Guangzhou, also known as Canton, is very famous around the world for its foreign trade. However, if you take a look at Guangzhou’s local cuisine, you’ll be amazed that the food is scrumptious that also deserves a food trip. There is a wide selection of refreshing and nutritious Guangzhou cuisines. Among the vast number of them, we select the top 10 cuisines you must eat in Guangzhou.
Table of Contents
1. Simmered Soup 老火靓汤 Lǎo Huǒ Liàng Tāng
Drinking Soup has been a long tradition in Canton. People in Guangzhou enjoy the simmered soup as a way to cope with the hot and humid climate. Guangzhou people believe that food together with herbals is effective to remove internal humidity. Put meat and several ingredients into the clear broth and simmer it under low heat. It is time-consuming as the soup is simmered for several hours and then the flavor for meat and soup would reach its peak.
2. Boiled Chicken With Sauce 白切鸡 Bái Qiē Jī
Boiled Chicken With Sauce is one of the best cuisines you must eat in Guangzhou, it’s an extremely simple but fresh dish in Cantonese cuisine. The plain chicken is boiled without spices or flavors for fifteen minutes. The essence is to use local and organic chicken for its natural flavor. After that, mix peanut oil, ginger, and scallions to compliment the taste ever so slightly. Most of the flavor will be in the skin.
3. Roasted Suckling Pig 烤乳猪 Kǎo rǔ zhū
Roasted Suckling Pig has been a cuisine and banquet dish in Guangzhou for over 1400 years. There are two main cooking styles for this dish. One is made with soft fire and a little bit of oil to keep the skin smooth. The second way is to use fierce fire with lots of oil to melt the skin. The beautiful golden skin of the pig is complemented by the extremely tender texture of the meat.
4. Dimsum 点心 Diǎn Xīn
Dim Sum is one of the most popular staples of Cantonese cuisine. Dim Sum dishes range from soft shrimp dumplings to chicken feet and everything in between. Among the many Dim Sum, the Rice Rolls or Chang Fen is a popular one. The ultra-thin rice noodle wraps meat delicately. The rolls are liberally immersed in soy sauce for even more flavor. Literally, the meaning “Intestine Noodle” is about the way it looks, not the ingredients in it, so no need to be afraid.
5. Grilled, Pickled and Preserved Meat 广式烧腊 Guǎng shì Shāo Là
Guǎng shì Shāo Là refers to grilled meat, pickled meat, and preserved meat. Shao La is a general designation of barbecued pork, roasted duck, baked goose, braised food, and so on. The food with a beautiful appearance and unique flavor was created early in the Tang Dynasty on the basis of Beijing preserved food. In Tang and Song Dynasty, Arabic and Indian merchants brought the skills of stuffing meat into pork intestine to Guangzhou. After that chefs in Guangzhou created Cantonese Shao La by introjecting the skills from abroad and local methods of marinating meat.
6. Eight Treasures in Wax Gourd Cup 八宝冬瓜盅 Bā bǎo dōng guā zhōng
Eight Treasures in Wax Gourd Cup is a sort of soup that people would eat especially on summer days. The name comes from the uniquely carved wax gourd used as a bowl that is boiled and dipped in cold water to maintain its shape. The eight treasures are usually ingredients such as ham, turkey, crab, oyster, frog, chicken stock, and some pulp from the winter melon.
7. Dragon&Tiger Combat 龙虎斗 Lóng hǔ dòu
Probably this is the scariest Guangzhou specialty on this dish (for foreigners at least). The dish Dragon&Tiger Combat is made of snake and wild cat meat, resembling dragon and tiger. The black chicken might be added, giving the dish an additional meaning of the “phoenix.” All of the ingredients are cooked in a bowl with mushrooms and dates.
8. Sweet And Sour Pork 糖醋咕噜肉 Táng Cù Gū Lū Ròu
Sweet and sour pork is a popular cuisine both in Guangzhou and all over the world. In traditional Guangzhou sweet and sour pork recipe, rice vinegar and ketchup are used to season the sour taste. The origin of sweet and sour pork was 18th century Canton or earlier in Qing Dynasty in order to cater to foreigners in Guangzhou.
9. Canton Dessert 广式甜品 Guǎng Shì Tián Pǐn
Canton desserts are also a vital part of Cantonese cuisine. you could easily find this cuisine you must eat in Guangzhou. Some popular dessert is like double-layered milk (双皮奶) and ginger milk curd (姜撞奶). There are other popular choices such as tofu pudding (豆腐花), red bean paste (紅豆沙), Guilin Gao (龟苓膏), black sesame paste (芝麻糊) and sago (西米露).
10. Hefen Noodles 河粉 Hé fěn
Hafen is a kind of broad rice noodle that was first created in Tianhe, Guangzhou, and is incredibly prevalent in Cantonese cuisine. The unique feature of this noodle is that it’s incredibly slippery. The noodle is elastic and chewy and can come in a variety of styles, like stir-fried, steamed, with soy sauces, etc.
Beijing Road Pedestrian Street is an excellent destination for tasting Guangzhou snacks. The famous and historic walking street is surrounded by many clothing shops and snack shops. Here visitors can not only get the local snacks but also taste different kinds of food from all over the world.
