Cuisine of Hangzhou for gourmets. Places for dinner - best restaurants

Hangzhou attracts more and more tourists every year. A trip to China is an opportunity to get acquainted with the diverse local cuisine for them. Today, the city is essentially the capital of Zhejiang's culinary style. It is one of the main eight Chinese cooking arts. It is believed that Zhejiang cooking art consists of three directions. They originated in Hangzhou, Shaoxing, and Ningbo, respectively. There are a lot of poultry and seafood products in the city. Chefs add bamboo shoots to almost all dishes. They are considered the hallmark of local cooking.

Europeans can safely order local dishes. The style of Zhejiang province implies a mild and often slightly salty taste, without an abundance of spices. If you have doubts, it will be better to ask the waiter. Today, Hangzhou chefs prepare dishes from all provinces of China. Very exotic kinds are also found among them. Native local cuisine involves cooking, steaming, stewing, or boiling food over low heat. The food is usually not greasy and very satisfying. Many dishes are soft, or, on the contrary, with a crust fried in deep fat.

If you still don't want to risk trying unfamiliar food, you can just search for restaurants with a menu of European or American dishes. There are many of them here. Major fast-food chains like KFC are also present in the city. If you, on the contrary, decide to plunge into tasting new unusual dishes, you can go to any of the hundreds of local restaurants, or walk through the city's night markets. Copyright www.orangesmile.com

If you are interested not only in the taste of food but also in the beautiful view from the window, you should visit Louvaylou. According to gourmets, the best fish from Lake Si Hu in sweet and sour sauce, sea prawns with tea leaves, and very tasty “chicken in a poor way” are served here. The last dish has several stories about the origin of the name. One says that a poor peasant once bought a chicken with the last of his money, or perhaps even stole it. But he had no hearth. Then he solved the question of its preparation by smearing it with clay and throwing it into the fire. He and his neighbors liked the result. The second legend is slightly more poetic. It is associated with one of the emperors who secretly traveled through his lands. Once he shared a poor man's food. Anyway, the recipe has come down to our days unchanged.

You can taste another Zhejiang dish at Grandma's Restaurant. This is an appetizer called Muer from black wood mushrooms prepared in a special way. Shellfish, unexpectedly spicy shrimp in a garlic sauce, chicken with nuts, and grilled beef are served here. You can also order pork in sweet and sour sauce, which is popular with tourists. The place is known for its fairly large portions and affordable prices. You can taste such an original dish as Lotus roots fried with sweet rice in Zhi Wei Guan. Delicious fried codfish and Zuidi’s chicken are also served here.

There are many quite original fish dishes in the city. Stewed shark fins in brown sauce, fish liver broth or steamed herring deserve attention. Steamed herring is prepared by steaming along with ham, mushrooms, and bamboo shoots. A lot of spices are also added to this dish. You should definitely taste the braised pig's head. The cooking time for this dish is very long. As a result, the head does not lose its shape. It becomes very soft, so much so that you can eat it with spoons. You should also taste "Crystal pork", and fish from Lake Si Hu in vinegar sauce. White carp is used as a fish. It is placed in a tank for two to three days without food after catching in order to get rid of the contents of the intestines and the smell of the soil. Cooks are very careful about the fire during cooking. You can find a very large number of vegetarian dishes in local restaurants. Soybeans or tofu cheese are used in the preparation of many of them. If you want to taste something sweet, you should not look for the "dessert" section on the menu. The fact is that the Chinese had no idea about desserts at all until recently. Dishes are served in a chaotic order as they are prepared. Locals are not fans of sweets.

You can order sweet herbal jelly in Hangzhou. Many Europeans perceive it as sweetness. However, this dish is healing for the Chinese. A variety of berry jellies and puddings are very popular here. Jelly candies, biscuits, waffles, and nuts are also popular. Pieces of Mahua dough intertwined with each other are delicious. You should also taste shortbread pies. Tanghulu also deserves attention. These are skewers with Chinese hawthorn. Be sure to taste the local Xihu Longjing tea. Beer, rice wine, and rice vodka are interesting from alcohol.