A CUT ABOVE: Zhuang Yuan Lou is famous for its pickled cuisine. [Photo provided to Shanghai Star]

A PRETTY PICKLE

Fengze Lou

Senior residents of the neighborhood remember its pickled fish as the "ever-lasting perfume that once scented the 5,000-meter-long Nanjing Road".

Located on the second floor of the Park Hotel, the highest building in Asia until 1958, Fengze Lou, a collaboration between the hotel and Fengze Yuan, a distinguished restaurant in Beijing, used to be a hotspot frequented by Peking opera artists when they were visiting the city on tour and wanted a taste of their hometown cuisine. While the restaurant may have lost its former glory and been largely overshadowed by the much fancier new openings nearby, its wine-pickled yellow fish, priced at 168 yuan ($27) a portion, continues to attract veteran foodies. There is also a cheaper version available from this summer: pickled river bass at 68 yuan per portion. But as a waitress at the restaurant advised, you get what you pay for.

Address: 2F, Park Hotel, 28 Huanghe Road, Huangpu district 

Contact: 021-6327-5225

Wang Jia Sha 

Shanghai’s king of local snacks is going head-to-head against the city’s king of pickled cuisine. Wang’s pickled beans and tailfish have been dubbed the only competition to those sold at Zhuang Yuan Lou. And Wang is edging out its opponent with more sales points and lower prices. Its pickled beans, for example, are priced at 10 yuan a box, while the most expensive food, a pickled whole chicken, costs no more than 70 yuan. Diners can either take them home or enjoy the cuisine at the restaurant with other signature snacks.

Address: 805 West Nanjing Road, Jing’an district 

There are altogether seven outlets of the eatery, and each carries a different stock of pickled cuisine. The main store on West Nanjing Road, offers the largest selection.

Contact: 021-6253-0404

Shanlin Deli 

Long lines appear at the largest chain deli in town as soon as it opens and they only reluctantly disperse when the stock is all sold out.

While the core magnet that attracts customers all year-round is its flourless, juicy sausages, its pickled vegetables, tofu and meat also tempt the customers in line with their intoxicating aromas.

The main tip from those in the know: The earlier you go, the fresher your pickled food will be.

Address: 617 Huaihai Middle Road (inside Changchun Food Store), Huangpu district