Cuisines in Nanjing
Traditional Nanjing cuisine is known as Jin
Su cuisine and is notable for the emphasis placed on original
flavor and carefully selected raw ingredients. Nanjing dishes are
traditionally bright in color and use only a moderate amount of
seasoning but a significant amount of oil.
Jin Su specialties that should be sampled
include: Jinling roast duck, steamed duck cutlets, salted duck,
Longchi carp and "Eight delicacies soup". The "Eight
delicacies" are: fish, water chestnut, lotus root, vine, parsley,
arrowroot and lotus seeds. This is a popular dish especially around
"Moon Festival" time (roughly around the middle of August).
There are numerous classical restaurants serving up these delicacies
and the area around the Confucius
Temple has some great places to taste good Nanjing food.
Western and Japanese food is also
becoming increasingly popular and there is a good selection of Western
and Chinese food available around the universities off Shanghai Lu.
Browse our Restaurant Index for more detailed information. Of course,
the big hotels such as The Hilton and The Jinling also have good
restaurants. McDonalds and KFC are hugely popular here.
Nanjing Steamed
Duck
As early as 1910, the Nanjing steamed Duck cutlet was awarded a
national award by the Qing government and is now popular in Hong Kong
and Southeast Asia. This dish is characterized by its appetizing
appearance and tender and delicate taste.
The cooking process involves steeping, boiling, braising and baking
the duck. The best places to taste this are the snack bars around the Confucius
Temple area of the city.
Salted Duck Delicious
and tender salted duck is a Nanjing specialty, rich in flavor but not
too greasy. Salted duck hangs from many city shop windows and the best
time to purchase and eat the duck is said to be August when the duck
is seasoned with Osmathus flowers and has a delicate flavor. The
best place to sample this dish is in the Wan Qing Lou Restaurant in
the south of the city. Jinling
Snacks Jinling is the former
name given to Nanjing and today it is not only the name of the tasty
beer brewed in the city but also the name associated with the local
traditional snacks which are named after the area. These snacks
originate in the Confucius
Temple area of the city. This
district has long been the center of Nanjing cuisine and today there
are many great restaurants and snack bars around here where you can
sample traditional Jinling snacks. Local specialties include: deep
fried dough cake with scallion and salted duck gizzard. |
