Suzhou Cuisine

Overview

Suzhou really manages to give one the flavor of "old China", it would take years to explore all the interesting things here, cluding its cuisine. Very similar to that of Shanghai, Suzhou's cuisine is characterized by light flavors, sweet dishes and an abundance of fish and shellfish.

Know More

Local restaurants

Many of Suzhou's oldest and most famous restaurants can be found along Guanqian Jie. Go to Shiguan Jie if you've got a hankering for a steak or some sushi, lots of Fenghuang Jie is packed with restaurants serving traditional Suzhou and Zhejiang dishes.

Deyue Lou

Specializes in Suzhou cuisine like Watermelon Chicken, Jiyou Caixin and house creations like Deyue Tongji and Xishi Wanyue.

Song He Lou

Visited by Emperor Qianlong who provided the calligraphy for the restaurant's doorway tablet, restaurant specializes in the Squirrel Shaped Mandarin, Stir-fried Prawns, meat and sticky rice steamed in a lotus leaf.

Suzhou Snack Restaurant

Specializes in Suzhou snacks such as Baitang Wushu'ou, Osmanthus Rice Dumplings, Sticky Rice with Duch's Blood and Snails in Soy Sauce.

Must try

Squirrel Shaped Mandarin Fish

The fish is largely de-boned and sliced into pieces that remain attached to the fish then fried. When cooked, it looks a bit like a spuirrel's tail and is garnished with shrimp, mixed vegetables and covered with a rich sweet sauce ...more

Watermelon Chicken

Watermelon Chicken is chicken steamed in bowls made from watermelons, by light flavors, smells fragrant indeed. This dish is only available during summer...more

Osmanthus Rice Dumplings

The rice will be processed by water and milling. The rice powder is rubbed by hands to become many tiny balls. Yeast should be added to the balls after they have been steamed. Preserve for a few day in clean environment. Then they will become attractively fragrant and pretty sweet. The balls should be put in boiled water and they will float on the surface, add rice wine, fine white sugar into the bowl. Stir for a while, add osmanthus sugar, and then the Osmanthus Rice Dumplings is ready to serve ...more