Home cooking participation
Help with suitable kitchen steps and learn how a Jiading family prepares its seasonal home dishes.
¥150 per group
100% Vegan Chinese Home Dining with Jiading Ayi
Cuisine: A fully plant-based Chinese home dining experience in Jiading, Shanghai — no meat, fish, eggs or dairy.
Location: Jiading
Price: ¥368 per person
Group size: 1–6 guests
100% vegan Chinese home dining
This is a fully plant-based Chinese home dining experience at Jiading Ayi’s table. The sample menu is built around seasonal vegetables, tofu, bamboo shoots, lotus root and a sweet-rice dessert — with no meat, fish, eggs or dairy.
Jaye’s review and recommendation
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Meet Jiading Ayi’s family
About me
Auntie Shen — a true daughter of Jiading Old Town, the very cradle of Shanghai's famous soup dumplings (Xiao Long Bao). Since 2016, she has been a Superhost on Airbnb, welcoming hundreds of guests into her courtyard home. Though her English is limited, her hospitality is universal: she has traveled widely herself and communicates flawlessly through the language of delicious food.
She’ll be joined by her daughter (management at foreign-owned company) or her daughter’s childhood friend (multinational corporate background), ensuring smooth conversation and cultural bridge-building over the meal or other activities.
Travel Experience
I'm deeply rooted in Jiading and Shanghai - this is my home and my passion. My expertise comes from a lifetime of living and cooking in Shanghai, not from traveling abroad. I believe the best hospitality comes from truly knowing your own culture.
Optional add-on activities
¥150 per activity, per group — not per person. Your first selected activity is complimentary when you book today; each additional activity is ¥150 per group.
Jiading Old Town walk
Explore the lanes around Jiading Old Town and hear the local food stories behind the area’s famous soup dumplings.
¥150 per group
Sample menu
Signature dish
A fully plant-based Chinese family meal, prepared around seasonal vegetables, tofu, bamboo shoots, lotus root and local produce — always without meat, fish, eggs or dairy.
Here are the sample dishes
Cold
- Sizzled Tofu Salad
- Diced Lotus Root with Spicy Sizzled Dressing
Hot
- Sautéed Spring Bamboo Shoots with Broad Beans & Pickled Mustard
- Braised Vegetarian Chicken (soy-based, vegan)
- Scallion-Oil Taro
- Autumn Pumpkin Soup
Dessert
- Glutinous Rice Balls in Fermented Sweet Rice
The menu follows the season and may vary with the market, while remaining fully vegan.
Dietary accommodations
Every dish for this experience is vegan: no meat, fish, eggs or dairy. Please still share allergies in your booking so Jiading Ayi can prepare safely.
Getting There
Jiading, Shanghai
- ≈ 60 min from the Bund
- ≈ 55 min from Jing'an Temple
- ≈ 65 min from Lujiazui
Nearest metro: Malu (Line 11) — a short taxi from the station to the house
Local Shanghainese home dining at Jiading Ayi’s table
Guest Reviews
Katina · friends couples
The family, Aunt Shen and her sister were beautiful hosts. I will remember their smile, easy to talk with and really embraced us. The food was cooked with love but the dumpling making was hilarious. We affectionately called them 'the united nations dumplings' — ours didn't look like Chinese dumplings, but they surely tasted like them and we had loads of fun making them. I'm enriched by this beautiful experience!
Danny · families
Thanks for having us, it was a terrific experience and we are glad we could be the first ones to try it out! The food was delicious and the hosts very welcoming. I think it's a great initiative and will be very popular once word gets out.
Ethan Xu · friends couples
The experience was great, and exactly what we were expecting and looking for. The absolute standout was the food… flavours exactly as I remembered eating as a child in Shanghai. The company and conversation was fantastic as well. It was good to talk about Shanghai as I remembered it, and as it is now. My friend got a lot out of it too; he really enjoyed the home-cooked meal after two weeks of eating street snacks and at restaurants. We really appreciate the quick and clear communication, from you as well as Auntie Shen and her daughter. It made the process smooth and painless. Also appreciate getting picked up and dropped off at the metro station.
Sophie & friend · friends couples
The best restaurant in Shanghai that isn't a restaurant. This is real home cooking — where the wok has been seasoned by use for decades, homegrown ingredients come straight from the garden, and the interactions are genuine. An experience that lets you connect with local culture on a deeper, more meaningful level.