Focusing squarely on Shanghainese cuisine, the emphasis here is as much on what to eat as it is on where to eat. Structured around 12 iconic dishes, this pocket-sized book features meaty information on each dish, guiding you to the places you can find them. Dishes such as sheng jian bao (pan-fried pork buns), xiao lóng bao (soup dumplings), lion's head meatballs, red-cooked pork, squirrel-shaped mandarin fish, and crab-braised tofu. Such dishes define Shanghai and you'd be nuts to leave town without discovering them. Shanghai in 12 Dishes doesn't stop at just 12 dishes, however. The restaurants listed represent so much more than these essential bites--this book merely gives you starting points for making culinary finds. All you need is a sharpened sense of adventure and to throw yourself into Shanghai's incredible world of food.