last night in Shanghai. Had we gone on our first night, we would have known some of the best restaurants and food varieties! Our guide Ashley was wonderful, very friendly, funny, and energetic. She was extremely knowledgable about the different regions in China, their histories, and foods. She was also very accommodating for members of the group with dietary restrictions and went out of her way to help provide alternatives (e.g. vegetarian meals, low-spice meals, etc.). Absolutely make sure to bring an appetite and an adventurous spirit - The food is varied, and there's LOTS of it (and drinks to go with it, as well). The stand-out stop for me was the Schezuan restaurant that had plenty of delicious, spicy food, but all of the food was equally excellent.

(NB: We have been on several food tours here in Shanghai and elsewhere around the world.) Meeting point was tricky, so allow extra time. Guide was excellent and enthusiastic. Assistant guide went ahead to make sure facilities and food were ready. Good system. Group was too large at 12 persons, and we were all together the entire time; not broken up with assistant. Venues were too loud and we were spread out so as not to hear much of what guide said. Food was good variety but not that tasty. Weird at times. Four sit-downs, probably two too many. Needed more street food. Would recommend this for first-timers, but not for experienced travelers.

Tour was fantastic. It was a lot of fun and the food was great. Li and Lauren were great tour guides really personable and made it a great experience. It happened to be my birthday and Lauren slipped away to buy me a birthday treat which was a great surprise. Highly recommend!!!

Thomas was a fantastic guide. We ended up being a small group of 4, which worked out really well for us as we were able to ask lots of questions and get to know one another well. I'm vegetarian but in spite of that, was able to sample a variety of dishes and was stuffed before we even got to our final stop! Great way to try food from different regions in smaller restaurants we would never have found by ourselves!

Three words: BOOK THIS TOUR. Two more: COME HUNGRY. This was my second time in Shanghai as well as my second time taking a food tour. The one I took last year was fabulous and fun, so my expectations for this night food tour were very high. My tour guide was Jasmine and not only was she knowledgeable about Chinese cuisine and history, she was great company! I know youre reading his review to learn about the food, but let me establish that I am a food tour junkie, and the personality of a food tour guide has a huge impact on your overall tour experience. There were only three of us on the tour, all of us touring Shanghai solo business trips, and Jasmine fostered a very social atmosphere and forged a personal connection with each of us. This helped a lot because in order to share new and strange meals such as rabbits head yes, delicious Sichuan rabbits head, there needs to be a level of comfort around the table. No earpieces, buses, flags, or stilted tour guides the whole evening felt more like a couple of friends restaurant-hopping around a Shanghai neighborhood. The food is incredible, and there was so much of it! Our small group had a range of palettes which Jasmine gauged prior to starting the tour and remembered to cater to throughout. I made a promise to myself that I would try a bite of everything because the restaurants are well-vetted and the dish probably wouldnt be included in the tour if it werent worth trying. I encourage anyone who takes this tour to do the same, save for allergies or religious dietary restrictions. Everything that was placed in front of us was delicious! Sometimes it did not look appealing to the western eye, but Id start with a small bite, then load more onto my plate! The most exotic item we tried was Sichuan rabbits head which had been brewing in in a spicy stew for many hours. Jasmine walked us through how to eat it with good humor and understanding after some dissecting work, I had to try it, and it was my favorite food of the tour! Other favorite items I got to eat: pineapple bun, beef noodles, dumplings, and Kim Kardashian lamb. I was the lucky one who got to take home the bag of cookies at the end of the night my tour-mates declined and they were very handy and tasty for breakfast during the rest of my stay. I would recommend this tour to everyone who visits Shanghai! Simply traveling to Shanghai is a test of any westerners comfort zone, if youre coming out this far, be sure to BOOK THIS TOUR and COME HUNGRY

I had a very enjoyable evening the other night on this tour led by Chris and Lauren. The meetup was conveniently near a Metro station in the early evening. Chris explained that with a few quick stops quick, but I never felt rushed we would get to sample some of the varied cuisines of China. My favorites were the roast meat platter, Mango pudding and the chili wontons. A great value. Joe

Really authentic experience, great food, and tour guides Chris and Patrick made it really enjoyable. Highly recommend to anyone.

Make sure you come with an appetite when taking this tour! There is a lot of great food to sample at the 5 or so stops. Jamie was a fantastic guide and provided the group with a lot of information about the various cuisines. I never realized how varied the food is throughout China. Highly recommended!

Topher our tour guide was great! Spoke Mandarin like a local! He took us to neighborhood restaurants were we ate truly like locals. We walked thru neighborhoods that were unique in culture and foods. We were impressed by Topher's knowledge of the area... I highly recommend this tour to anyone that wants to experience a different take of touring Shaghai. Thanks Topher for the experience!

This was a great tour! We booked this for our first day's arrival in Shanghai as a way to help us timeshift. That turned out to be the right idea. Our tour was small, only 5 guests, which made getting around really easy. Each stop on the tour was interesting, and we enjoyed the chance to meet a few other travelers. It definitely helped us acclimate and opened out palette to a range of cool flavors. Highly recommended.