The working-class market streets of Hongkou, in the blocks around Lujing Road and Zhoushan Road, serve the neighbourhood's residential population with the full range of daily provisioning: wet markets for fresh produce and seafood, stalls for prepared foods, noodle shops, and the Shanghainese street food that the tourist districts have sanitised. Shengjian mantou (pan-fried pork buns), wonton soup, dan dan mian, and the Shanghainese version of shengjianbao are available at prices that reflect the neighbourhood's working-class character.
The Hongkou market area is best in the morning from 6–10 am, when the wet market is fully operational and the breakfast stalls are serving. The neighbourhood's relative distance from the tourist circuits means it retains a commercial character that the Old Town and French Concession have largely lost.