Blessed with the abundance and rich variety of food resources in the Jiangnan Region, Zhejiang’s cuisine boasts a variety of snacks. With rice flour as the main material, an extensive range of fine ingredients and a multitude of cooking methods such as steaming, boiling, frying, roasting and baking, snacks of varying tastes and textures - salty, sweet, fresh, fragrant, crisp, soft, waxy, loose and smooth - are formed. From the choice of materials to the processing and cooking, all the processes are governed by strict requirements to honor their own special technique. The popularity and availability of delicious snacks also varies according to different seasons, festivals and customs.
Gaoyin Street, Hefang Street & Southern Song Imperial Street
Hangzhou food has a style of its own which is commonly called Hangbang dishes. Located next to ancient Wushan Square are Gaoyin Street, Hefang Street and Southern Song Imperial Street, together constituting a triangle of Wushan snacks. Gaoyin Street is credited with having the longest history among these three food streets. In the Southern Song Dynasty, it was called Roushi Lane and Guanfeiling, well known for selling pig lungs filled with glutinous rice.
Nantang Old Street
Ningbo Nantang Old Street is a food street of the Ningbo People. The street may be short but it is truly the place to be when one wishes to sample authentic Ningbo cuisine. With the introduction of a variety of time-honored brands of the traditional dining industry, it hosts all kinds of snacks and reminds Ningbo People of beloved familiar tastes.
Shuiting Street
The Three Streets and Seven Lanes in Shuiting Street is the most comprehensive historical block in Quzhou with numerous hidden gems of Quzhou style. The well-arranged Ma Tau Walls covered by rattan vegetation, the wooden doors, white walls and black tiles of the street houses are filled with plenty of ancient city memories dating back to the Ming and Qing Dynasties and the Republic of China era. Ambling around these buildings, the perfect side-activity is to munch on some local snacks.
Xialupu Chunhui Road
When it comes to food streets in Wenzhou, Chunhui Road in Xialupu is the most memorable of all. Home to a great number of restaurants, each and every one of them does booming business, contradicting universally understood concepts of economic competition. There’s an exotic Southeast Asian themed restaurant, as well as those offering Japanese and Korean cuisines, and the traditional Wenzhou snacks.
Haimen Old Street
One of the best kept secrets, few apart from the old Haimen people know this old street which witnessed the ups and downs of Taizhou over a period of a hundred years. retaining architectural styles from different periods. Towards its north lie many European style buildings, while in the south are those with Ming, Qing and Republic of China era elements, together endowing the street with a distinctive aesthetic.
Yuehe Old Street
Unlike other well-known Jiangnan towns, Yuehe Old Street is tranquil and elegant with no bustling, boisterous crowds. Strolling down the road usually gives one the feeling of having time-travelled back to the old days. The crisscrossing alleys are also similar to those paved during the Republic of China period, such as Zhongji Road and Beijing Road.
Yishang (Clothes) Street
A very historic street, the most formidable building here is Yan Zhenqing's Zhaxi Creek Museum and the ultra-wealthy Wang Ansheng's residence from the Republic of China period. As of now, the street has been restored to its former glory. Indeed, it is an important part of the common memory of the people of Huzhou city and each block, building and even piece of quartzite tells a story.