China Must-Try Classic Cuisine Guide

Chinese culinary culture is profound and rich, with distinct regional characteristics. The following is a selection of must-try classic dishes categorized by cuisine style, region, and recommended scenarios, along with useful tips:

I. Classic Dishes (Representatives of the Eight Great Cuisines)

1. Peking Duck (Beijing · Lu Cuisine)
2. Features: Crispy skin, tender meat, served with thin pancakes, sweet bean sauce, scallions, and cucumber strips.
3. Recommended Restaurants: Quanjude, Dadong (innovative version).

4. Tip: Traditional eating method involves dipping duck skin in sugar. Try "three ways to enjoy a duck" (duck frame can be used for soup or salted pepper).

5. Sichuan Hot Pot (Sichuan · Sichuan Cuisine)

6. Features: Spicy and numbing red broth base, must-try ingredients include tripe, duck gizzard, duck blood, and brain flower. Recommended dipping sauce: garlic sesame oil.
7. Avoid Pitfalls: Choose "鸳鸯锅" (mild-spicy pot) to balance spiciness; beginners can opt for mild spiciness.

8. Extended Recommendation: Chongqing old-style hot pot (rich in beef tallow aroma), Leshan跷foot beef (lighter version).

9. Mapo Tofu (Sichuan · Sichuan Cuisine)

10. Features: Spicy, numbing, fresh, and fragrant, with smooth tofu. Key feature: the "numbing" sensation from Sichuan peppercorns.

11. Suitable Scenario: Affordable home-style dish, perfect with rice.

12. West Lake Vinegar Fish (Zhejiang · Zhe Cuisine)

13. Features: Grass carp cooked in a sweet and sour ginger-infused sauce, with delicate texture.

14. Recommended Place: Louwailou in Hangzhou.

15. Buddha Jumps Over the Wall (Fujian · Min Cuisine)

16. Features: Luxurious stew containing abalone, sea cucumber, bird's nest, etc., with rich broth.

17. Suitable Occasion: High-end banquets, costing over 500 yuan per person.

18. White-Cut Chicken (Guangdong · Cantonese Cuisine)

19. Features: Smooth chicken skin, tender meat, served with ginger and spring onion sauce or sand ginger soy sauce.
20. Must-Try Variant: Hainanese chicken rice (fused with Southeast Asian flavors).

II. Local Specialty Snacks (City Recommendations)

1. Xi'an
2. Roujiamo: Shredded pork in a crispy bun, choose lean or mixed fat options.

3. Yangrou Paomo: Self-prepared crumbled bread experience, paired with candied garlic to reduce greasiness.

4. Shanghai

5. Xiaolongbao: Bite gently to enjoy the soup inside, dip in ginger vinegar, recommended at Nanxiang Steamed Bun Shop.

6. Shengjianbao: Crispy bottom, juicy pork filling.

7. Yunnan

8. Guoqiao Rice Noodles: Pour boiling broth over ingredients yourself, follow the order of meat first, then vegetables, and finally rice noodles.

9. Steam Pot Chicken: Cooked using steam distillation, clear and delicious chicken soup.

10. Xinjiang

11. Grilled Lamb Skewers: Aromatic charcoal flavor, pair with naan bread and Wusu beer.
12. Big Plate Chicken: Soft potatoes, flatbread dipped in the sauce is a perfect match.

III. Staples and Dim Sum

1. Dumplings: Northern Chinese New Year essential, recommend chive-pork or three delicacies fillings.
2. Zongzi: Southern salty zongzi (egg yolk and meat), Northern sweet zongzi (red bean paste).
3. Knife-Cut Noodles (Shanxi): Handmade noodles with chewy texture, sauces can be tomato and egg or beef.

IV. Practical Suggestions

1. Adapting to Spiciness: For Sichuan and Hunan cuisines, select "mild spiciness" or "no spiciness" and inform the server in advance.
2. Dining Etiquette: Use communal chopsticks when sharing dishes; some restaurants require reservations.
3. Finding Authentic Restaurants: Use Dazhong Dianping App to filter "time-honored brands" or "must-try lists".
4. Vegetarian Options: Temple vegetarian food (such as Lingyin Temple in Hangzhou), vegetarian restaurants (like Gongdelin in Beijing).