Guilin and Yangshuo Local Food and Cuisine

People in Guilin are passionate about delicious food, and the city offers many local specialties that are loved by both Chinese and international tourists — especially Guilin rice noodles and beer fish.

For Breakfast

Guilin Rice Noodles

Guilin Rice Noodles are a breakfast staple, Guilin noodles are famous in China for its distinct taste and smooth, pliant noodles. Locally-grown rice is formed into the pure white and tender noodles used in this dish. Usually served in a sour and spicy broth, ingredients can vary according to taste. Guilin Rice Noodles mostly contain pickled vegetables, ground pork and peanuts. Many hawker stalls sell their version of this dish along the streets and allow you to mix in your own condiments.

Water Chestnut

Water chestnuts grown in Guilin have thin skin, thick pulp, a milky white color and a sweet taste. They may be eaten as fruit, or included in other dishes.

For Lunch or Dinner

Yangshuo Beer Fish

Yangshuo Beer Fish is a most popular amount the locals, and now is a well-known dish all over China. The dish is a little spicy and the aroma of the beer is evident. The ingredients are green and red peppers, tomatoes, spring onions garlic and chili sauce, and most importantly fish and beer. The choice of fish is up to personal taste. Most restaurants use serve Carp Fish and Sword Fish, which are farmed in the Li River.

Stuffed River Snails

Eating snails has a long history in Guilin where the snail meat is thick and chewy. Local people like to chop the snail meat into small pieces and add pork and spring onions. After seasoning the ingredient, the meat is stuffed back into the snail shells and cooked on a high heat. It is one of the most traditional local dishes in the Guilin area.

Steam Pork Wrapped with Lotus Leaf

Pork Wrap with Lotus Leaf is a popular homemade dish. It uses lean pork, mung bean flour, Guilin fermented bean curd and with more than five condiments. The ingredients are mixed and wrapped in one lotus leaf and then steamed at high heat. The pork absorbs the fragrance from lotus leaf and is lined to theories from Chinese traditional medicine. This dish is said to be good effect for detoxification and cholesterol.

Zhuang Minority Bamboo Rice

Zhuang Minority bamboo rice uses a flesh bamboo from the high mountains as a container. Hollow Bamboo pieces about 50 centimeters long are stuffed with rice, meat and water and banana leaves used to close opening. The bamboo is roasted in fire until it turns brown. Cut the bamboo skin into thin strips and peel it back like peeling a banana. The rice inside the bamboo is soft and it absorbs the bamboo fragrance.

Field Snails

Yangshou is known for their fat, juicy snails which grow to about the size of a ping-pong ball. These snails are served fried with chillies, added to stir-fried vegetables or stuffed. The stuffed snails are a particular specialty of the region. Their conch meat is chopped and combined with ground pork and other seasonings such as ginger and mint. All of this is then stuffed back into the shell and cooked with a mild sauce.

Crispy River Shrimp

Caught fresh from the Li River, these tiny shrimps are freshly sweet. They are dipped into a light batter and perfectly fried. The shrimp are so crunchy that you can eat the whole shrimp, head, shell and all!

Da Youcha (Oil Tea)

Youcha is a kind of gruel made of sweetened flour and is eaten by the Dong Nationality and other nationalities in northern part of Guilin 's counties. Youcha is made of tea, corn or rice, which are then fried and boiled with Ciba, beans, and peanuts. Youcha is eaten with shreds of ginger, chopped green garlic, pepper powder and other spices. Meat is added to some Youcha and can come with shrimps, small fishe, sausages, pork liver, or other lean meat. Host and guests will sit around the stove, and hostess makes and serves the Youcha.

Luohan Boiled Chicken

This traditional Yangshou dish uses a black chicken as its main ingredient. This is locally known for its positive health benefits especially for women. Medicinal as well as flavourful Chinese herbs are added. It is then cooked with a special steaming method to create a uniquely nutritious dish.