Taste of place
A taste of place
Behind every dish is a city’s history and manners: why sushi was Edo’s fast food, which old shop first served Peking duck, whether the Margherita pizza story is fact or legend. 47 signature dishes, each with its origin, how to eat it and local etiquette, plus “what to eat nearby” for 249 sights and festivals, with must-tries, where to eat, dining etiquette and typical prices.
China
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Cantonese dim sum
'One pot, two pieces': a pot of tea with two dim sum — Guangzhou mornings begin in the teahouse.
Butter tea
A highland drink churned from tea, butter and salt — the first cup a Tibetan home offers a guest.
Nanjing salted duck
'Jinling's duck dishes are the best in the land': dry-cured, brined and simmered, with pale skin and tender meat.
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Dongpo pork
Red-braised pork belly named after Su Dongpo, the signature dish of Hangzhou cuisine.
Yangrou paomo
Tear the bread into fingernail-sized pieces yourself, then hand it to the cook to simmer in lamb soup.
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Peking duck
From a Yuan court recipe to the old shops of Qianmen: six hundred years of duck rolled in pancakes.
What to eat near the sights31 places
- The Li River, GuilinMust-try: Guilin rice noodles, Beer fish, Stuffed river snails
- JiuzhaigouMust-try: Yak hotpot / yak soup pot, Tibetan butter tea / barley cakes, Hand-pulled lamb
- Zhangjiajie National Forest ParkMust-try: Sanxiaguo (three-ingredient pot), Chicken stewed with rock-ear fungus, Tujia braised pork
- Huangshan (Yellow Mountain)Must-try: Stinky mandarin fish (chou guiyu), Maodoufu (hairy tofu), Huangshan shaobing (sesame flatbread)
- Chen Clan Ancestral Hall, GuangzhouMust-try: Dim sum, Siu mai, Char siu bao
- Hongya Cave, ChongqingMust-try: Chongqing hotpot, Chongqing xiaomian (spicy noodles), Hot-and-sour sweet-potato noodles
- Kuanzhai Alley, ChengduMust-try: Hotpot, Chuan chuan xiang (skewer hotpot), Zhong dumplings / Long wontons
- The Bund, ShanghaiMust-try: Shengjian mantou (pan-fried buns), Xiaolongbao, Pork chop with rice cake
- Fujian Tulou: Tianluokeng clusterMust-try: Hakka salt-baked chicken, Braised pork with preserved mustard greens, Tulou dried bamboo shoots / bitter greens
- Ganden Sumtseling MonasteryMust-try: Yak hotpot, Butter tea, Highland-barley wine / barley cakes
- Kashgar Old CityMust-try: Baked buns (samsa), Gangzi rou (lamb stewed in enamel mugs), Tandoor-roasted lamb (nangkeng rou)
- Dali Old TownMust-try: Rushan (fried milk fan), Ersi / erkuai (rice noodles / rice cakes), Hot-and-sour fish
- Lijiang Old TownMust-try: Cured-rib hotpot, Chickpea jelly (jidou liangfen), Lijiang baba (flatbread)
- Potala PalaceMust-try: Butter tea, Sweet tea, Tibetan noodles
- Mogao Caves, DunhuangMust-try: Donkey meat with yellow noodles, Huyang menbing (lamb braised with flatbread), Apricot-peel drink (xingpi shui)
- Confucius Temple and the Qinhuai River, NanjingMust-try: Duck blood and vermicelli soup, Salted duck, The eight Qinhuai snacks
- HongcunMust-try: Maodoufu (hairy tofu), Stinky mandarin fish (chou guiyu), Huangshan shaobing (sesame flatbread)
- Wuzhen XizhaMust-try: Red-braised lamb, Whitebait fish, Dingsheng cake
- West Lake, HangzhouMust-try: West Lake fish in vinegar sauce, Longjing tea shrimp, Dongpo pork
- Humble Administrator's Garden, SuzhouMust-try: Squirrel-shaped mandarin fish, Biluochun shrimp, Suzhou-style noodle soup
- Chengde Mountain ResortMust-try: Gaidao rou (Chengde smoked pork), Fried buckwheat jelly (jian wantuo), Almond milk (xingren lu)
- Summer PalaceMust-try: Roast duck, Imperial pea cake / kidney-bean rolls, Zhajiang noodles
- Temple of HeavenMust-try: Luzhu huoshao (braised offal with bread), Chaogan (stewed liver), Mending meat pies
- The Palace Museum (Forbidden City)Must-try: Peking duck, Zhajiang noodles, Lüdagun (rolling donkey: sticky-rice rolls in soybean flour)
- Qingming Riverside Landscape Garden, KaifengMust-try: Soup dumplings (guantang bao), Sweet-and-sour carp with fried noodles, Tongzi chicken
- Pingyao Ancient CityMust-try: Pingyao beef, Wantuo (buckwheat jelly), Youmian kaolaolao (oat-flour rolls)
- Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum, NanjingMust-try: Salted duck, Duck blood and vermicelli soup, Pidu noodles (puffed pork-skin noodles)
- Longmen GrottoesMust-try: Luoyang water banquet, Beef or lamb soup, Jiangmian tiao (fermented mung-bean noodles)
- Xi'an City WallMust-try: Yangrou paomo, Hulatang with beef meatballs, Youcha with mahua (savoury flour tea with fried dough twists)
- Big Wild Goose Pagoda and Da Ci'en TempleMust-try: Roujiamo (meat in a bun), Hulutou paomo (pork-tripe soup with bread), Zenggao (steamed sticky-rice cake)
- Terracotta ArmyMust-try: Roujiamo (meat in a bun), Yangrou paomo, Biangbiang noodles