World on a plate: Global gourmet festival opens in Shanghai

The 2025 Global Gourmet Festival kicked off on May 24 at the Weekend Market @ BFC with the theme "Shanghai, Endless Gourmet Journey!".

Running to November, the event is a major highlight of the ongoing 2025 Shanghai Shopping Festival that celebrates the city's ever-growing status as a global food capital.
This year's festival features flavors from no less than 20 countries and regions across five continents, offering visitors a dazzling culinary journey — from Southeast Asian street food and Latin American spices to refined European delicacies and rich Shanghai heritage.

From the Bund to the world

The opening ceremony revealed some impressive figures: Shanghai is now home to nearly 10,000 international restaurants offering cuisines from 43 different countries and regions. Western cuisine, Japanese dishes, and Southeast Asian flavors are the most popular international cuisines.

What's more, food from countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative — such as Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Peru, Brazil, and Mexico — is also gaining popularity among gourmets.

Pudong New Area leads all the city's districts in the number of global restaurants, featuring various cuisines from Japanese sashimi and Korean barbecue to Spanish tapas and South American steaks.
Other hotspots for food lovers include the Julu Road-Fumin Road-Changle Road area, the Hengshan Road-Fuxing Road Historical and Cultural Block, Xuhui Riverside, and the Bund.
Boutique bistros blending world flavors with local ingredients are especially popular, offering a "light ritual" dining experience favored by both residents and tourists.

Global menu to savor

Festival-goers can indulge in such delicacies as:

Osteria's international oyster platters, showcasing marine freshness and visual artistry

Siam Memory's Tom Yum soup, bringing the zesty heat of Bangkok

Saigon Mama's Vietnamese pho, rich with aromatic Southeast Asian herbs

Deli NYC's roast beef and cheese sandwich, echoing Manhattan's boldness

Lavazza's espresso — a sip of Italian sunshine

Movenpick's Swiss ice cream, creamy with Alpine charm

Becks Cocoa's specialty hot chocolate, made from beans sourced across Asia, East Africa, and Latin America

Local heritage meets new-age inspiration

Shanghai's food culture is also getting a modern twist. Legacy brands are reinventing themselves — for example, Kaisiling Cake launched a limited-edition dessert inspired by the city's white magnolias, in collaboration with contemporary artist Xu Jinping.

Time-honored names like Wang Jia Sha, Guang Ming Cun and Lyu Yang Cun evoke nostalgia with classic treats like red bean shaved ice, crispy seaweed rice cakes and juicy pork mooncakes.

Meanwhile, rising guochao brands are redefining tradition.
Guochao — also known as Chinese trends or "China chic" — reflects the rise of China's native fashion trends.
For instance, restaurant Kwei Mun Lung is offering a rotating seasonal tasting menu inspired by the 12 shichen — a term referring to a two-hour time period in the traditional Chinese timekeeping system — and the changing seasons. With ingredients that change based on the time of year, the dining experience allows city dwellers to savor the full day in the Jiangnan region — from morning to night, from mountain to sea — all in the course of one meal.

Dining and theater: A one-stop experience

In a creative blend of culture and commerce, online ticketing platform Moretickets.com is partnering with the Business Information of Shanghai, a local market information collector, to launch a "theater plus taste" initiative.
For the first time, a dedicated map connects Huangpu's theaters with nearby restaurants, allowing theatergoers to enjoy exclusive dining discounts with their ticket stubs — perfect for a night of drama followed by culinary delights.

More events await

Beginning May 30, the 2025 Shanghai Flavors of Specialty Shopping Area Season will swing into action in eight signature neighborhoods across the city.
Highlights include marketplaces at EKA Tianwu, a youthful graduation-themed street party on Daxue Road and a cross-cultural event combining Japanese hit manga series Chibi Maruko-chan and a Chinese calligraphy exhibition at Feng Sheng Li.

UnionPay will roll out citywide offers, including additional discounts via its Cloud QuickPass app and voucher giveaways to spark dining enthusiasm.

In addition, a special cooking competition is set to take place soon — blending gourmet traditions with interactive food experiences to promote new consumer trends and celebrate culinary culture.
Source: Intl Services Shanghai