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Nibbling on food history at new museum
By Xu Wenwen |
March 28, 2012, Wednesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
THE tastiest idea in recent memory is the Hangzhou Cuisine Museum, which provides a well-researched look at the history of food culture in the city. After taking a look around, stop for a bite of authentic local cuisine at the restaurant.Xu Wenwen chows down.
Food is a big part of the travel experience. Most travelers have fond memories of trying new food or enjoying a wonderful meal in exotic surroundings. Food also allows one to learn about a place's culture and history.
Hangzhou Cuisine Museum provides visitors a chance to learn more about the city's food.
Having opened a week ago, the museum presents nearly 400 replica dishes made from silica gel - produced by a molding company in Shanghai - along with 110 relics such as pots, pans and bowls that have been unearthed in Hangzhou over the years.
Covering an area of 12,470 square meters, the musuem specializes in presenting the culture of Hangzhou cuisine so visitors can learn its history, features and cooking techniques.
It also features a restaurant where one can order authentic Hangzhou dishes and taste everything they have learned.
"The museum is like a bridge that introduces folk life into a serious cultural venue so visitors can taste the food while also understanding the culture behind it," says Yang Jianwu, a museum employee.
Hangzhou is representative of the cuisine in Zhejiang Province. It is light, crisp, elegant and highly finished. It is characterized by elaborate preparation and varying techniques of cooking, such as sauteing, stewing and stir frying and deep frying. Dishes vary based on the seasons.
It emphasizes fresh, sweet flavors and makes good use of freshwater fish. Common ingredients include fish, shrimp, ham, bamboo shoots, lotus roots, tea leaves, preserved vegetables and many kinds of tofu.
It also frequently involves cooked meats and vegetables in combination. A delicately seasoned, light-tasting mix of seafood and vegetables are often served in soup.
At the foot of Yuhuang Mountain, the museum is surrounded by water and trees. The fa?ade of the low-rise construction blends in with the natural surroundings.
The first floor of the museum exhibits Hangzhou cuisine from before 220 BC to the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). The second floor displays the city's modern cuisine history from 1912 until today.
At the entrance of the hall, words and pictures explain how West Lake and other waterways were formed to become a good place for settlers thousands of years ago. At the time, people were largely farmers and fishermen, thus fish and fresh vegetables were a big part of the diet.
As society evolved, so did the cuisine. After the fourth century, Hangzhou foods were becoming more refined. For example, the museum displays a banquet by Su Xiaoxiao, a famous courtesan and poet in the Southern and Northern Dynasties (AD 420-589). The meal included stewed weever fish, roasted goose, preserved pear, a ginger dessert and some nuts.
People became more particular about food after the Grand Canal opened in the Sui Dynasty (AD 581-618). The canal allowed food to be transported further distances and more preserved foods were available by that time.
During the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907) all kinds of banquets prevailed.
Bai Juyi, a Chinese poet from the Tang Dynasty who was also the governor of Hangzhou, loved to boat on West Lake. According to historical books, the museum features some foods he and his friends loved, including steamed weever fish, steamed crab and steamed wild duck.
In the Song Dynasty (960-1279), especially the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279) when Hangzhou was the capital, the city's food culture developed quickly.
The royal family introduced food from northern China and more restaurants opened.
Using ancient books, the museum modeled a banquet by Zhao Gou, the first emperor of the Southern Song Dynasty. The meal featured 23 main courses, eight fruits and four snacks. Main courses included crab, eel, oysters, clams and quail.
In the Qing Dynasty, chefs and gourmands created more dishes. Yuan Mei, a well-known poet, scholar, artist and gastronome of the Qing Dynasty, wrote a book about Hangzhou food. It included many complicated recipes such as "fake eggs." The recipe goes like this. Break an egg carefully so only the small end is broken and then remove the egg white. Stir egg white into chicken soup and put broth back in the egg. Then steam the egg. The steamed egg looks exactly like an egg but tastes totally different.
A similar recipe is used for fake crab as well. The cook needs to abstract all meat from a crab but stuff it back in the main body. Then steam the stuffed shell in whisked egg. The shell is peeled off when served.
The museum also exhibits traditional snacks including spring rolls, Dingsheng cakes and cong bao hui (deep-fried dough sticks and scallion wrapped in a thin pancake).
All this food is likely to make one rather hungry. So don't forget to visit the restaurant.
Food is a big part of the travel experience. Most travelers have fond memories of trying new food or enjoying a wonderful meal in exotic surroundings. Food also allows one to learn about a place's culture and history.
Hangzhou Cuisine Museum provides visitors a chance to learn more about the city's food.
Having opened a week ago, the museum presents nearly 400 replica dishes made from silica gel - produced by a molding company in Shanghai - along with 110 relics such as pots, pans and bowls that have been unearthed in Hangzhou over the years.
Covering an area of 12,470 square meters, the musuem specializes in presenting the culture of Hangzhou cuisine so visitors can learn its history, features and cooking techniques.
It also features a restaurant where one can order authentic Hangzhou dishes and taste everything they have learned.
"The museum is like a bridge that introduces folk life into a serious cultural venue so visitors can taste the food while also understanding the culture behind it," says Yang Jianwu, a museum employee.
Hangzhou is representative of the cuisine in Zhejiang Province. It is light, crisp, elegant and highly finished. It is characterized by elaborate preparation and varying techniques of cooking, such as sauteing, stewing and stir frying and deep frying. Dishes vary based on the seasons.
It emphasizes fresh, sweet flavors and makes good use of freshwater fish. Common ingredients include fish, shrimp, ham, bamboo shoots, lotus roots, tea leaves, preserved vegetables and many kinds of tofu.
It also frequently involves cooked meats and vegetables in combination. A delicately seasoned, light-tasting mix of seafood and vegetables are often served in soup.
At the foot of Yuhuang Mountain, the museum is surrounded by water and trees. The fa?ade of the low-rise construction blends in with the natural surroundings.
The first floor of the museum exhibits Hangzhou cuisine from before 220 BC to the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). The second floor displays the city's modern cuisine history from 1912 until today.
At the entrance of the hall, words and pictures explain how West Lake and other waterways were formed to become a good place for settlers thousands of years ago. At the time, people were largely farmers and fishermen, thus fish and fresh vegetables were a big part of the diet.
As society evolved, so did the cuisine. After the fourth century, Hangzhou foods were becoming more refined. For example, the museum displays a banquet by Su Xiaoxiao, a famous courtesan and poet in the Southern and Northern Dynasties (AD 420-589). The meal included stewed weever fish, roasted goose, preserved pear, a ginger dessert and some nuts.
People became more particular about food after the Grand Canal opened in the Sui Dynasty (AD 581-618). The canal allowed food to be transported further distances and more preserved foods were available by that time.
During the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907) all kinds of banquets prevailed.
Bai Juyi, a Chinese poet from the Tang Dynasty who was also the governor of Hangzhou, loved to boat on West Lake. According to historical books, the museum features some foods he and his friends loved, including steamed weever fish, steamed crab and steamed wild duck.
In the Song Dynasty (960-1279), especially the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279) when Hangzhou was the capital, the city's food culture developed quickly.
The royal family introduced food from northern China and more restaurants opened.
Using ancient books, the museum modeled a banquet by Zhao Gou, the first emperor of the Southern Song Dynasty. The meal featured 23 main courses, eight fruits and four snacks. Main courses included crab, eel, oysters, clams and quail.
In the Qing Dynasty, chefs and gourmands created more dishes. Yuan Mei, a well-known poet, scholar, artist and gastronome of the Qing Dynasty, wrote a book about Hangzhou food. It included many complicated recipes such as "fake eggs." The recipe goes like this. Break an egg carefully so only the small end is broken and then remove the egg white. Stir egg white into chicken soup and put broth back in the egg. Then steam the egg. The steamed egg looks exactly like an egg but tastes totally different.
A similar recipe is used for fake crab as well. The cook needs to abstract all meat from a crab but stuff it back in the main body. Then steam the stuffed shell in whisked egg. The shell is peeled off when served.
The museum also exhibits traditional snacks including spring rolls, Dingsheng cakes and cong bao hui (deep-fried dough sticks and scallion wrapped in a thin pancake).
All this food is likely to make one rather hungry. So don't forget to visit the restaurant.
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