HANGZHOU residents have made it easier for travelers to try the local cuisine when they visit the city. More than 1 million Hangzhou residents recently voted for the city's top 10 dishes from a list of 84 choices.

Almost every restaurant offering Hangzhou cuisine sells the top 10 dishes. The vote even listed the restaurant residents voted for as the one that makes the dish best. Shanghai Daily digs into the list.



? Longjing Shrimp

龙井虾仁

Longjing Shrimp uses the shoots of Longjing (Dragon Well) tea and tender shelled shrimps. The orangey pink shrimp gives the dish an elegant look. Longjing tea is served with the dish.

The best season to have the dish is late spring, as Longjing tea leaves are usually picked in late April.

The classical way of eating this dish is to alternate between sipping the tea and taking one shrimp. The sweetness of the shrimp and the fragrance of the tea can be combined.

Recommended restaurant:

Zhiweiguan Restaurant

Address: 83 Renhe Road

Tel: (0571) 8706-5871



? Crab Fried with Salted Egg Yolk

蛋黄青蟹

Covered with a golden-yellow sauce, this dish is known for crabs with thin and easy-to-crack shells, a rich and tasty sauce and delicious crab roe.

The sauce is made from the yolk of a salted duck egg, a preserved food made by soaking duck eggs in brine, or packing each egg in damp, salted charcoal.

This gives the eggs a briny aroma, a very liquid egg white and a firm-textured, round yolk that is bright orange-red in color, which is rich, fatty and a bit salty.

Recommended restaurant:New Kaiyuan Restaurant

Address: 142 Jiefang Road

Tel: (0571) 8708-9888



? Dongpo Pork

东坡肉

The dish is made by pan frying and then cooking pork belly with soy sauce. The pork is cut into 2-inch squares consisting of half fat and half lean meat.

The trait of the dish is the aroma and the tenderness, where the fat dissolves in the mouth without greasiness.

It is named after famed poet Su Dongpo of the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127). Legend has it that when Su was banished to a life of poverty in Hangzhou he created the recipe. First he braised the pork, then added Chinese fermented wine before slowly stewing it over a low heat.

Recommended restaurant:Tianxianglou Restaurant

Address: 58 Jiefang Road

Tel: (0571) 8261-8227



? Lotus Root Fried with Kidney

莲藕炝腰花

Some may be reluctant to eat liver and kidney, but many Chinese restaurants have concocted good recipes to make these unusual dishes look delicious and taste palatable. Lotus Root Fried with Kidney is a good example.

Usually the pork kidney is secured from a young pig, which helps ensure a tender cut of meat and a mild taste. The lotus root helps remove the raw flavor of the glandular organ.

The kidney is believed to be an excellent source of vitamins and other nutrients, while lotus root is rich in dietary fiber, vitamin C, potassium and other nutrients.

Recommended restaurant:New Kaiyuan Restaurant

Address: 142 Jiefang Road

Tel: (0571) 8708-9888



? West Lake Vinegar Fish

西湖醋鱼

West Lake Vinegar Fish is one of the most well-known Zhejiang Province dishes. Glazed with a sweet vinegar sauce, the fish is sweet, sour and very tender.

Before cooking, a grass carp is kept hungry in clear water for one to two days to rinse it well and get rid of the smell of mud. It is cut in half from head to tail but not separated, then delicately poached. It is topped with a sharp sweet and sour, vinegar-based sauce.

Recommended restaurant:Louwailou Restaurant

Address: 30 Gushan Road

Tel: (0571) 8796-9023



? Beggar's Chicken

叫花童鸡

A starving beggar in Hangzhou during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) is said to have stolen a chicken and was hotly pursued by its owner. In his haste he wrapped it with a lotus leaf and buried the chicken in mud near a riverbank to hide it. Later that night he returned and retrieved the chicken, its feathers covered in mud.

He started a fire to cook the chicken. But not having any utensils he placed the entire chicken directly into the fire. A tight clay crust was formed as the fowl cooked, and when the crust was cracked open the feathers came right off the chicken exposing juicy tender meat and emitting an incredible aroma.

The roasted chicken was so delicious, he decided to start selling his creation. Unbeknownst to him he had just invented one of China's greatest culinary traditions.

After ordering the dish, make sure you can crack the crust, it's fun.

Recommended restaurant:Hangzhou Restaurant

Address: 10 Huancheng Road N.

Tel: (0571) 8519-1717



? Fried Crab Meat Steamed inside Orange

香橙蟹

This dish is considered a graceful, luxurious way of having crabs. It is unique in Chinese food as the orange, rather than a bowl or plate, is used as the container.

When the dish is served, the orange, with its top cut off, is placed in a glass cup or a bowl. The sliced white crab meat and the golden crab roe are inside the orange and mixed with the fruit's flesh and other seasonings.

The crab meat absorbs the fragrance of the orange. Juice from the orange removes the grease and adds an appetizing flavor. People use a spoon and take their time to savor the flavor.

Recommended restaurant:Zhiweiguan Restaurant

Address: 83 Renhe Road

Tel: (0571) 8706-5871

? Duck Soup with Dried Bamboo Shoots

笋干老鸭煲

It's a soup served in a large pot, which contains old, lean duck, dried bamboo shoots and Jinhua ham.

The bamboo shoots don't have that heavy pickled smell which can overpower a dish, but give it a sweet and salty savor. Jinhua ham, produced in the city of Jinhua, gives the soup an umami taste.

Recommended restaurant:Zhangshengji Restaurant

Address: 77 Shuangling Road, Tel: (0571) 8602-6666

7F, 91 Jiefang Road, Tel: (0571) 8735-5188

4F, 158 Shaoxing Road, Tel: (0571) 8581-7377



? Stewed Duck in Soy Sauce

杭州酱鸭

Glazed with dark-brown sauce, the appetizing dish is always served cold in China. It is sweet, salty and made from duck thighs.

The duck meat is marinated in soy and honey then seared before being simmered in a rich soy sauce with shallots, anise and cinnamon, giving the meat an aromatic flavor that stays juicy.

Recommended restaurant:Tianxianglou Restaurant

Address: 58 Jiefang Road

Tel: (0571) 8261-8227



? Deep-fried Bean Curd Rolls

干炸响铃

Bean curd roll is made with doufupi, or bean curd sheet, which is yellow, thin and pliable.

Each bean curd roll is made by rolling a bean curd sheet, and the deep fried bean curd roll is golden and crispy. The dish is served with ketchup.

Recommended restaurant:Hangzhou Restaurant

Address: 10 Huancheng Road N.

Tel: (0571) 8519-1717