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ShanghaineseFrench Concession
Mao Long on Jinxian Road in Shanghai has served no-frills Shanghainese home cooking since 1989, run out of a five-table room by a mother and her daughter.
OrderThe braised pork the family is proudest of, plus whatever seafood came in that morning.
TipIt seats about 20 across five tables, so a short wait for a table is normal at peak hours.
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ZhejiangFrench Concession
Easeful Cuisine on South Shaanxi Road in Shanghai earned a Michelin Bib Gourmand for its Zhejiang cooking, served from a second-floor dining room.
OrderThe boneless smoked cod fried to order and the charred brown sugar walnut rice cake.
TipBeyond the main dining room there are six private areas, useful for a group; the seafood comes mostly from Zhejiang.
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AmericanJingan
Smokin' Hog on Wuding Road in Shanghai smokes Texas-style brisket and ribs, a project a husband-and-wife team grew from pop-ups into a brick-and-mortar.
OrderThe Texas-style brisket and the smoked pork ribs.
TipThe brisket smokes low for 16 to 18 hours and a 9 kg raw cut cooks down to about 3 kg, so order it first.
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AmericanOld City
Garlic Barbecue on Jianguo East Road in Shanghai smokes beef brisket over lychee wood for 18 hours, then closes for the day once the meat is gone.
OrderBeef brisket carved to order and the smoked beef short ribs.
TipShow up early on a weekday; the brisket and ribs can sell out by early afternoon.
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ShanghainesePeoples Square
Lao Zheng Xing on Fuzhou Road in Shanghai has held a Michelin star for nine straight years, serving clay-pot yanduxian with bamboo shoots and pork.
OrderYanduxian, the clay-pot spring soup of salted pork, fresh pork belly and bamboo shoots.
TipFounded in 1862 and at this address since 1997, it now fills several floors; try the yellow croaker in wine lees sauce too.
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ShanghaineseXuhui
Ren He Guan on Zhaojiabang Road in Shanghai, here since 2014, holds one Michelin star for hong shao rou and crab dishes from a brand over 200 years old.
OrderHong shao rou, red-braised pork belly cut into neat cubes with a braised egg.
TipDim yellow lights, 1930s memorabilia and singers in qipao set the room; book ahead or expect to wait.