Zhejiang cuisine is famously known as one of the eight traditional Chinese cuisines, featuring Hangzhou, Ningbo, Shaoxing and Wenzhou flavors. And among the four flavors, Hangzhou flavor is of a fusion taste, combing the flavors both from the northern and southern parts of China. For Hangzhou cuisine, the cooking techniques of boiling, stewing, simmering are frequently used, and the ingredients and their liquids tend to be seasoned lightly.

When thinking about Jiangnan (south of the Yangtze River), people always think about traditional Hangzhou dishes.

The traditions of Hangzhou dishes could be traced back to the Liangzhu Culture. As early as over 5,000 years ago, Hangzhou locals had already used paddies to cook rice and fish meat to make soup, which, according to experts, is the original form of Hangzhou dishes.

Sister Song’s Fish Broth

The fact that Hangzhou cuisine stands out from Zhejiang cuisine is attributed to the opening of the Grand Canal and the southward movement of the Song dynasty (960-1279).

During the Sui dynasty (581-618), money from southern China flew into Hangzhou, a hub of economy, culture, politics, transportation, as well as food. Many local restaurants hired excellent Beijing chefs, who introduced luxurious Beijing dishes such as shark’s fin, sea cucumbers, crab, and fish maw into the Hangzhou cuisine after slightly changing the flavors for the southern taste buds.

The ruling class of the Song dynasty was originally northerners living in the Yellow River Basin, habitually living on noodles and mutton. When they were forced to move to Hangzhou (then known as Lin’an), they also brought along their eating habits. Gradually a complete set of Hangzhou cuisine mixing northern and southern flavors were created. In the Qing dynasty (1616-1911), Hangzhou cuisine developed to a higher level, evidence of which could be found in the well-preserved recipes of the imperial residence at the West Lake for Emperor Qianlong (1711-1799).

If Hangzhou’s beautiful landscape is nature’s gift, then the local cuisine, an 800-year legend, certainly made the place more attractive.

Oil-Poped Shrimp

A good dish is always expected to excel in color, aroma, taste, and shape. Hangzhou cuisine has more to offer: it touches people’s hearts and gives them a space for imagination, a spiritual pleasure, and a taste of real life.

Behind Hangzhou, the cuisine is chefs who are adept at using culinary techniques and aesthetic principles. Their excellent skills with a knife, color matching, and plating add some subtle beauty to the dishes.

What’s behind the Hangzhou cuisine are poetic legends, too. It is said that for every Hangzhou dish there is a story to make the dish tastier and more interesting. And the names of the traditional Hangzhou dishes are also easy and smooth to read out loud.

Hangzhou as an international tourist city has been attracting visitors and “enjoy the West Lake and Hangzhou cuisine”. On November 10, 2011, Hangzhou started to host two grand events celebrating its local cuisine. The first one focused on the exquisite fine dishes that have already been popular, while the second one focused on the home-cooked food that is delicious and creative.

In September 2016, Hangzhou hosted the G20 Summit, where heads of state were impressed by the delicious Hangzhou cuisine.

The flavor of a city, a street, and a family cannot be easily changed. Apart from the famous restaurants such as Louwailou, Zhiweiguan, and Fengjuyuan which serve abundant meat dishes qualified for a national banquet, there also are eateries or street vendors where one can taste the real Hangzhou.

“Longjing Shrimp” is a new dish introduced in the 1920s, widely served in restaurants, large and small. Always on a white plate, this elegant-looking dish only uses fresh shrimps which are white and crystal, and a few emerald green tea leaves, with a very little seasoning. No wonder this dish was put on the menu for a banquet hosted by Premier Zhou Enlai in Hangzhou to entertain U.S. President Richard Nixon, who visited China in 1972.

Longjing Shrimp

However, it does not necessarily take a large restaurant to make really good food. Small eateries can also provide customers with hearty and delicious dishes, and the authentic Old Man’s Oil-Popped Shrimp is one of them. By combining the name “old man” (“dad” in Hangzhou dialect), and oil popping shrimp, a local favorite, it has turned into an unexpectedly popular restaurant chain that is always packed. And there are quiet, relatively isolated, thus less-packed eating places as well, which are inviting in their own way.

When it comes to warm dishes that are close to the heart of Hangzhou locals, Pian Er Chuan, noodles with preserved vegetables, sliced pork, and bamboo shoots in soup, are certainly not to be missed.

It is the top staple served by many Hangzhou restaurants. The base of the noodles is shredded pork stir-fried with bamboo shoots, and authentically preserved vegetable is the umami element of this dish. When the base is done and ready to use, three spoons of water will be added to bring out the freshness of the stir-fried shredded pork and bamboo shoots. Next, when the soup boils, some alkaline noodles will then be put into the pot to cook for a few seconds before taking them out into a bowl. This is to maximize the “freshness” of the noodles. Some Hangzhou locals make Pian Er Chuan at home, and they like to add a small amount of salt or soy sauce in the middle of the cooking, to enrich the flavor in a homely style.

In Hangzhou, there is an Hangzhou Cuisine Museum where a complete system of Hangzhou local dishes can be found. Here are some officially released data: in 1956, 36 Hangzhou dishes were selected into the famous Hangzhou Cuisine system, in 2000, the number grew to 48, and in 2006,108. And there are at least 500 dishes widely and dearly loved by Hangzhou folks because these dishes remind them of their “mum’s cooking”.

Different places will feature different foods and different flavors. It is always important to inherit and innovate the local dishes and let the food culture of different places flourish, for it is the differences that have made each place unique in its own way.