The most fabulous of all Yunnan food is Yunnan rice noodles (Guoqiao mixian, literally "Crossing the bridge rice noodles"). This tasty noodle dish made with chicken broth and super thin slices of meat is famous throughout all of China and you can try this typical Yunnan dish at the "Jixin Yunnan Flavor Restaurant" and the Guoqiaodu Restaurant. Other Yunnan treats to look for are the Yunnan Eight Pastries and also Xuanwei Ham. For a taste of ethnic cuisine, such as Dai or Bai, there are many good restaurants in Kunming. Laozhiqing Restaurant is well known for its authentic, delicious Dai food. While not Yunnanese or minority food, if your looking for something different after too much rice noodles, then try Kunming's Beijing restaurant near Dongfeng Lu and the Shanghainese Restaurant in the King World Hotel.

Foreign travelers are not likely to feel very far away from home in Kunming because of the numerous Western restaurants. Try near the Green Lake (Cuihu) area or around Yunnan University where lots of restaurants cater to the foreign exchange students who flock to Kunming to study Chinese. Among these restaurants are Face to Face, Blue Bird, Journey To the East and Teresa Pizza. The Thai Kitchen located in the center of the city, while not Western food perse, is another of Kunming's best non-Chinese restaurants. "Mamafu's" and Jack In The Box, a local fast food burger chain, are also located nearby.

After dark, street peddlers are all around the city selling noodles, snacks and other "street food". While street food can be lacking in the hygiene department on occasion, it is also good and cheap! If you are brave (or completely insane!) enough, try snake, grilled rat or even fried bee!