Dongpo Pork is the specialty of Tianxianglou, a century-old shop. It is made of thin-skinned pork belly. It is red after burning and has a bright color. The taste is mellow and juicy, crisp but not greasy. Even women who are bent on losing weight want to eat more.
"West Lake Vinegar Fish" uses fresh grass carp, which usually needs to be hungry for a day or two before it can be cooked. Fish excrete impurities in the intestine, so it won't smell earthy when burned. Outside the building of a century-old shop in front of Gushan, there is a fish pond dedicated to raising starved grass carp. In the past, when Premier Zhou Enlai hosted a banquet for distinguished guests, he specially ordered this dish here.
Hangzhou is rich in famous tea, and cooking with tea is probably the original creation of Hangzhou. "Longjing Shrimp" was cooked with fresh river shrimp and Longjing new tea before and after Tomb-Sweeping Day. After burning, the shrimps are white and tender, and the tea leaves are green, fragrant and delicious.
Roast chicken is a famous dish in many places in China, but Hangzhou's "Flower Tube Chicken" is unique. It fills the chicken's belly with tender hens with local characteristics, wraps them with lotus leaves from the West Lake, wraps them in jar mud mixed with Shaoxing wine and salt water, and stews them in charcoal fire or oven. The original juice does not go away, and the chicken is crisp and tender, mellow and delicious.
Other famous traditional dishes in Hangzhou include "Fish Head Tofu", "West Lake Water Shepherd Soup" and "Song Saoyu Soup".
According to legend, the West Lake vinegar fish is the most famous dish in Hangzhou West Lake, which was first made during the reign of Emperor Gaozong in the Southern Song Dynasty. According to ancient records, the vinegar fish dish in West Lake originated from "uncle's treasures handed down from generation to generation".
According to legend, in the Southern Song Dynasty, there were two brothers, the Song brothers, who were very learned but unwilling to be officials, so they lived in seclusion in the rivers and lakes and made a living by fishing. There is a local bully named Zhao Daguan. Seeing that Sister Song was young and beautiful, she plotted to kill Brother Song and wanted to possess Sister Song. At this point, the Song family's uncles and sisters fell from the sky and were heartbroken. In order to avenge my brother, my uncle and sister-in-law went to the yamen to complain. I didn't know that the government and evil forces at that time had a nostril to vent their anger, but they were beaten and driven out of the yamen. After returning home, the eldest sister-in-law had to let her brother escape far away. When uncle and sister-in-law broke up, sister-in-law Song cooked a bowl of sweet and sour mandarin fish and said to her brother, "This dish is sour and sweet. I wish you a bright future and never forget the pain of today. " Later, Song Di went out to fight against Jin Weiguo, made great contributions, returned to Hangzhou, punished the villain, but could not find the whereabouts of his sister-in-law. Once I went out for dinner, I learned about this dish. After asking, I realized that my sister-in-law was an anonymous cook here, so we got together. As a result, the beautiful dish of "uncle and sister-in-law pass on treasures" has also spread among the people like legends.
Fang Hengtai, a poet in A Qing, recited the poem "West Lake" and said, "There are five willows by Xiaobo Lake, and there are fresh fish when feasting." It tastes sour, but the silver knife is more delicious than the river carp and the river Spanish mackerel. "It tells the story of the cooking and delicious taste of the West Lake vinegar fish. West Lake vinegar fish is the most famous dish in the restaurant outside the West Lake Building in the late Qing Dynasty, and it still is.