HANGZHOU is famous for its desserts, such as lotus osmanthus rice cakes and lotus root stuffed with rice, and Hangzhou abounds in the ingredients, osmanthus and lotus.

Hangzhou's lakes abound in lotus and in fall the air is filled with the intensely sweet fragrance of sweet osmanthus, also known as sweet olive.

Late autumn is the season to collect the tiny gold and white fallen petals; it's also the season to harvest lotus root, a rhizome.

Though the flowers are so richly perfumed and sweet, fresh osmanthus petals are bitter, so usually Hangzhou people squeeze out the juice and marinate the flowers in plum juice to remove the bitterness. Then they preserve the flowers with sugar, making fragrant osmanthus sugar, which is widely used in desserts and sweet soups.



Among all the foods made from osmanthus flower, osmanthus rice cakes and lotus root powder are the most representative.

The rice cakes are the size of a medium bar of chocolate, and tiny dried golden and brown flowers are embedded in the glistening white rice. They are made with glutinous rice powder but with refining osmanthus sugar, the cake is sweet, sticky, soft and smooth, with a strong scent of osmanthus.

Here are a few other Hangzhou-style desserts that can be found locally.

Lotus root powder

Lotus root powder is traditionally considered a very nourishing food in China. It's made with lotus root powder, sweet osmanthus and other ingredients. Packaged as an instant food, it can be drunk when hot water is added.

Hangzhou is famous for its variety of root powders. West Lake Lotus Root Powder is known around the country and once was sent to the imperial court in Beijing as tribute. To make the powder, the crunchy dried root is reduced to tiny white granules, with a reddish tint. The prepared drink, a tonic, is translucent, light pink in color and easy to digest.

In traditional Chinese medicine, lotus is yin (cold) in nature and is used to clear away internal heat and promote production of fluids, benefit the lungs, nourish the blood, improve the appetite and treat yin deficiency. It is said to be especially good for infants, the elderly and people who are weak.

To make a lotus drink, make or buy power, add a little cold water to cover it, stir until creamy, then add very hot water and continue to stir until it's thick.



Where to buy:

Available in most supermarkets. Caizhizhai and Wanlong brands are made in two of the city's oldest factories, famous for their desserts.



Dingsheng cake

Dingsheng literally means "must win" and the small, square, pink Dingsheng cakes are imprinted with the characters on one side.

It is said the cake was created in the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279) in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, to give courage to the soldiers of the Yue army, led by general Yue Fei, best known for leading the defense of the Southern Song against invaders from the Jurchen-ruled Jin kingdom in northern China.

The cake is made from ordinary rice powder, not glutinous rice powder, so the cake is fluffy. Fruit jam has been added to the powder, giving it a reddish color, symbolizing triumph.

Inside the cake is red bean paste, prepared by boiling and mashing adzuki beans and then sweetening the paste with sugar or honey.

The best ones are warm and bake on site. Avoid cold cakes.



Where to buy:

People can buy the cake on Hefang Street, a quaint commercial street of Hangzhou.



Lotus root stuffed with rice

Another Hangzhou specialty is lotus root stuffed with rice, which is sticky, sweet and has the fresh scent of lotus.

When it is presented, it looks simply like an uncut lotus root, but inside all the tubes, which carry air from the leaves to the root, are filled with glutinous rice, sometimes it is sweetened.

When sliced, the radiating pattern of the air tubes is evident.

It is easily made at home.

First, glutinous rice should be soaked in water for around an hour. Lotus root should be peeled and the larger end near the head should be sliced off, completely exposing the air holes. Then the glutinous rice should be stuffed down into the holes.

Then replace the top of the lotus root and affix it with toothpicks. Boil the stuffed root in water for around an hour; after it reaches a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer. Add rock sugar while cooking.

Then, let the root cool and cut it into slices. It can be sprinkled with sweet osmanthus sugar and honey.

All ingredients are available in supermarkets.



Where to buy:

? Zhiweiguan Restaurant

Address: 83 Renhe Rd

Tel: (0571) 8701-0200

? Qingteng Teahouse

Address: 31 Liuying Rd

Tel: (0571) 8702-0084

? Grandma's Kitchen

The restaurant has 20 branches in the area; checkwww.waipojia.com.cn/ for the nearest location.

'Temptation of Bread'

It's said this dessert was invented by the Green Tea Restaurant but its popularity spread and now most good restaurants serve the dish. It's basically a loaf of hot bread with cold ice cream balls inside; it has contrasts between hot and cold, soft ice cream and crispy bread.

It can be made at home, if you want to go to all the trouble.

First put a loaf of bread in the refrigerator overnight. Then remove it and cut a large square hole in the bread, hollowing it out, but leaving the crust so the loaf can be reconstructed. Cut the bread into small cubes.

Make a sauce of butter, cream and sugar and brush it on each cube. Add honey as desired. Put the bread back into the crust.

Put the loaf in the oven at 180 degrees Celsius for 15 minutes.

Then put two cold ice cream balls on hot roasted toast.



Where to eat:

? Green Tea Restaurant

Address: 83 Longjing Rd

Tel: (0571) 8788-8022

? West Lake's Spring

Address: 101 Nanshan Rd

Tel: (0571) 8703-5551

? Golden Chino

Address: 149 Qingchun Rd

Tel: (0571) 8721-0777

? Chuanweiguan Restaurant

There are many outlets, check www.hzcwg.com/ for the nearest one.

? Grandma's Kitchen

Check www.waipojia.com.cn/ for thenearest one.