China Travel Guide: Zhejiang

FOOD

Zhejiang cuisine, consisting of Hangzhou cuisine, Shaoxing cuisine, Wenzhou cuisine and Ningbo cuisine, is among the eight main cuisine styles in China.

West Lake Fish in Vinegar Gravy

West Lake carp in sweet and sour sauce, also known as "Shusao Chuanzhen" in Chinese. It's a must-taste traditional Hangzhou cuisine.

Shrimps with Longjing Tea

Shrimps with Longjing Tea is a must-eat in Hangzhou which, as its name implies, uses a unique recipe to combine shelled shrimps and freshly-picked green tea together.

The shrimps need to be fresh, and the "longjing" green tea needs to be picked around Qingming (a Chinese traditional festival). Fresh shrimps are snow-white and taste tender, while the freshly-picked green tea is elegantly dark green with a refreshing scent and unmatched taste.

Dongpo Pork

The pork used for this dish needs to be half fat and half lean, and it's usually cut up into cubes. The pork is stewed along with vinegar, scallion, ginger and sugar, in a sealed casserole pot over a low heat. The pork cooked in this way glows red, and is as soft as tofu but not fragile, glutinous but not greasy.