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Dining In Hangzhou

The Hangzhou dining scene is composed of the local cuisine, western cuisine and cuisines from other parts of China, visitors' dining requirements can be fulfilled with thousands of available restaurants.
 
There are several dishes that have come down over several hundred years, some even thousands of years. They are West Lake Fish in Vinegar Gravy, Braised Dong Po Pork, Beggar's Chicken and Fried Shrimps with Long Jing Tea Leaves. These dishes are pleasant from their color, smell and taste. Find a restaurant and taste these old dishes which are cooked in new ways, your visit to the city would thus be perfect. The most famous one for these dishes is Lou Wai Lou.
 
Local Specialties:
 
West Lake Fish in Vinegar Gravy (Xi Hu Cu Yu)
West Lake Fish in Vinegar GravyWest Lake Fish in Vinegar Gravy is a traditional dish of this city, it is said that it is originated from Song's younger brother and wife.
Song and his younger brother are pretty knowledgeable, they lived a secluded life away from society. However, one day the villain Zhao met Song's wife and was attracted by her beauty. He killed Song by intrigues when he knew that the beauty was Song's wife. Song's wife and his younger brother were very indignant and they accused Zhao of committing crimes. But the local authorities were on the side of the villain, they were failed and swept out of the government. After getting home, Song's wife ordered the younger brother to escape from Hangzhou in case of reprisals. Before Song's brother gone, his sister in law made him a dish that is made of fish with sugar and vinegar. Song's brother was surprised and asked why the fish was cooked so strangely. His sister in law said: you will taste sweet and sour in this dish, I want you to remember how your brother died and remember to pay the revenge years later. The younger brother was deeply moved and he left home with his sister in law's request.
 
Several years later, Song's younger brother became an authority and put the villain to law. However, his sister in law was hidden and he couldn't find her. One day, the younger brother attended a banquet and he ate a dish that has the same taste as the one his sister in law had made. He asked the host and found that it was his sister in law who had become a maid to escape from reprisal. The younger brother was very happy and he resigned his title and lived a secluded life again at the lakeside with his sister in law.
 
West Lake Fish in Vinegar Gravy is a famous dish with traditional flavor. It is cooked with live grass carp. The fish needs to be put in a tank to starve it for two or three days, to let go the trash in its bowels and the smell of soil. The fire need to be strictly controlled when cooking it. In the 1950s, the best West Lake Fish in Vinegar Gravy was at Lou Wai Lou, Prime Minister Zhou has come here several times with foreign friends.
 
Best West Lake Fish in Vinegar Gravy Restaurants in the city are Lou Wai Lou, Zhi Wei Guan, Huang Fan Er and Wai Po Jia.
 
Braised Dongpo Pork Braised Dongpo Pork (Dong Po Rou)
It is said that Braised Dong Po Pork was first made by the great litterateur Su Dongpo (Su Shi), he helped people in the flood in Xuzhou when he was the governor. In order to thank him, citizens send him plentiful pork when knowing that he was fond of that. Su Dongpo accepted the gifts and cooked them in his special way. He sent the cooked pork to the citizens, they were deeply moved by Su Dongpo. This tasty dish was then called Braised Dong Po Pork.
 
Braised Dong Po Pork Restaurants are Lou Wai Lou, Zhi Wei Guan, Huang Fan Er and Wai Po Jia.
 
Beggar's Chicken (an entire chicken cooked in a ball of clay) - Jiao Hua Ji
It is said that this dish was first made by a beggar. One day, the beggar got a chicken but he couldn't cook it since he had neither cooking equipment nor seasonings. Finally he wrapped the chicken in clay and baked it. To his surprise, the chicken was very tasty with his cooking method. A restaurant heard this and made some improvement to this dish, the dish was thus named. Several hundred years have passed, the cooking process was well developed and this dish has then become one of the most famous local cuisines.
 
Beggar's Chicken Restaurants are Lou Wai Lou, Zhi Wei Guan and Tian Wai Tian.
Fried Shrimps with Long Jing Tea Leaves (Long Jing Xia Ren)
Fried Shrimps with Long Jing Tea LeavesThis dish originated from the Imperial Palace. It is said that Emperor Qian Long got some best Long Jing tea when he was on the royal visit. He brought the tea back to the Palace and the imperial cook made a dish with Long Jing tea and shrimps. When tasting the dish, Emperor Qian Long was very happy and he rewarded the cook. Later, there was a dish called Fried Shrimps with Long Jing Tea Leaves in Hangzhou Tian Wai Tian Restaurant. The dish is fragrant with both smell of Long Jing tea and shrimps, it had been one of the best local cuisines from then on. 
 
Best Fried Shrimps with Long Jing Tea Leaves Restaurants are Lou Wai Lou, Tian Wai Tian, Shan Wai Shan and Huang Fan Er.
 
Fancy Hangzhou snacks are a must in tasting the authentic local flavor. Typical local snacks include noodles with seafood, bao zi, and fried bread and so on. People there usually eat these snacks as breakfast. Starting the day as a typical local citizen is the first step in getting to know this city. It is also a good choice to walk around these snack streets to experience the local culture.
 
Snack Streets:
 
He Fang Jie (Qing He Fang)
This is the most famous snack street in this city, all the food here would charge no more than CNY10 per each, you can have a little bit of every kind to have a good experience. There are some other kinds of stores here:
Traditional Chinese medicine: Hu Qing Yu Tang, Fang Hui Chun Tang, Ye Zhong De Tang, etc.
Tea Houses: Tai Ji Cha Lou, Da He Cha Dao Guan, Weng Long Sheng Cha Zhuang, etc.
Antiques: Rong Bao Zhai, Ya Feng Tang, Hua Bao Zhai, etc.
Traditional Handicraft: Ou Ye Dao Jian, Xi De Bao, Wang Xing Ji Shan Zhuang, Long Quan Qing Ci, Wu Yue Ren Jia, Zhang Xiao Quan, etc.
Restaurants: Kui Yuan Guan, Xi Le Yuan, Zhuang Yuan Guan Noodle Shop, Jing Yang Gang, Wang Run Xing, etc.
Location: Near Wu Shan Square.
 
Hedong Road Snack Street
Many restaurants has gathered here, especially in the area near Chang Ban Xiang, here you can find cuisines from all over Zhejiang Province, the best part is the Wenzhou seafood.
Location: Near Zhao Hui Wen Hua Gong Yuan
 
Jingzhou Road Snack Street
Newly-built, it is located in the western part of the city. Some restaurants are decorated in different styles and they are famous for their flavor dishes. There is one thing that the transportation is not convenient to get there.
Location: Near West Wener Road.
 
Gaoyin Street
Gao Yin Jie is beside He Fang Jie, there are many flavor restaurants here. Different from He Fang Jie, there are little food stalls here. Most of the dining places are well decorated restaurants, some are of traditional Chinese styles. The most famous restaurant here is called Huang Fan Er. For visitors, better go there at non-dining time, since there would be many people.
Location: Parallel to He Fang Jie.
 
Jin Jiang Seafood Snack Street
This street would be in its best in summer. Here you can find fish-head from Thousand Islet Lake, Sea Baby Clams from Zhou Shan, Fresh Oyster from Zhanjiang, Crown Prince Crab from Fujian and Sea Mullet from Xiangshan. The ingredients are all freshly transported from their origin places.
Location: Near Qiutao Road.
 
Baochu Road Snack Street
Located at the north side of West Lake, Bao Chu Lu is now a famous site attractive to visitors with its good position and flavor restaurants.
Location: Near the joint of Shuguang Road and Tiyuchang Road.
 
Best Recommendation:
 
Lakeview Hotel Chinese Restaurant
Name in Chinese:望湖楼中餐厅
Address:8th Floor of Lakeview Hotel, No.2 West Huancheng Road, Shangch...
Phone:86-571-87078888-6808
 
Yong Jin Ge Chinese Restaurant
Name in Chinese:涌金阁中餐厅
Address:No. 333, Xihu Avenue, Shangcheng District (上城区西湖大道333号)
Phone:86-571-87075858-5517
 
Vision Siam
Name in Chinese:忆暹罗
Address:Room 304, 3rd Floor of Mr. Box, No. 294 Wen’yi Road, Xihu Dis...
Phone:86-571-28977662
 
Shanwaishan Linyu Garden Restaurant
Name in Chinese:山外山林语花园餐厅
Address:No.6, Lingyin Road, Hangzhou (杭州市灵隐路6号)
 
Bailu Canting, Zhongshan Branch
Name in Chinese:白鹿餐厅,中山北路店
Address:No.572, Zhongshan North Road, Hangzhou (杭州市中山北路572号)
Phone:86-571-87910599
 
Zhang Sheng Ji
Name in Chinese:张生记
Address:No.158, Shaoxing Road, Hangzhou (杭州市绍兴路158号)
Phone:86-571-85817776
 
Green Tea
Name in Chinese:绿茶
Address:No.83, Longjing Road, Hangzhou (杭州市龙井路83号)
Phone:86-571-87888022
 
Zhi Wei Guan
Name in Chinese:知味观
Address:No.10-12, Yanggong Causeway, Hangzhou (杭州市杨公堤10-12号)
Phone:86-571-87970568
 
 

 

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