EATING habits change, constantly driving the food and beverage industry to explore new ways to tempt the taste buds. Some innovations become enduring menu fixtures; others end up short-lived wonders soon forgotten. As we bid farewell to another year, let’s take a moment to go down memory lane of the Shanghai food scene in 2016.

Fast food

Where better to start than in the segment where so many people eat nowadays?

Taco Bell is back in a city where international cuisines have been taking root for more than 10 years, and Mexican food is one of the latest trends. Taco Bell is a subsidiary of Yum Brands, which also operates KFC and Pizza Hut. There are about 7,000 Taco Bell restaurants worldwide. Its first foray in China was short-lived. An outlet in Shanghai opened in 2003 but it was adiós five years later.

The comeback Taco Bell opened earlier this month by the Metro station in Lujiazui. Its signature tacos and free refills on soda pops are attracting big crowds. A meal for two consisting of one beef taco, one chicken quesadilla, one avocado shrimp burrito, two drinks and an as­sorted side of nacho chips, fries and two chicken wings costs only 76 yuan (US$11).

Major fast food franchises have learned to adapt to the tastes of their locations. McDonald’s sells Le Croque McDo in Belgium and France, Poutine in Canada and McCurry Pan in India.

China is no exception. McDonald’s creative dishes in 2016 included shrimp and chicken burger with chestnut sauce, red Chinese sausage and pork chop burgers, red bean pie, osmanthus oolong milk tea and seasonal ice cream flavors like plum blossom and rose lychee. The Chinese-style breakfast menu includes an egg bacon wrap with youtiao and chicken congee.

The KFC chain added a Shanghai exclusive, pork mince mooncake, in August, and just this month, it had another city exclusive — a roast chicken meal box for 149 yuan that included a whole chicken stuffed with chestnuts, and pie, sides and beverages. The “limited edition” of 3,700 meals for online pre-ordering was seized up immediately.

At Burger King, the menu includes poutine-style fries topped with cheese and a light gravy, burgers with cheese-filled fried chicken, a fried lotus root and chicken burger, and osmanthus pear sundae.

Surprise closures

Shanghai tightened the regulations and licensing of food and beverage businesses this year, causing two high-profile closures. When Taian Table and Ada Scallion Pancake were forced to shut, the actions gained citywide attention.

The Taian Table closure was espe­cially surprising. It came just one day after the restaurant received a Michelin star in September. The restaurant in the former French concession was ordered shut by the Changning District Market Supervi­sion and Management Bureau for operating without licenses and for op­erating inside a residential building. Stefan Stiller, the German chef behind Taian Table, subsequently relocated the restaurant to a location on Zhen­ning Road, with the required licenses. Menu No. 5 at the restaurant features a 14-course set meal at 1,388 yuan.

Also in September, the Huangpu District Market Supervision and Management Bureau closed perhaps the most famous pancake vendor in the city.

Ada Scallion Pancake, run by Wu Gencheng out of his backyard for 30 years, always attracted long queues of customers. He even featured in the BBC documentary “Taste of Shang­hai.” Unfortunately, operating from a home backyard and without a license violated the law.

Under the sponsorship of online food delivery firm Ele.me, Wu re­opened his eatery at a new location on Ruijin Rd No. 2. The price of five-yuan per pancake and his daily produc­tion limit of 300 pancakes remain unchanged.

Since 2015, Shanghai has swooped down on 19,000 unlicensed small food businesses.

Smart payment

In 2015, smartphone payment systems revolutionized how meals are bought in China, gradually replacing cash and credit cards with simple bar codes on Alipay and WeChat. A year later, these fixtures have become commonplace, and upgraded functions make the whole process easier. Cus­tomers can now view dishes and place orders digitally.

Do you remember those little loyalty cards that restaurants and shops used to hand out to coax customers back? They often got lost in the shuffle of life. But now, point cards can be “stamped” on the Alipay app.

Even humble food stalls in bustling wet markets are now happily accepting WeChat transfers. Eating in Shanghai requires cash no longer.

Street-side snacks

Chinese street food like youtiao (fried bread sticks), flatbreads and soybean milk are traditional favor­ites. They provide a quick breakfast or late-night comfort food.

In the past, street snacks, though low in price, were served up in less-than-ideal eating environments and often used dodgy frying oil.

Since 2015, the trend is to trans­pose street food into upscale cafés. Instead of coffee or tea, they offer brewed soybean milk, steamed hot buns and fried bread sticks. Instead of eating pork buns and drinking soybean milk from plastic bags, the food comes in chic wrapping for takeaways.

One of the first businesses to adopt this new business model was Taoyuan Village (桃园眷村), which opened n December 2014 and quickly expanded to 11 branch outlets in Shanghai before spread­ing to other cities. More traditional cafés of a similar style have opened in Shanghai, including Shanghai Dim Sum (蒲石小点), Baohouse, Baoism (包主义), Gu Yi Wan (顾一碗馄饨·烧麦) and Baobao (甘其食).

The menus in these cafés are often more expensive than what you would find on the street — double or even triple the average price — but the dining environment and food qual­ity is higher.

Fu Chun, the renowned Shanghai xiaolongbao eatery, opened a small breakfast shop next to its signature restaurant on Yuyuan Road, called Fu Mai Da Bao (富麦大包). It sells soy­bean milk, both sweet and savory, beancurd jelly, steamed buns and Shanghai-style shaomai with gluti­nous rice filling, mostly for takeout.

Takeaway packaging is more upmarket than the plastic bags and boxes used next door, but the food is equally inexpensive.

A cup of salty soybean milk topped with youtiao chunks, nori and chili oil is only 8 yuan. The vegetable, pork and bean paste buns are 3 yuan each.

Healthy eating

Lunch delivery services have become all the rage, with vendors offering “su­perfood” meals at lower prices than in actual restaurants. The menus include items like quinoa and shrimp salad for under 50 yuan.

Ordering lunch or even making lunch reservations on WeChat are time-savers for office workers. Ven­dors, in turn, can avoid expensive rents and monitor food wastage better.

Juicing remained popular this year, with expanding options for those who believe it’s the way to lose weight or improve general health.

The celebrity effect

Big name chefs and restaurateurs have opened branches in Shanghai, trading on their reputations to draw customers into prime locations.

Joël Robuchon, the French chef with more Michelin stars than any chef in the world, opened L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon on Bund 18 last spring. It features the iconic open kitchen design and Robuchon sig­nature dishes like crispy soft-boiled egg, smoked salmon and imperial caviar, and caviar with crustacean jelly and cauliflower cream. On the ground floor, there is also the Salon de Thé de Joël Robuchon, offering a selection of pastries, cakes and light dishes.

Alan Wong, a recognized name in Hawaiian cuisine, opened Alan Wong’s Shanghai at the Portman Ritz-Carlton at the beginning of 2016.

The chef, who formerly cooked for President Barack Obama, has brought Hawaiian flavors and the tiki spirit to Shanghai, with dishes like pokes (fish salad) and the famous coconut dessert.

Cantonese chef Alvin Leung opened Bo Shanghai at Bund 5 this fall, serving fusion Chinese cuisine that people seem to either love or hate.

His Bo Innovation in Hong Kong won three Michelin stars for “ex­treme Chinese cuisine.”

The eight-course menu at his Shanghai restaurant features Leung’s interpretation of the eight regional cuisines — interesting, if pricey. Daimon Bistro, the more casual sister restaurant of Bo Shanghai, more affordable and less avant-garde.