Shanghai is known for seasonal foods such as hairy crab in the fall and mooncakes during the Mid-Autumn Festival. But if you’ve missed these dates, you can still sample a Shanghai delicacy: the pork "mooncake" (xianrou bing)—if you're willing to wait in a very long line. The pork mooncake it's not actually a traditional mooncake, but rather a savory flaky pastry which is available year round. At the Qing Dynasty—founded Zhen Lao Da Fang on downtown Nanjing Road Pedestrian Street (Nanjing Lu Buxing Jie), patrons wait in line, sometimes for hours (the record wait time is 8 hours), for a box of these freshly-baked pastries stuffed with minced pork. One imperative: Eat them piping hot while the crust is crispy and the interior juicy.

536 Nanjing Dong Lu, 86/(0) 21-6322-3928. Photo by Crystyl Mo.