Unfortunately, street food In Shanghai is becoming less common with night street markets continuously being shut down. But, if you’re looking for the best breakfast street food in Shanghai then you’re in luck. There are still great little areas and stand-alone shops where you can find delicious breakfast street food in Shanghai. Jianbing (Chinese crepes), Congyoubing (scallion pancakes), dumplings and so many more delicious dishes are there for you to try. So here are our favourite places for the best breakfast street food in Shanghai, China.
CONTENTS
The Best Breakfast Street Food In Shanghai Video
Where To Find The Best Breakfast Street Food In Shanghai Map
Jianbing (煎饼) – Chinese Crepe
Youtiao (油条) And Dòujiāng (豆浆) – Fried Dough Stick And Soy Milk
Da Bing (大饼) – Shanghai Sesame Pancake
Congyoubing (葱油饼) – Scallion Pancake
Qiancengbing (千层饼) – Thousand Layer Pancake
Baozi (包子) – Steamed Buns
Guotie (锅贴) – Potstickers
More Dumplings
Noodles
Best Breakfast Street Food Areas In Shanghai
The Best Breakfast Street Food In Shanghai Video
Where To Find The Best Breakfast Street Food In Shanghai Map
Here is our Shanghai Breakfast Street Food Map pinpointing all of the best places to eat street food for breakfast in Shanghai. At the end of the post, you can download a printable Best Breakfast Street Food In Shanghai Map to save to your phone or print out and take with you for your trip to Shanghai, China.
Jianbing (煎饼) – Chinese crepe
You might be wondering what is Jianbing (煎饼)? Well, even after reading a description, seeing photos and watching videos of Jianbing, nothing could have prepared us for the experience of eating one.
Jianbing is like a Chinese crepe generally made from wheat and mung bean flour, filled with egg, a deep-fried crisp called baocui, coriander, scallions, pickles and chilli and bean sauce, and if you choose, youtiao.
I’m going to be honest and say I actually didn’t think I would enjoy Jianbing. It seemed like too much was going on. But, it ended up being one of my favourite dishes to eat in Shanghai. Somehow, everything that goes into a Jianbing just works together seamlessly. It’s crunchy, sweet, spicy, fresh. It’s like eating the ultimate comfort food for breakfast. There is a reason Jianbing is one of the most popular street foods in China. Here are some of the best places to eat Jianbing in Shanghai.
Gao’an Road Jianbing
Our first taste of Jianbing was from a little place not too far from where we were staying in Shanghai. The people there were so nice and friendly, so we were off to a great start. It’s such a special feeling to be utterly surprised by how something tastes, it was delicious. It’s like once you’ve taken your first bite you know a secret that only fellow Jianbing eaters know.
Gao’an Road Jianbing
Address | 102 Gao’an Road, Xuhui District, Shanghai
Authentic Shandong Jianbing
The Jianbing here was quite spicy (but can choose no spice) and had a fairly light beginning and an intense finish because the ingredients seemed to be a little unevenly spread. But still, it was delicious! There was also a really nice man making them on the day we went, which just made the whole experience great.
Authentic Shandong Jianbing
Address | 328 Wulumqi Middle Road, Shanghai
Hele Refreshment Stand
This Jianbing (6 RMB) here was absolutely delicious and also in an area with many other breakfast street food vendors in Shanghai, so it was a great atmosphere.
Hele Refreshment Stand
Address | 56 Xianyang North Road, Jingan District, Shanghai
Youtiao (油条) And Dòujiāng (豆浆) – Fried Dough Stick And Soy Milk
We also enjoyed youtiao (油条) and soy milk (豆浆), which are two of the Four Warriors. The soy milk can be had as sweet or savoury. The Four Warriors have been the staples of breakfast street food In Shanghai for generations. They include Youtiao, Soy Milk (Dòujiāng), Da Bing and Ci Fan. We talk more about Da Bing below.
Youtiao + Soy Milk
Address | 58 Xianyang North Road, Jingan District, Shanghai (but there are many places you can get this)
Da Bing (大饼)- Shanghai Sesame Pancake
Guangyuan Road Da Bing
Da Bing (大饼) is a Shanghai sesame pancake, which can either be savoury or sweet. The sweet ones have sugar inside. We often had the sweet Da Bings for breakfast near where we were staying.
Guangyuan Road Da Bing
Address | 153 Guangyuan Road, Xuhui District, Shanghai
Congyoubing (葱油饼) – Scallion Pancakes
Congyoubing (葱油饼) was possibly the bing I was most looking forward to. Especially once I heard of A Da’s famous Scallion Pancakes. Scallion pancakes are pan-fried savoury Chinese pancake with scallions and oil. They are crispy, flaky, chewy, and oily with a hint of freshness.
A Da Cong You Bing
So we were so excited to finally make it to A Da Cong You Bing. He is known to have some of the best scallion pancakes in town. We knew there was going to be a line, but we had made our peace with it. Or at least we thought we had. After waiting for 3.5 hours we decided to cut our losses. Honestly, the line was super slow so even though we were towards the front of the line by then, it still felt like it would take hours. So we have still included it here as they are meant to be delicious, but it’s up to you if you think that’s worth hours waiting in line.
A Da Congyoubing
Address | 4, 120 Ruijin Er Lu, Shanghai
Guangyuan Road Congyoubing
We did have some amazing scallion pancakes in Shanghai. We loved our local scallion pancakes at Guangyuan Road. Simple and scrumptious.
Guangyuan Road Congyoubing
Address | 153 Guangyuan Road, Xuhui District, Shanghai
Wang Ji Scallion Pancake
We also loved the scallion pancakes at Wang Ji. From a little window next door to a bakery, they were delicious crispy hot scallion pancakes for 4 RMB each.
Wang Ji Scallion Pancake
Address | 666 Yuyuan Lu, Shanghai
Qiancengbing (千层饼) – Thousand Layer Pancake
I could eat this bing for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. Definitely one of my favourite bings. It’s essentially made from flour, salt and pepper, and is soft yet chewy and flaky and has a few layers.
Guangyuan Road Qiancenbing
We hadn’t heard of Qiancengbing (千层饼) before we saw it at our local breakfast bing stall, and once we tried it, we made sure we got it every time. It was always such a good start to the day if we happened to get one fresh off the hot plate.
Guangyuan Road Qiancengbing
Address | 153 Guangyuan Road, Xuhui District, Shanghai
Baozi (包子)- Steamed Buns
Yili Baozi Dian Xin
This is a little Baozi (包子) shop with not much else around it. Here we tried the Naihuang Bao and Roubao. The Roubao is a steamed pork bun, which was nice, albeit a little cold. It had pork with some herbs or greens in it. It felt like there was too much bun to filling, but it was still nice. The Naihuang Bao was a sweet creamy custard bao, and this was my favourite. Really tasty and not too sweet. To get the sweet baozi you need to arrive before 10 am.
Yili Baozi Dian Xin
Address | 1 Gao’an Road, Xuhui District, Shanghai
Yongjia Road Baozi
This was a baozi shop a few doors down from A Da Scallion pancake on Yongjia Road. We actually had a few of these baozi whilst we were waiting in line at A Da Scallion Pancakes and they were delicious. We didn’t actually get the name but on a map, it looks to be around 3 Yongjia Road, Shanghai. There is a restaurant inside or a baozi window at the front.
Yongjia Road Baozi
Address | Near 3 Yongjia Road, Shanghai
Guotie (锅贴) – Potstickers
Guotie (锅贴) are potstickers, pan-fried on one side and steamed on the other.
Pengyuan Guotie
Pengyuan Guotie is a little window where you can get delicious guotie. They are super friendly here and it’s right next door to Gao’an Road Jianbing which we mention above.
Pengyuan Guotie
Address | 102 Ga’on Road, Xuhui District, Shanghai
Guangtou Sheng Jian
Guangtou Sheng Jian, as the name suggests, also do delicious sheng jian bao as well as guotie. We had them both and loved them all. The guotie are quite charred here, which adds a really nice flavour. Order where they are cooking them, and then take them next door to eat.
Guangtou Sheng Jian
Address | 139 Shanyin Road, Hongkou, Shanghai
More Dumplings (Sheng Jian Bao, Xiao Long Bao, Wontons)
There are so many different types of dumplings to eat in Shanghai that you can have for breakfast. Some of these include xiao long bao, sheng jian bao, wontons and many more. We have done in-depth articles on the best Sheng Jian Bao and Xiao Long Bao in Shanghai so take a look at the articles below to try some of these for breakfast.
Read More:
The Best Sheng Jian Bao In Shanghai, China + Video
The Best Xiao Long Bao In Shanghai, China + Video
Noodles
Noodles can also be a popular dish to eat for breakfast in Shanghai. Take a look at our article with all of our favourite picks for the best places to eat Noodles in Shanghai, China.
Best Breakfast Street Food Areas In Shanghai
Some breakfast street food stalls you come across will just be a little hole in the wall on a residential street or a small shop, but others are grouped together in areas where many street food stalls pop up. So if you want to go to a breakfast street food area in Shanghai so you can try a range of things, including the four warriors, here were our favourites:
The intersection of Changle Road and Xiang Yang Road in the Xuhui district, Shanghai.
Corner of Yanqing lu and Donghu lu (near Changle road and Xiang Yang road).
Guangyuan Road, Xuhui District, Shanghai.
Your Printable Shanghai Breakfast Street Food Map
Get your free printable Best Breakfast Street Food In Shanghai Map (PDF) to take with you.
Read More:
7 Types Of Chinese Dumplings In Shanghai: Dumpling Guide
The Best Xiao Long Bao In Shanghai, China
The Best Sheng Jian Bao In Shanghai China
Things To Know Before Visiting China For The First Time