Almost all visitors say they want authentic Chinese food, the real thing, the real deal. They want to eat where the locals chow down -- well, some of the time.

Most of the time, however, they miss the genuine article, the fascinating specialties, for lack of time or information.

Food is more enjoyable when you know the stories behind it. The stories go better with the food, too, but guidebooks don't tell many tales.

In old times, people rose in revolution for lack of food. Officials tried to persuade their emperors to change policies through allegories about food and eating.

Many tales about an emperor's wickedness or stupidity are told through his relationship to food, gluttony, for example. Many Chinese sayings and proverbs refer to foods and alcohol. For example, jiu chi rou lin is widely used to describe a luxurious lifestyle.

The four characters literally mean alcohol (jiu), a pool (chi), meat (rou) and woods (lin), indicating a scene of abundance in which alcohol/wine fills a pool and there are so many sticks of barbecued meat that they form a forest.

And there are authentic, small eateries offering specialties that even most locals don't know about. The decrepit hole-in-the-wall eatery with delicious magical food is a fixture in martial arts films and novels. Often it is only known to the hero and his companions.

Sometimes the owner/cook is a retired kung fu master or a criminal on the lam.

In the information era today, it's amazing that many wonderful food spots are still hidden, but their reputation is spread by the oldest media of all, word of mouth. Sometimes only the older generation knows those good eats in dingy places where secret recipes are still used. The owners are usually not kung fu masters or criminals.

There's a legend about renowned writer, poet and politician Zhang Han in the Western Jin Dynasty (265-316 AD) who quit his high government post because he missed the flavorful cuisine from his hometown.

Certainly, the cuisine of Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, was just Zhang's excuse to take his leave of the unstable government.

Still, many famous scholars quote this story in their poems and express appreciation for such a romantic decision, abandoning the cutthroat struggle for officialdom and seeking simple pleasures and hometown cooking.

Zhang's hometown Suzhou is less than an hour's drive from Shanghai.

It's a typical city of the Jiangnan region (south of the lower reaches of Yangtze River), famous for splendid gardens and great food.

Emperors traveled there to contemplate in tranquil gardens and eat well.

Here, we offer several interesting food spots, with "secret" eateries for those in-the-know, or charming legends about well-known local specialties.

All are within three hours' drive from downtown Shanghai and accessible by public transport.