Jiangsu Cuisine mainly includes Nanjing Cuisine, Xuhai Cuisine, Huaiyang Cuisine, and Sunan Cuisine. Among which, the Huaiyang Cuisine has been employed in most official occasions, especially the state banquet, by the Chinese government. The humid climate in the region of Jiangsu and Zhejiang creates Jiangsu Cuisine exquisite in shape and sweet in taste. Sugar promotes to remove body dampness. However, chili is relatively rare in Jiangsu Cuisine as it is likely to bring endogenous heat. For this reason, Jiangsu and Zhejiang cuisine prefer a sweet taste.
Tong Chun Yuan
Tong Chun Yuan is one of the famous “Ba Da Chun” (eight grand restaurants with Chun in their names) in Beijing. Its Spicy Pork in Zhenjiang Style is a cold dish made with pork shank, featuring a tender, fresh and crisp taste. The top delicacy in Tong Chun Yuan is the Squirrel-shaped Mandarin Fish, which delivers a fresh and crisp flavor, tasting a hint of sour in sweet. Other specialties include the garlicky and fleshy featured Boutique Mashed Eel, and the Stir-fried Gaoyou Prawns which tastes pleasant with vinegar.
Address: No. 14 A, Xinjiekou Outer Street 新街口外大街甲14号
Average spend: 127 yuan
Yu Hua Tai Restaurant
If you are pining for a taste of Jiangsu Huaiyang Cuisine in Beijing, Yu Hua Tai Restaurant is the spot. Originally built in Bamiancao, north of Wangfujing in 1921, this restaurant is really a time-honored brand. Yu Hua Tai Restaurant is named after a tower in Yangzhou. Mr. Zhang Daqian, a Chinese painting master, ever drew a painting called “Spring Duck” as a gift for it, and Mr. Pu Jie, younger brother of Pu Yi (the last Emperor of the Qing Dynasty), ever wrote a plaque for it.
As to food, Huaiyang Cuisine is the standout of this Beijing-based Yu Hua Tai Restaurant. In 1921, two Yangzhou-born brothers surnamed Ma founded Yu Hua Tai Restaurant in a three-courtyard two-story building in Bamiancao, Wangfujing. The two owners had a reputation of sorts all over Yangzhou as well as neighbouring area, for one was former steward and another former chef at the Mansion of Viceroy of Zhili. Thus, since it was opened its business, Yu Hua Tai did very well. There was a historic record that, “Since it was opened, it has been raking in gold. In boom times, its annual revenue totaled even 100,000 liang of gold.”
There is an infinite selection of offerings featuring Huaiyang Cuisine - Shrimp Cutlet, Duck Wraps Shark Fins, Braised Freshwater Shrimp, Braised Shrimps, Braised Shark Fin with Crab Roe, Steamed Ingredients in Crab Shell, Dry-Braised Mandarin Fish, Huaiyang Soup Dumplings, Zhenjiang Cured Meat, Shaomai Stuffed with Green Vegetables, Lotus Cake, Chrysanthemum Cake, Dongpo Pork, you name it.
地址：北京市朝阳区湖光中街8号-临4号
Address: No. Lin 4, No. 8, Huguang Middle Street, Chaoyang District, Beijing City
Jiangsu Hotel
Positioned on the ground floor of Jiangsu Hotel, the Restaurant for the Jiangsu Provincial Government Office in Beijing features fish in Jiangsu local cuisine. Pork Meat Ball is a must-have here. Maybe the broth in a small handleless cup looks fat for you, but it tastes deliciously insipid.
There is quite a good choice of traditional Huaiyang dishes such as Braised Shredded Dried Tofu with Crab Meat, Braised Pork Meat Ball, Wuxi Pork Ribs and so on. Nanjing Cuisine is famous for dishes with duck as ingredient, for example, Jinling Duck Cooked in Brine. With a tantalizing color and a salted, delicious taste, this dish is the most sought-after across the menu.
Specialties: Soupy Buns with Crab Meat, Braised Shredded Chicken with Ham and Dried Tofu and Wuxi Pork Ribs
Address: No. A1, Andingmen Outer Street, Dongcheng District, Beijing 北京市东城区安定门外大街甲1号
Huai Yang Fu
As a landmark of Andingmenwai Avenue, Huai Yang Fu can be rated as the best restaurant of Huaiyang cuisine in Beijing. Featuring classical and elegant charm, this restaurant is interspersed with calligraphy and paintings, stone inscription and wood carving, offering you a landscape of southern China. Most of its rooms are named after Suzhou Gardens, such as Geyuan Garden and Lingering Garden.
Generally, Huaiyang cuisine are a bit light and impose high requirements on the freshness of ingredients. The fish of Steamed White Fish is delicious and tender, and dried bamboo shoot and bacon greatly enhance the freshness and flavor.
After serving Stir-fried Shredded Eel with Sesame Oil, the waiter pours the hot oil on shredded eel and garlic, and you can immediately feel the sizzle and tangy fragrance. With boneless shredded eel mixed with fragrant garlic, it is fresh, tender, and pretty palatable.
Yangzhou Quanjiafu is rich in ingredients. There are stuffs like egg dumplings, fried quail eggs, house fish meatballs, bamboo fungus, day lily, agaric, pork stomach and small vegetable in the golden and thick soup, and you may drink several bowls.
There is a saying in Yangzhou that “Skin Wraps Water in the morning and Water Wraps Skin in the evening”, which depicts the leisure life of the locals. Skin Wraps Water refers to Crab Dumplings in Soup. The skin is so thin like cicada's wings that you can feel the juice sloshing as you touch slightly the skin. Firstly take a small bite of it, then use a straw to suck out the soup inside. There are no words to describe the delicious crab soup. You will feel the happiness as an immortal after you eat the dumplings.
In recent years, Huai Yang Fu has launched some dishes with both Chinese and Western characteristics. One is Angus Snowflake Beef characterized by traditional Chinese cooking techniques and Western plate style. The beef features a fresh and tender taste, surely satisfying your taste bud.
Address: No. 198, Andingmenwai Avenue, Dongcheng District, Beijing 北京市东城区安定门外大街198号
Song He Lou
Built in the early Qianlong emperor of the Qing dynasty, Song He Lou boasts a history of over 270 years. It is now the authentic restaurant of Suzhou Cuisines in Suzhou enjoying the longest history and a good reputation at home and abroad. Guests can enjoy different palatable dishes in four seasons. The cuisines feature premium materials that are all delicately selected and cooked and are particular about the heat control. The dishes taste sweet and delicious that are perfect with Wu Area featuring gentle, beautiful and delicate scenery.
In terms of Suzhou Noodles, the Suzhou people are careful and meticulous. A bowl of Suzhou Noodles hinges on thick soup, hard noodles and tasty toppings. You have to eat noodles in Suzhou as early as possible. The water in the first pot of the morning is clear, so noodles at that time feature the clearest soup, the most delicious taste, suitable softness and perfect chew.
Gorgon Fruit is also called euryale ferox. Gorgon Fruit with Osmanthus Fragrans and Sweet Water is pretty easy to do: boil water firstly and put rock candy, gorgon fruit and Osmanthus fragrans to wait for several minutes. It’s a refreshing snack with chewiness, fragrance and sweetness.
As a traditional Suzhou snack, Sugar Porridge is mainly made by mashed red beans, sticky rice, sugar and Osmanthus fragrans. Featuring flowery flavor and sweet red beans, it can also dispel dampness and clear spleen. Making a pan of thick and fragrant porridge mixed with red bean paste boiled for 5 or 6 hours, you will feel warm both in heart and stomach in winter when you take a bowl of steaming Red Bean Sugar Porridge.
It would be a pity if you come to Suzhou without trying fresh pork mooncake. It is crisp-shell moon cake, neither baked wheaten cake nor Guokui. You will certainly have a taste of oven-fresh cake because it’s pretty crisp and filled with meat juice. What a good smell.
Chicken feet is not a really high-end material, but it’s the delicious chicken feet that is made as a broad category of Suzhou snacks by the locals. It is marinated tasty and cooked soft and waxy. As you tear apart chicken feet and bones to take a bite the part with tendon, you will feel its aromatic and glutinous taste that makes your temper gone.
Address: No. 9B, Nanlishi Road, Xicheng District, Beijing 北京市西城区南礼士路乙9号
Huaiyang Dream
Featuring classical charm, the simple restaurant shows the tenderness and refinement of Jiangnan Watertown everywhere. Its glaze decoration is inspired by the long sleeves in Kunqu Opera. The hills, stones and green grass show the charm of Yangzhou gardens, and the humidification system adds the immortal beauty. Its rooms are quiet, spacious and bright with elegant tableware and comfortable seats. There are appealing and melodious Kunqu opera during the meal.
Boiled Huaian Common Cattail is one of the “Eight Immortals in Water”. Introduced in A Bite of China, the wild plant lives in water, most along reed field. It has strong seasonal feature and goes on sale in April and May every year. As a healthy and tasty dish with the local characteristics, it has light taste, scallion-like shape, asparagus flavor, so it is worth a shot.
For Braised Wild Rice Stem with Dried Shrimps, the shredded wild rice stem is finer than shredded bean curd, which can tell cook's technique. With sweet soup, rich wild rice stem and the fresh upper shrimps, the soup is thick and delicious, so you can enjoy the soup’s aroma and freshness as you take a sip.
Shanghai Style Bloated Fish is pretty crisp and a little bit sweet. Some other restaurants serve it a little dried and hard, but the dish in this restaurant is crispy outside and tender inside, so you can be easy to taste the juice in the fish as you take a bite.
Braised Yellow Croaker with Home-Made Rice Cake uses superior fish, plump and fresh, from the East China Sea and rice cake by hand which takes enough juice, so this is not a common dish with such high quality. You are well suggested to have a try.
Address: Floor 6, SKP Shopping Mall, Jianguo Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 北京市朝阳区建国路SKP购物中心6层
