A xiaolongbao has a fixed order of operations: hold it in a spoon, bite a small opening in the skin to let the steam out, drink the soup first and eat the rest second, because biting straight in will scald the roof of your mouth. Quality shows in the skin and the filling: a thin wrapper with enough gluten to hold together when lifted, springy meat, and a clear broth with real body. A long queue signals popularity rather than quality, and Shanghai has more than one shop worth eating at, so there is no need to stake the trip on the longest line.

Not all of it, but benbang cooking does use far more sugar than most Chinese regional food: here sugar is a technique, used to hold down the saltiness of the soy, to give a braise its glaze and to round off sourness, so a properly made braise is sweet-savoury rather than sweet. The dishes that are genuinely sweet are smoked fish, sweet-and-sour ribs, red-braised pork, honey-glazed dishes and deep-fried prawns in a sweet soy glaze, while steamed fish, plainly fried river prawns, zao-brined and wine-cured dishes, stir-fried greens and most soups are not sweet at all. If you dislike sweet-savoury food, order fewer braises and more steamed and plainly stir-fried dishes, or choose another cuisine.

Yes, and it is easier than many visitors expect: Shanghai has a long-established Muslim community and a substantial Hui and Uyghur population, and halal eating is part of the city's ordinary restaurant life. The most common sources are the streets around the historic mosque, Xinjiang-run restaurants and Hui-run beef noodle shops, with institutional canteens, international hotels and the airport adding a few options of their own. The characters 清真 on a sign are the operator's own statement rather than a certification a visitor can verify, so travellers with strict requirements should confirm directly with the shop.

Easier than most visitors expect: Shanghai has dedicated vegetarian restaurants, Buddhist temple kitchens and vegetarian chains, and every regional cuisine can produce vegetable dishes. The real difficulty is that Chinese food is not vegetarian by default, since lard, stock, dried shrimp and minced pork turn up in dishes you would not suspect, soups and stir-fried greens among them. Vegetarian-only kitchens are the reliable choice; everywhere else you have to ask about each dish.

No. Tipping is neither customary nor expected in Shanghai, in restaurants, taxis, hotels, bars, hairdressers or delivery, and offering extra cash more often leaves the staff member awkward, because most jobs have no procedure for accepting it. The genuine exceptions are a few international hotels that host foreign guests, private guides and private drivers, and the method there is to follow the other person's cue rather than to raise the subject yourself.

Not by local habit. Shanghai's tap water is treated and is not the hazard visitors imagine, but nobody here drinks it unboiled and a visitor should not start. Boiling it or buying bottled water is the ordinary practice, and a kettle and a few bottles are normally already in the room.

Ordering in a Shanghai restaurant is hard because of the shape of the meal rather than the language: dishes are shared, a table is ordered all at once and everything arrives together, so you order for the table rather than per person. The rule of thumb is one dish per person plus one more, and vegetables and a staple have to be ordered deliberately, with rice often ordered separately. When the menu defeats you, look for photographs or dish numbers, use a phone camera and a translation app, and carry your allergy requirements written in Chinese by your hotel.

Mostly yes, and the risk is lower than the reputation suggests, but it is not zero. The useful distinction is not street versus restaurant but turnover versus sitting out: a stall with a queue sells what it cooks within minutes, while a tray at room temperature may have stood there for hours. Anything cooked in front of you, boiled, fried or grilled is the safer choice; cold dishes and pre-peeled fruit can be skipped.