Crossing-the-bridge rice noodles (guoqiao mixian)

Background

Crossing-the-bridge rice noodles are Yunnan's best-known rice noodles; Mengzi in Honghe Prefecture is their main place of origin, and they are found everywhere in Kunming. According to the China Intangible Cultural Heritage website, the dish has three parts: rice noodles, rich broth and ingredients. The noodles are made through steps such as blending rice, grinding it into slurry, fermenting, first steaming and pressing, and are under 2 mm in diameter; the broth is a long-simmered stock of chicken, pork and large bones, with a layer of chicken fat on top that keeps it hot; the ingredients are both raw and cooked, such as quail eggs, raw meat slices, chrysanthemum petals and minced ginger, plus chicken, tofu skin and garlic chives. "Mengzi crossing-the-bridge rice noodle making technique" was added to the fourth list of national representative items of intangible cultural heritage in 2014. The name comes from a legend: in the Qing dynasty a scholar studied on a small island in South Lake in Mengzi, and when his wife brought him rice noodles across a stone bridge, she found the broth under the layer of oil stayed piping hot, so it was called "crossing-the-bridge rice noodles." This is only a local legend.

Local customs

• The bowl of broth is extremely hot when it reaches the table. First add the raw ingredients such as raw meat slices and quail eggs and let the broth cook them, then add the cooked ingredients and vegetables, and finally push the rice noodles into the broth
• the order is "raw first, cooked after". Eating from a small bowl makes it less likely to burn your mouth. You can also ask the staff to add the ingredients for you.

Religion & beliefs

• The broth is simmered from chicken and pork bones, and the toppings include sliced pork and ham, so it is neither vegetarian nor halal
• Kunming also has halal rice noodle restaurants, so look for the halal sign if you need one. Vegetarians can ask whether there is a vegetable-broth version, but most shops only have chicken broth.

Rules that apply here

Travel tips

• Crossing-the-bridge rice noodle restaurants can be found in Kunming's old town (around Green Lake, Nanping Street and Tangzi Lane) and in every district
• sets are priced in tiers by the number of toppings according to each restaurant's menu, and one set makes a full meal for one person. Dietary notes: raw meat slices and raw eggs must be thoroughly cooked in the hot broth, which is especially important for pregnant women, children and older people
• contains chicken, pork and eggs. Wild mushroom safety: summer and autumn (about June to October) is mushroom season in Kunming, and many noodle shops and restaurants add wild mushrooms. Yunnan has more than 200 species of poisonous wild mushrooms
• deadly ones such as Amanita remain highly toxic even when cooked, and folk methods of identifying poisonous mushrooms "by color or by whether insects eat them" have no scientific basis. Please don't pick wild mushrooms yourself or buy them from roadside stalls
• eat only familiar varieties at proper restaurants, make sure they are thoroughly cooked, don't mix several kinds, and don't drink alcohol with them
• if you develop nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, hallucinations or other symptoms after eating mushrooms, seek medical care immediately and keep any leftover mushroom samples. You can combine it with Green Lake, the Yunnan Military Academy and Nanping Street. Prices, opening hours and the day's availability are as announced by each shop
• popular places often have queues at peak mealtimes, so eating off-peak is more relaxed.