50 of the best dishes to try in the Chinese Mainland

Few things unite and divide opinions quite like food, and condensing the flavour profile of a vast country into a single list is no small feat, but it’s a challenge we gladly embraced.

These 50 dishes from across the Chinese Mainland exemplify the extraordinary breadth of Chinese cuisine, from northern lamb to southern seafood and everything in between.

Northeast China

1. Northeast sour cabbage and pork belly hot pot

Hot pot is the soul food of northeastern China. As the locals say, “anything goes in the pot”, but the classic ingredients are sliced pork belly and tangy fermented cabbage (suan cai) stew with vermicelli and tofu.

2. Sweet and sour pork

This familiar dish may look different wherever it’s served, but at its heart is a crispy-tender pork tossed in a well-balanced sugar and vinegar sauce. Northern tangcu pork adds dark soy sauce, Fujian’s lychee pork is scored for a unique texture, and Cantonese gu lou pork adds juicy pineapples for a unique tartness.  

3. Chuan’r

Barbecue is a beloved part of northeastern China’s food culture. The cumin-brushed, charcoal-grilled skewers – from Yitong’s roasted pigeon to Hegang’s beef skewers – are ideal for chilly weather. If you get a chance, sample some of the less mainstream variants such as silkworm pupae and dried tofu.

North China

4. Jiaozi/Guotie

Jiaozi (dumplings) are a home staple across the northeast. Their flour skins are often thicker and chewier than southern Chinese variants, and when steam-fried, they transform into crisp-bottomed guotie (“potstickers”). A flour-water mixture is added mid-fry to create binghua – a golden “snowflake” crispy skirt underneath.

5. Pingyao beef knife-shaved noodles 

Knife-shaved noodles are a familiar restaurant performance across China, where chefs deftly slice ribbons of dough into a boiling pot. Combine this with the famously tender beef from the picturesque city of Pingyao in Shanxi Province, and you get one of the simplest, yet most delicious bowls of noodles you’ll ever taste.   

6. Jianbing Guozi

The ingredients are simple: crisp crackers, fermented tofu, fried egg, sausages, chopped scallions and lettuce, and a mixture of sweet, savoury and spicy sauces. Wrapped in a piping hot mung bean crêpe, it makes for the ultimate comfort food on a chilly day in Beijing.

7. Goubuli stuffed buns

These buns the size of pool balls were once a favourite food of Empress Dowager Cixi. Pork filling is vigorously whipped with rib and tripe stock, then stuffed generously into fluffy buns and served piping hot. 

8. Peking duck 

The classic iteration of Peking duck remains the best: slow-bronzed duck sliced into bite-sized morsels. The honeycomb-textured skin can be dipped in sugar as a starter, while the remaining slices are wrapped in thin pancakes with sweet bean sauce, scallions and cucumber, delivering a symphony of flavours in every bite.​ 

East China 

9. Huangshan fermented hairy tofu 

A more baroque recipe, this Anhui speciality blankets fermented tofu in a fluffy, edible white coat of mould resembling cotton candy, which offers a complex acquired taste. Usually pan-fried until golden brown, it’s then drizzled with chilli and savoury sauces. 

10. Shandong “roast” chicken 

This Shandong classic isn’t actually “roasted”. After marinating in a dozen spices for hours, the chicken is flash-fried to a golden crisp, then slow-steamed in the marinade sauce for an hour. The process yields succulent meat with a deep caramelised flavour. 

11. Hangzhou Longjing prawns

Showcasing Hangzhou’s terroir, this dish pairs tender Longjing green tea with sweet river prawns. The flavour is intentionally subtle, with hints of sweetness, saltiness and a gentle herbaceous undertone. It takes a skilled wok hand to preserve the delicate ingredients’ colours and textures. 

12. Sweet rice balls 

A bite into Ningbo sweet rice balls is like chewing into a pillowy cloud, releasing an inner lava of roasted sesame. To balance its richness, this decadent dessert is often served in a light broth of sweet osmanthus water. 

13. Lion’s head meatballs 

​Named for their mane-like texture, the light and delicate lion’s head meatballs are made of hand-chopped pork belly, lean meat, water chestnuts and, sometimes, crab roe. The most popular cooking method is to sear, then slow-braise them in a savoury sauce. 

14. Dongpo pork and golden braised pork pagoda 

This classic slow-braised pork belly dish cooked with Shaoxing wine, soy sauce and rock sugar, finds new life in its trending modern reinvention: the golden braised pork pagoda. A master chef painstakingly braises the pork, then shaves a single, continuous ribbon of meat into a hollow pyramid and steams it until the rendered fat bastes the tender baby bamboo stuffed beneath. 

15. Sister Song's fish soup 

A classic of Hangzhou’s rich but delicate freshwater cuisine, Sister Song’s fish soup comprises gently steamed fresh white fish, often mandarin fish, flaked into a velvety chicken or fish stock with julienned bamboo shoots, shiitake, egg white and a splash of vinegar.  

16. Xiaolongbao

Commonly associated with Shanghai’s thin-skinned, broth-filled pork dumplings, and often elevated with golden crab roe during the right season, xiaolongbao in fact spans a vast regional spectrum. Enthusiasts should try Nanjing's upside-down iterations called xiaolongtangbao, literally “small basket soup dumplings”. 

17. Sweet and sour mandarin fish

A mandarin fish is deeply scored and fried to make the flesh flare out. This maximises its surface area during deep-frying, creating an extremely crispy texture and capturing the sweet-and-sour glaze. Toasted pine nuts are added for extra crunch. 

18. Beggar's chicken 

Legend has it that a resourceful Jiangsu beggar, lacking cookware, devised this dish by baking a mud-encased chicken over an open flame. Today’s more opulent version, “prosperity chicken”, is stuffed with abalone and shiitake mushrooms, then wrapped in caul fat and lotus leaves. The clay shell is dramatically cracked open to release a burst of deep fragrance. 

19. Nanchang rice noodles 

Nanchang’s signature dry-tossed rice noodles require some serious spice tolerance.  Prepared with chopped chillies, chilli paste, chilli oil, garlic, ginger, pickled vegetables, and more, the province’s famously springy rice noodles are delicious but not for the faint of heart. 

20. Buddha-jumps-over-the-wall

This Fujian culinary treasure is made with more than twenty prized delicacies, from sea cucumber to Jinhua ham. Pre-treated individually, the ingredients are then simmered for hours inside a sealed earthenware jar with premium bone stock and Shaoxing wine. According to legend, the aroma enticed a vegetarian monk to scale his temple wall for a taste.

21. Fujian rouyan wonton 

Fujian rouyan are simply addictive. What sets these bite-size parcels apart is their yanpi (“swallow skin”), made by pounding lean pork with starch relentlessly until it’s a translucent wafer-thin wrapper. 

Central China 

22. Wuhan hot dry noodles 

Wuhan’s own “instant noodles” were created when a vendor improvised to keep his noodles fresh by pouring sizzling oil over them. Re-boiled the next morning, the noodles became extra elastic and fragrant. Today, these noodles are tossed in sesame paste and a spicy and savoury braising sauce, garnished with pickled long beans, preserved radish and crushed peanuts. 

23. Pan-fried pork buns (sheng jian bao) 

The crunchier cousin of xiaolongbao, sheng jian bao are filled with seasoned pork and gelatine that melts into hot broth. They’re then steam-fried in cast-iron skillets until the bases become golden-brown and finally sprinkled with sesame seeds and scallions.  

24. Steamed fish head with chopped chilli

The undisputed star of any Hunan feast, duojiao yutou features the head of a massive bighead carp blanketed with salt-fermented chillies, garlic, ginger and baijiu. Fresh red chillies, sour green chillies and fermented black beans are sometimes added to provide extra complexity.

25. Hunan smoked cured meat and sausage

Hunan’s intensely savoury cured meats are often prepared using salt, rustic spices, and local baijiu. The resulting cured meat is then slow-smoked over cypress branches or tea seed hulls to instil a woody aroma. This delicacy remains a must-have item for traditional winter celebrations.

26. Braised pork belly (hong shao rou) 

​Hailing from Shaoshan in Hunan, hong shao rou is very different from the Dongpo pork of East China. This iconic braise shuns soy sauce entirely. Instead, the dish gets its glossy red glaze from deeply caramelised rock sugar, spices, yellow wine and dried chillies, giving it a much spicier kick than its eastern counterpart. 

South China 

27. Liuzhou’s river snail rice noodles 

You’ll encounter the unforgettable aroma of luo si fen (river snail noodles) before the bowl arrives. Its funky (and thus polarising) smell comes mostly from the river snails and fermented bamboo shoots in the soup. The popularity of this sour, spicy and umami dish has transformed its birthplace into a viral culinary destination. 

28. Double skin milk pudding

This Shunde dessert uses rich water buffalo milk to achieve its “double skin”. The first skin is formed after the milk is heated and cooled. The milk is then whisked with egg whites and funnelled back beneath the first skin before a final steam that creates the silky second skin on top.

29. Crispy chicken 

To make this southern-style classic, a whole chicken is glazed in maltose and rose wine vinegars, air-dried for hours, then ladled with hot oil. The process can’t be rushed – if the oil is too hot or too cool, the meat becomes tough and the skin soggy. The goal is to achieve beautifully golden red crispy skin with wonderfully succulent flesh. 

30. Cantonese roast 

Distinct from northern Chinese barbecue, Cantonese roasted meats are renowned for each meat being marinated in its own unique way and then roasted inside a vertical cylinder oven or over open fire. Standouts include crispy roasted goose, barbecued pork and suckling pig. 

31. Cantonese steamed fish 

This is the ultimate showcase of Cantonese cuisine’s obsession with the natural umami of ingredients. Steamed fish demands flawless precision, and cooking times are adjusted by mere seconds based on the size and variety of fish. Cooking is only complete when sizzling oil is ladled over the fish at the table. 

32. Dim sum 

Why settle for a single main course when you can savour a dozen dim sum, from shrimp dumplings to barbecue pork buns? But eating is only half the experience. Yum cha is more about the joy of sharing food, connecting with loved ones or even socialising with strangers. 

33. Dry-fried beef rice noodles 

The definitive test of wok hei (wok proficiency), dry-fried beef noodles are seared over roaring flames till each flat rice noodle strand and each slice of beef is coated evenly in dark and light soy sauce.  

34. Coconut and Wenchang chicken stew 

Hainan’s most famous culinary gift, Wenchang chicken is prized for its thin, snap-crisp skin and naturally sweet meat. Enjoy the classic presentation – cold-chopped with a pungent sand ginger and tart calamansi dipping sauce – or simmered at the table in a pure, hydrating broth of coconut milk. 

35. Chiuchow congee

If you’ve ever dismissed congee as bland, you’ve probably never tried a bowl of Chiuchow congee, simmered in layers so that some rice grains dissolve into an aromatic starchy broth while others remain al dente. This creates an elegant canvas for a wide range of savoury toppings, from salted olives and pickled mustard greens to baby oysters and roe-rich crabs.

​Northwest China

36. Roujiamo

Dubbed the “Chinese hamburger”, this Xi’an icon features tender pork or beef slow-simmered with cassia, black cardamom, and nutmeg in a proprietary master stock. The meat is stuffed inside a flaky flatbread with a “tiger-stripe” pattern that catches the filling’s rich, spiced flavours. 

37. Paomo

A speciality of Shaanxi Province, but common throughout Xinjiang and nearby provinces, paomo is a hot stew of steamed leavened flatbread served with beef or, more commonly, lamb. This is one of the emblematic dishes of Chinese Islamic cuisine, along with whole roasted lamb, hand-grasped mutton and the Eight Great Bowls. 

38. Biangbiang noodles 

​The Chinese character biang (𰻞) may be notoriously difficult to write, but these ultra-wide Shaanxi noodles are easy to love. Slapped and stretched until a single broad strand fills the bowl, it’s then complemented with a tangy base of soy sauce, vinegar, and Sichuan peppercorns and garnished with oil-splashed chilli flakes, minced meat or other toppings. 

39. Big plate chicken 

Originating from the ancient Silk Road stop of Shawan, da pan ji involves flash-frying bone-in chicken in oil and caramelised sugar before adding spices, potatoes and a generous blend of local chillies like tiebanjiao and xianjiao. The spicy braise is served over wide, hand-pulled belt noodles called la tiaozi. 

Southwest China

40. Chongqing and Sichuan spicy hot pots 

In Chongqing and Sichuan, hot pot is ever-present and omnipresent. Chongqing leans toward a heavier, spice-dense beef tallow base featuring tripe and duck blood curds. Sichuan favours a lighter numbing broth with bamboo-skewered chuan chuan xiang. If you’re short on time, opt for a fast-casual mala tang.

41. Suan la fen 

Hot and sour sweet potato noodles deliver the full flavour spectrum in one bite: spicy, sour, numbing, sweet, salty and umami. Slippery glass noodles are complemented with minced beef, crispy fried soybeans, pickled mustard greens, Sichuan peppercorns and cilantro in a fiery broth. Make sure to leave your white shirt at home. 

42. Dan dan noodles 

Dan dan noodles have morphed into endless global variations – soupy or dry-tossed, nutty or hot – but every bowl hinges on an electric blend of Sichuan pepper, sesame sauce, soy sauce and rou shaozi, minced pork fried in rich lard with Chinese wine, sweet bean paste, and soy sauce until it is beautifully crumbly and intensely flavourful. 

43. Mapo tofu

An increasingly global favourite, mapo tofu features silken tofu in a harmonious, numbing-hot sauce made with Pixian broad bean paste, minced pork or beef and toasted Sichuan peppercorn. Its vibrant savoury and mala profile certainly demands an extra bowl of rice.

44. Shuizhu meat in hot chilli oil

Sichuan’s shuizhu creates a robust fragrance by splashing oil onto broad bean paste, garlic and chillies. Water is then added as well as meat slices – often beef or fish – coated in egg-white, flash-poached just as the heat dies to preserve the meat’s velvety texture.

45. Wontons in chilli oil

​Showcasing Sichuan’s flavour complexity beyond spice, the classic hongyou chaoshou is dressed in a sophisticated mixture of chilli oil, Sichuan peppercorn, sweet soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil and garlic. The thinly wrapped pork parcels serve to cradle the multi-layered sauce.

46. Kung Pao chicken 

Compared to many versions served outside Sichuan, the original Kung Pao chicken features diced chicken thighs stir-fried with peanuts, dried chillies and Sichuan aromatics in a thin glaze of perfectly balanced sweet, sour, spicy and savoury sauce. That being said, in many areas of the Chinese Mainland outside Sichuan, you’ll find cooks using celery or bell peppers to balance the flavour. 

47. Twice-cooked pork 

The true king of Sichuan home cooking is twice-cooked pork. Simmered pork belly is thinly sliced and gently pan-fried with pressed tofu, leeks, soy sauce and yellow wine. But the secret to its deep flavour is Pixian douban jiang, a legendary, fermented broad bean paste designated a national intangible cultural heritage in 2008. 

48. Laziji, firecracker chicken 

Guizhou has a chilli tradition of its own. While Sichuan-style’s lazi ji is typically dry-fried with plenty of red chillies, Guizhou’s diced chicken is braised in ciba chilli paste – made from rehydrated dried chillies ground with ginger and garlic. Every piece absorbs layers of savoury heat, making for a genuine firecracker chicken. 

49. Crossing-the-bridge rice noodles

Legend credits this Yunnan classic to a woman who discovered that a film of golden chicken oil kept her soup piping hot as she crossed the bridge to her husband. Thinly sliced meat, vegetables and noodles are assembled and cooked in the hot broth on the table.

50. Yunnan wild mushroom hot pot 

Besides being the ideal summer getaway, Yunnan is home to about half of the world’s edible fungi. The best introduction is the province’s famed wild mushroom hot pot, which comes with a strict 30-minute countdown timer to boil away potential toxins.