Eating in Changsha

Changsha specialties include dongan chicken, stinking tofu, chili smoked meat and cold rice noodles in a hot and spicy sauce. Honey sauces are favoured for desserts, which include favourites such as water chestnuts or cassia-flower cakes. For those of the non-spicy palate, the city still has an array of cooler dishes, including tasty dumplings (Jiao zi), eggs and pickles.

A duck is fried in peanut oil until its skin turns golden. Spicy seasonings and sesame oil are then added to the fried duck. The finished duck is cut into pieces and made into assorted cold dishes. It is crisp, tender and has a savory taste.

It is a traditional dish of Changsha. As early as in the 1930s, it enjoyed a high reputation. Customers will gasp in admiration when eating eggs without yolk. 

No one will be surprised by a plate of eggs with a mushroom soup. However, when you try it, you will find the tender eggs have no yolk inside and the delicious soup will melt in your mouth.

The chef makes a tiny hole in the bottom of the eggshells and removes the eggs. Then the egg white with a prepared chicken soup and salt are put back into the shells again and cooked. The most delicate of these will have a smooth cover and tender taste.

This is probably the most typical local dish. It was said that the one who hasn't eaten this dish equals is one who has never eaten Hunan Cuisine.

Simply stir-fry the chicken dices with pepper, capsicum, vinegar, shaohsing wine over high heat. The finished dish should have a bright color and spicy flavor. It is easy to describe, but very hard to cook. The best place to enjoy it is Yuloudong Restaurant.

This traditional Hunan dish was first created at the end of the Qing Dynasty. Meticulously prepared, this nutritious course is tasty and aromatic, and will leave prolong aftertaste. It is one of the best courses for the banquet.

If the Fried Stinky tofu of Huogongdian (Fire Palace) with a 250 year old history tells of the city's past, Kou Wei Xia (Stir-fry Spicy Shrimp) another popular choice near the area of Nanmenkou and Shahejie is a present day story.

The thing that earns the street its reputation is Kou Wei Xia (Stir-fry Spicy Shrimp), another popular market food for Changsha people. The shrimps are lightly boiled in hot water until they turn red. They are then sautéed in cooking oil, with hot chili, ginger, peppers, salt and garlic sauce, shallots and preserved bean curd for just twenty seconds when cooking wine and some water are added. The shrimps are then cooked for a further ten minutes to give them a spicy flavor. The resultant dish is spicy and hot, which is earns it a three peppers indicator on the menu which means it is the hottest. That's Changsha people's favorite! The king of the street is the Sixijie Restaurant on this dining street.

In addition, there are other delicious foods including duck dishes, cold dishes, soups, noodles and dumplings.

Every evening, an array of food stalls and shops near the area of Nanmenkou appear with bowls of bright color shrimps and none can resist the temptation! The crowed market will last late into the night until about three or even four o'clock.

It is a traditional dish served as the first course at a family banquet, symbolizing a happy reunion under the same roof. 

Blood

While western cuisine includes the use of pig's blood to create Black Pudding, Blutwurst, etc., in China it is customary to collect the blood of all manner of freshly killed livestock and fowls. The blood is stirred until it congeals when it is sealed and refrigerated until ready for use. The resultant cakes are cut into pieces and stewed in spicy soups.

As a traditional Hunan dish, this dish is prepared with eels, in the shape of ancient warriors taking off their robes. Hence the name. Prepared with unique techniques, this dish has won universal praise and has been well received by customers.

In the central part of Pozi Jie Street, there is an eye-catching palace building, which was originally a temple where people offered oblation for a fire deity. Later, it becomes a gathering place for people and each year on the Fire Deity Day, they will hold sacrifice ceremony, temple fairs and other activities. Merchant traders, food stalls and shops which provide visitors with a variety of food constantly attend.

Today, the two-storied building has been decorated in a simple and antique style, in which are several snack shops and restaurants. It is the best place to sample the local snacks. Their most famous snacks include

Don't be scared away by the word 'stinky' in its name, although it does not smell very good and has an awkward appearance, it tastes quite pleasant. The outside is crisp with a little salty savor and the interior is tender. It was said that Chairman Mao Zedong tried this snack when he visited the city in 1958.

These are a kind of rice balls with fillings of meat or sugar. The meatballs have mushroom pieces, meat, and spring onions inside and are made into the shape of pomegranate while the sweet balls have the fillings of sugar, dates, meat and sweet-scented osmanthus and often resemble a peach. On the day of happy events, the two are presented in contrasting colors to create a happy atmosphere.

This is a wheat pasta dish fried in oil. Noodles are made from flour, fat a little water and some salt together with spicy flavoring and a little sugar. These are twisted together and then fried in oil. It is a popular dim sum that the local people have for breakfast.

Wulipai Street near the Changsha Railway Station is a good place to find homely dishes at reasonable prices. Jianjun Restaurant on this street is the king of steamed dishes. Here a variety of ingredients ranging from taro to fish, assorted meats and vegetables are steamed in earthen bowls. Two or three bowls of these dishes and rice can feed two couples well.

There are also many restaurants of this kind near Cai'e Nanlu.

For your reference, the following are the restaurants rated most popular by the locals:

First Branch: No. 46, Pozi Jie Street, Changsha

Second Branch: No. 258, Laodong Lu Street, Changsha

Third Branch: No. 107, Wuyi Donglu Street, Changsha

Tel: (0731) 5813161, 5817591 

Description: A small restaurant where you can taste the authentic Changsha dishes with the real taste that is so popular with local people; reasonable priced and recommended as the Number One for visitors.

Add: No. 547, third section of Furong Zhonglu, Changsha

Description: It is a time-honored restaurant, renowned to be the best of best place to sample the delicious Kou Wei Xia (Spicy Shrimps). Highly recommended!

Add: No. 42, Yinxing Lu, near the Bayi Bridge, Changsha

Description: It is this restaurant that brought the famous Spicy Chicken Cubes into the life of Changsha people and visitors throng to sample this typical dish.

Add: NO.9 East Wuyi Road, near the Changsha Railway Station

Tel: (0731) 2288288, 2288000 

Addr: No. 1, Wuyi Xilu, Changsha

Tianxin Fried Chicken Shop

Add: No. 97, Jiefang Donglu, Changsha 

Tel: (0731)4117378 

Add: No. 31 Huangxingnanlu Road, Changsha

Tel: (0731) 5817732

Add: 29th floor, Zhongshan Hotel at No. 69, Huangxing Zhonglu, Changsha

Dongjiujia at No. 9, Bayi Donglu, Changsha

Changsha Doupi at No. 44, Huangxing Zhonglu, Changsha

Shuangyan Wonton at No. 179, Huangxing Nanlu, Changsha

Tianjin Snacks at No. 73, Jiefang Lu, Changsha

Yangyuxing Noodle at Jiefang Lu, Changsha

Ganchangshun Noodle at No. 1, Zoumalou, Changsha, Tel: (0731) 4441529 

Xinhualou Noodle at No. 20, Wuyi Xi Road,Tel: (0731) 2226068 

For western food lovers, the following western restaurants are good choices:

This Euro-style restaurant provides western style food, ice cream and drinks. 150-200 yuan will cover enough for three people. The atmosphere is quite good.

Add: Furong Lu, Changsha

Add: 2nd floor in Yuhua Building, Furong Zhonglu, near the crossing of Renmin Lu