Different Region, Different Dietary
A culinary journey across six iconic regions of China — discover the unique flavors that define each meal of the day.
Northeast China
(Dongbei)Northeastern cuisine is hearty and bold, built around wheat, soybeans, and pickled vegetables to endure long, harsh winters.
Breakfast
Northeast China — Breakfast
Breakfast options for people in Northeast China are quite diverse. Typical specialties include corn grit porridge, steamed flower rolls, steamed buns and fresh vegetables dipped in soybean paste.
Lunch
Northeast China — Lunch
On the lunch tables of families in Northeast China are household-famous dishes: chicken stewed with mushrooms, pork and cabbage stewed with vermicelli, fried pork slices in thick gravy, and Braised green pepper, eggplant and potato (di san xian).
Dinner
Northeast China — Dinner
Winter gatherings in Northeast China always feature iron-pot stewed goose, cabbage stewed with tofu, guobaorou and Northeast starch noodles salad.
Shanghai
(Hu Cai)Shanghai cuisine is refined and slightly sweet, emphasizing fresh seasonal ingredients, delicate sauces, and meticulous presentation.
Breakfast
Shanghai — Breakfast
Shanghainese enjoy abundant breakfast with a great variety of choices: scallion oil noodles, glutinous rice rolls, salty soy milk, pan-fried pork buns and small wontons.
Lunch
Shanghai — Lunch
With just one hour for lunch, many Shanghainese skip going home. They have casual meals nearby workplaces: potstickers, tofu skin rolls, barbecued pork combo rice, pickled vegetable & shredded pork noodles, noodles with eight-treasure spicy sauce.
Dinner
Shanghai — Dinner
Shanghainese dinner features distinct local flavours. Commonly served dishes are stuffed fried gluten, yan du xian, red-braised pork and scallion-braised pork chop.
Guangdong (Canton)
(Yue Cai)Cantonese cuisine prizes freshness, natural flavors, and light seasoning. Steaming, blanching, and slow braising are preferred techniques.
Breakfast (Yum Cha)Guangdong (Canton) — Breakfast (Yum Cha)
Cantonese dim sum breakfast is a cultural institution: har gow (shrimp dumplings), siu mai, char siu bao, rice noodle rolls, and egg tarts with tea.
LunchGuangdong (Canton) — Lunch
Guangzhou is a bustling city. Cantonese typically grab lunch close to work. Popular choices include barbecued pork rice, spare ribs in black bean sauce rice, beef with scrambled egg rice, roast goose rice, braised eggplant rice, steamed chicken with mushroom rice, fish ball noodles and pork offal rice noodles.
DinnerGuangdong (Canton) — Dinner
Cantonese dinners tend to be formal. Popular dishes for Cantonese friends' gatherings: soy sauce chicken, steamed turbot, steamed sea bass, roast goose, pan-fried sea fish, pork bone soup with night-blooming cereus and stir-fried Chinese broccoli.
Shaanxi
(Qin Cai)Shaanxi cuisine is bold, sour, and spicy, with wheat as the staple. The region around Xi'an is famous for its noodle culture and Muslim-influenced street food.
Breakfast
Shaanxi — Breakfast
Shaanxi breakfast embodies local taste preferences. Shaanxi meatball spicy soup, roujiamo, fried dough twists in oily tea, zeng cake and tofu pudding with soaked flatbread are local favorites.
Lunch
Shaanxi — Lunch
Many Shanxi locals prefer Shaanxi-style noodles for lunch, including youpo noodles, biangbiang noodles, liangpi, basin lamb soup, lamb paomo, beef paomo and hand-torn lamb noodles with chili oil and vinegar.
Dinner
Shaanxi — Dinner
After a long day, Shanxi locals dine with friends to taste restaurant specialties: Ziyang Steamed Pot, Yulin Mixed Delicacies, Basin Lamb Soup, Hulu Chicken...
Guangxi
(Gui Cai)Guangxi cuisine is a vibrant mix of sour, spicy, and umami flavors, influenced by Zhuang ethnic traditions and Southeast Asian neighbors.
Breakfast
Guangxi — Breakfast
Rice noodles in various flavors are indispensable to Guangxi people's breakfast. Guangxi rice noodles (mi fen) are the quintessential breakfast thin rice vermicelli in a savory broth topped with crispy pork, pickled beans, chili and scallions.
Lunch
Guangxi — Lunch
Guangxi lunch features distinctive local cuisine. Beer fish, river snail duck foot hot pot, lemon duck, stuffed eggplant and stuffed bitter melon are local favorites.
Dinner
Guangxi — Dinner
Guangxi dinners are lavish, offering plenty of dishes: taro braised pork, vinegar-blood duck, stir-fried beef with sour bamboo shoots, braised fish with sour bamboo shoots, stir-fried pumpkin shoots.
Chengdu (Sichuan)
(Chuan Cai)Sichuan cuisine is world-renowned for its mala (numbing-spicy) flavor, built on Sichuan peppercorn and chili. Chengdu elevates street food to high art.
Breakfast
Chengdu (Sichuan) — Breakfast
As for breakfast among Chengdu natives, noodles in diverse flavours serve as a favourite delicacy. Pea minced pork noodles, spicy chili minced pork noodles, pork intestine noodles and red oil wontons rank high on most people's list.
Lunch
Chengdu (Sichuan) — Lunch
Lunch for Chengdu natives features an array of distinctive local dishes. Twice-cooked pork, fish-fragrant shredded pork, pork trotter soup and boiled spicy beef rank high on the list.
Dinner
Chengdu (Sichuan) — Dinner
After a long busy day, it is a common choice for Chengdu residents to meet friends over hot pot. A great range of ingredients are served with hot pot, including hairy tripe, beef, beef omasum, bamboo shoots and tofu. Diners swish ingredients back and forth in the hot pot using chopsticks, then dip the cooked food in chili condiments and enjoy.
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