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Dark glossy braised pork belly squares tied with straw in a shallow dish
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Food

Zhejiang浙菜

Hangzhou's cuisine, and the most literary of the eight — several of its famous dishes come with a poet attached. Dongpo pork is named for Su Dongpo, an eleventh-century poet and official who was exiled to Hangzhou, dredged the West Lake, and left a recipe for slow-braised pork belly that is still made his way. The register is fresh, light, slightly sweet, heavy on river fish, bamboo shoots and Longjing tea used as an actual ingredient rather than a drink. Shaoxing, down the road, makes the rice wine that half of Chinese cooking depends on.

What to do

  • Order West Lake vinegar fish only if you want the argument. The settled Chinese verdict is that the good version is not authentic and the authentic version is barely edible: done properly it is sour and faintly muddy, not sweet.
  • Eat what Hangzhou eats instead. A bowl of pian'er chuan at an old noodle shop in the morning is the city's actual daily food, and it costs a fraction of the banquet dishes.

Eat — Dongpo pork, Longjing shrimp, beggar's chicken baked in clay, a bowl of pian'er chuan noodles for what Hangzhou actually eats daily, and West Lake vinegar fish — order that one for the argument rather than the pleasure.

WhereHangzhou