Hangzhou's food delights

In Hangzhou, cuisine is not only a culture but also a lifestyle. From Zhejiang cuisine to various specialty snacks, each dish embodies the Hangzhou people's love and pursuit of life. Zhejiang cuisine, known for its freshness, tenderness, crispness, and elegance, is one of the "Eight Great Cuisines of China." Hangzhou cuisine, as a representative of Zhejiang cuisine, gathers many of its essences. With a refined and delicate taste, Hangzhou cuisine, represented by West Lake Fish in Vinegar Sauce, Longjing Shrimp with Dragon Well Tea, and Dongpo Pork, blends the flavors of nature with cultural charm, fully displaying the charm of the regions south of the Yangtze River. Specialty snacks include West Lake Lotus Root Starch, Dingsheng Cake, Congbao Chun (a Hangzhou street snack wrapped with fried dough sticks and scallions), and Zhiweiguan Small Steamed Buns. These culinary delights not only satisfy people's appetites but also allow them to feel the unique cultural heritage and humanistic sentiments of this city while tasting.

1.Traditional Famous Dishes

West Lake Fish in Vinegar Sauce:
A traditional famous dish in Hangzhou, renowned for its tender fish meat and rich vinegar aroma. This dish selects fresh grass carp and is cooked through a special process, resulting in tender and juicy fish meat with a vinegar fragrance that fills the air.

Longjing Shrimp with Dragon Well Tea:
Made with fresh shrimp and fragrant Dragon Well Tea, the cooked shrimp appears white and tender, while the tea leaves remain emerald green. With its elegant color and delicious, refreshing taste, this dish not only tastes exquisite but also integrates the essence of tea culture, making it a classic of Hangzhou cuisine.

Dongpo Pork:
Also known as braised pork in soy sauce or stewed pork, it is one of Hangzhou's traditional famous dishes. This dish selects pork belly as its main ingredient and, after careful cooking, appears glossy red, with thin skin and tender meat that melts in the mouth, fat but not greasy, deeply loved by diners.

Beggar's Chicken:
Also known as Yellow Mud Stewed Chicken, it is a traditional famous dish in Hangzhou. This dish uses spring chicken as its main ingredient and, after a special cooking method, results in chicken meat that is tender and fragrant, with a delicious taste.

Songsao Fish Soup:
One of Hangzhou's four famous dishes, with a history of over 800 years. This dish is made by stewing mandarin fish or perch and, due to its appearance and taste resembling crab soup, is also called Crab-like Soup. It is characterized by its bright yellow color, tender and smooth texture, and crab-like taste.

Hangzhou Sauce Duck:
Made from ducks raised to maturity in the same year, it is carefully prepared through salting and seasoning with sauce. Its meat is dark red, with a fragrant and oily taste that leaves a lingering flavor, making it a traditional famous dish of Hangzhou.

2.Specialty Snacks

West Lake Lotus Root Starch:
Originating from West Lake, Hangzhou, it is a traditional delicacy made from high-quality lotus roots. It has a delicate and smooth texture with a faint fragrance of lotus roots, making it an excellent specialty snack of Hangzhou.

Pian'erchuan Noodles:
A favorite Hangzhou dish among those who love noodles, it is topped with bamboo shoot slices, pickled vegetables, and pork shreds, with simple seasoning that highlights the natural flavor of the ingredients.

Congbao Chun:
Made by wrapping fried dough sticks and scallions in a flour pancake and baking it, it is salty and delicious. Behind it lies the Hangzhou people's hatred for the traitor Qin Hui.

Dingsheng Cake:
Made mainly from glutinous rice and japonica rice flour, mixed with red yeast rice powder and red bean paste, it has a rose-red color and a soft and sweet taste, symbolizing good luck and prosperity.

Wushan Crispy Oil Cake:
With a golden yellow color, pointed at the top and round at the bottom, it has a crispy and delicious taste with distinct layers, earning it the reputation of "The First Snack of Wushan."

Fangchun Pan-Fried Dumplings:
As one of the restaurants included in the 2024 Hangzhou Michelin Guide, Fangchun Pan-Fried Dumplings have won the favor of locals and foreign tourists with their thin skin, crispy bottom, juicy filling, and fresh meat aroma.

Abing's Eel Noodles:
As a restaurant included in the Michelin Guide, Abing's Eel Noodles feature semi-soup noodles with less soup but rich flavor. The noodles are chewy and elastic, with the eel sauce being flavorful.

Zhiweiguan Small Steamed Buns:
Small steamed buns with thin skin, large filling, and plenty of soup are also a major specialty of Hangzhou.