Shanghai's breakfast trade runs on small storefronts that open at five in the morning and close by ten. The menu is short and standardized, and most customers order the same combination every day. It is worth doing once, early, on foot, before the city fully wakes up.
Dabing
A flat, layered scallion pancake, pressed thin and fried until crisp on both sides. It is the base of the meal. Good versions are flaky rather than doughy and are seasoned with salt, scallion and sometimes a little five spice.
Youtiao
A long strip of dough stretched and deep-fried until it puffs and turns golden. It is eaten on its own, wrapped inside a dabing, or torn into pieces and dropped into hot soy milk. The texture should be crisp outside and airy inside, with no grease taste.
Doujiang
Hot soy milk, served either sweet with sugar or savory with vinegar, dried shrimp, pickled vegetables, scallion and a drop of chili oil. The savory version is the Shanghainese default and surprises visitors who expect it sweet. Both are made fresh each morning.
Cifantuan
A ball of glutinous rice wrapped around youtiao and pickled vegetables, sometimes with pork floss, rolled tight in a cloth and handed over in plastic. It is filling, portable and the best choice if you are walking to a museum.
Practical notes
Breakfast shops are usually within a few minutes of any metro station in the older districts. Bring small notes. Everything is wheat, rice or soy based and mostly fried, so it is not a light meal and not suitable for gluten-free diets. Look for the shop with the longest local queue, which is nearly always the right one.
