Spring Festival 2017: What to eat in Xiamen

Xiamen cuisine is the main representative of Fujian cuisine which is famous throughout China. Besides Xiamen dishes, food of other parts of the country also can be found here, making Xiamen a good destination for gastronomes. Being fresh, light, crispy and slightly spicy in taste, Xiamen cuisine is characterized by the following dishes:

Seafood in Xiamen is famous for its extreme freshness. The location of Xiamen on the southeast coast of China provides it with abundant sea products. Dating from the Qing Dynasty, the seafood locally is always a traditional delicacy make from fresh local fish, prawns, crabs and more, with the flavor depending on the various seasonings.

Herbal Meal has a long history in China and is celebrated at the Lujiang Restaurant in Xiamen. Here, the herbal meal is delicately made according to the seasons and the various effects of the herbs. It is delicious in flavor and very nourishing.

Vegetable Dishes in the Nanputuo Temple are made of vegetable oil, flour, beans, vegetables and fruits. In accordance with the disciplines of the traditional Buddhist diet, the vegetable dishes made here mainly depict the Buddhist ideas and topics, attracting many tourists from both home and abroad.

Snacks in Xiamen should not be missed during your trip as they are great in variety and reasonably priced. Xiamen snacks have distinct flavors and some of them are listed below:

Tu Sun Dong is made from a sea product called 'Xing Chong' and is eaten with the seasonings including sauce, vinegar, chili, catsup, mustard and garlic. It is now becoming one of the most important cold dishes in any banquets.

Peanut Soup is simply made from peanuts but with very complicated production process. It has a sugary flavor and is best eaten with some dim sum dishes such as deep-fried twisted dough sticks, steamed stuffed buns and similar. Many believe the best Peanut Soup is served at Huangzehe Restaurant in Zhongshang Road, Xiamen.

Spring Roll is a fried rolled pancake filled with slices of various vegetables, meats and seafood. The local people of Xiamen like to have Spring Rolls as traditional snacks during festivals.

This is a very common dish. The specialness of Shacha noodle is that its soup is made by Shacha sauce and pork or chicken bones soup , you can add any food materials you like in the noodle like pig's liver, pig's kidney, duck's tendon, and dried tofu etc.