民國時期，上海的飲食軌跡多少與當時政治狀況的演變有所關 聯。在清末的上海，北京菜和天津菜曾盛極一時，其後，福建菜亦隨 著辛亥革命後革命軍勢力的抬頭而崛起。同樣的情況，四川保路運動 揭開了革命序幕，也使四川菜開始流行起來。還有，福建菜專供中國 海軍，在上海的軍港與司令部附近都可以品嘗到。然而，這些流行均 未能持久，取而代之的是廣東菜，廣東菜以上海首屈一指的繁華區南 京路四大百貨公司為中心的餐館而興盛。粵菜館不但匯聚了祖籍廣東 的華僑商人們，而其篷勃之勢甚至被比喻成餐飲界的北伐。而其中， 海參作為代表性的高級食材，一直是日本的重要出口商品。 在日本遊客中，廣東餐館的老店杏花樓是必去之處，福建菜小有 天也因芥川龍之介的遊記提及而盛極一時。近代到訪上海的日本遊客 們所體驗的中國菜（支那料理），其實並非上海人日常食用的上海地 方菜（本幫菜），而是這些流行於上海、並浸染上海風格的中國各種地方菜。其中，包含了廣東菜、福建菜和北京菜。同時，這也造就了 日本人對中國菜的基本味覺。

Trends in the popularity of Chinese regional food in Republican Shanghai have been related to changes in the political situation. Beijing and Tianjin cuisines were popular in Shanghai during the late Qing period. After the Xinhai Revolution, Fujian cuisine gained popularity, as revolutionary armed forces were raised in Fujian, and Sichuan cuisine also became popular because an uprising in Sichuan led to the revolution. Among the various cuisines, Fujian dishes became popular with the Chinese Navy, since these dishes were always eaten around the military port and navy headquarters in Shanghai. However, these trends did not last long, and were superseded by the rise of Cantonese cuisine. This trend originated in the cafeterias of four major department stores that were opened on Nanjing Road by Chinese merchants from Guangdong Province. These stores were situated in the busiest area of downtown Shanghai. The rise of Cantonese cuisine was so rapid that it can be compared with Chiang Kai-shek's Northern Expedition. At that time, luxury foods such as shark fin and sea cucumber were important Japanese exports. The long-established Cantonese restaurant, Xinghualou (杏花樓) became the standard among Japanese tourists, while the Fujian restaurant, Xiaoyoutian (小有天) became the most popular after it appeared in Ryunosuke Akutagawa’s travel account. The cuisine enjoyed by Japanese tourists in modern Shanghai was not the local Shanghai cuisine (本幫菜), which was common to the people of Shanghai, but the Cantonese or Fujian cuisine offered in expensive restaurants. As Chinese local cuisines such as Cantonese, Fujian, and Beijing styles became popular in Shanghai, they were influenced by the Shanghai style. Since the Japanese found the Chinese cuisine in Shanghai acceptable, Shanghai-style Cantonese, Fujian, and Beijing cuisines were accepted in Japan without any distinction. Because many Japanese gourmets, cooks, and tourists promoted international exchange of Chinese and Japanese food cultures, Shanghai-style Cantonese, Fujian and Beijing cuisines that were formed in Shanghai － the capital of gastronomy in the Republican China － became the standard Chinese food for many Japanese people.