Cheese! Shanghai celebrated for diversified dining options for cheese dishes

Credit: Ti Gong

Fancy afternoon tea items, Chinese style bakeries and dim-sums are being showcased as the annual Cheese Cultural Awards were unveiled in Shanghai on Thursday.

As part of the Shanghai 2023 Global Food Tour organized by the Shanghai Restaurants and Cuisine Association, the awards recognize dozens of leading cheese products from home and abroad.

Shanghai stands out as the city with the most diversified dining options for cheese dishes.

In 2022, the total sales of cheese through catering channels and restaurants amounted to 163,200 tons in China, and retail sales stood at 86,100 tons, leaving huge potential for growth in the coming years as demand for dairy products continues to climb.

In the next three to five years, a large amount of locally-made cheese products, foods and beverages are expected to emerge, and it is essential for local cheese providers to position their products in daily dining routines, according to a recent study by Shanghai Business Information Center.

Credit: Ti Gong

Shanghai is in the unique position to combine cheese with local flavors as well as global gourmet with abundant cuisines and restaurants catering to different tastes, the report said.

The city is home to more than 13,000 foreign restaurants serving a variety of exotic flavors, topping other cities in the country, and it has welcomed a wide variety of food and beverage companies from home and abroad to promote cheese relevant dishes.

The study also called for cheese to be made more suitable for local palates as well as different dining scenarios such as afternoon tea and snacks, in addition to traditional catering scenes.

Time-honored Chinese brands have also combined cheese with ready-to-heat home meals as well as using it as an ingredient in traditional pastries such as mooncakes.

Credit: Ti Gong