DOWNTOWN-NORTH. With its sleek, modern interior and understated black-and-white color scheme, this is one of the most stylish Chinese restaurants in Shanghai. Housed in a renovated old Chinese mansion, the home-style Shanghainese cuisine includes dishes such as sliced you tiao (fried bread sticks) with shredded beef, a whole chicken in green onion soy sauce, and an impressive stuffed duck. This restaurant is ideal for an intimate dinner or a crowd, thanks to several dining rooms of various sizes. METRO: Line 2, Jiangsu Lu Station

This addition to Shanghai's range of domestic restaurants has a thoughtful selection of classic Cantonese and Sichuan dishes that was developed especially with the Western palate in mind. Happily, this does not signify blandness: the tofu and spicy spare ribs take no prisoners, and the bean jelly, which is heated in a pot with stones, certainly makes an impression. The décor is also arresting, being classic mansion without and sophisticated modern within.

OLD FRENCH CONCESSION/DOWNTOWN. This simple, three-story restaurant, in a renovated French Concession home, features several rooms full of large round tables that can seat parties of up to 20 people. One of the most popular restaurants in the area, wealthy businessmen and convivial parties often come here for dishes such as deep-fried snake. Be prepared: they bring them live to your table in a bucket before shaving off the scales to make a salad and deep-frying the rest! Or try basic favorites such as drunken shrimp or sweet and sour fish. METRO: Chang Shu Lu

HANKOU. This north-side restaurant is located on Zhongshan Bei Er Lu. The restaurant is simply decorated ­ featuring Mao emblems on the walls ­ and is extremely popular with the people in the area. The food is influenced by the Dong Bei region in northern China, which means you'll see a lot of cabbage and potatoes as well as some pretty excellent barbecue. Particularly well done is their chao rou la pi (pork with cold noodles) and ji cai fen (shredded cabbage with clear-cut potatoes).

Among the range of sensory delights offered by a visit to this classic Thai restaurant (set in a quiet street just off a busy thoroughfare) are the aroma of incense and the relaxing hum of insects hovering over an Oriental pond. Once calmed, the senses are set reeling by dishes such as steamed lemon fish and an unforgettable raw shrimp. This is the perfect place for those who want to take their meal one beat back from the hurried tempo of Shanghai life.