Zhenjiang Cuisine

Zhenjiang is rich in produce and has long been known as "the land of fish and rice" in China and is considered a great place for eating.

Zhenjiang cuisine, which is among Huaiyang Cuisine, is delicate in taste as well as in appearance. It is best known for the “three fishes, two heads and three strange things.

Three Fishes Three fishes represent Reeves Shad, Saury and Longsnout Catfish; two heads indicate head of chub and lion-head meatball with crab roe; three strange things means that salted pork in jelly is not a dish, the vinegar won’t deteriorate and pot cover floating in the noodles pot.

Zhenjiang Vinegar The best vinegar is in Zhejiang, located in Jiangsu province. Zhenjiang vinegar is unique for its color, fragrance, acid, pure and dense material among other kinds of vinegar in China. Taste it, you will feel acid and delicious, fragrant and sweet. The longer you keep it, the better it tastes. This is one of the “three strange things”, which will never deteriorate.

Special Information Among the locals, the most famous restaurant in town is the Yanchun Jiulou, on an alley just north of Daxi Lu, a short way east of the former British Consulate. Specialties here include little appetizers of cold dishes brought round on a trolley - salads, stuffed buns and diced rectangles of pork which have been tenderized so that they literally melt in the mouth. Downstairs is a cheap canteen. This area of the old town also contains numerous noodle and dumpling shops. For fast food Chinese style - try the food street down a small alley one block south of and parallel to Zhongshan Dong Lu, to the west of the Guoji Hotel. It is usually open from 5pm until around 2am every night.