Suzhou Zhenze Ancient Town Food Recommendations

Zhenze Ancient Town is located in the southwest of Wujiang District, Suzhou City, adjacent to Zhejiang Province. It was a port in the Tang Dynasty, a town in the Song Dynasty, and a county in the Qing Dynasty.

Every time I come to Zhenze Ancient Town, the editor sincerely sighs that the scenery on both sides of the Tang River is so charming, and even laments that there are so many delicious foods here! Zhenze is located at the junction of Jiangsu and Zhejiang. In Zegu Town, the food is not only exquisite, but also eclectic in taste. Walking along the old streets of the ancient town, you will always encounter some eye-catching goodies that will soothe your taste buds and soul.

In this issue of "Looking for Fresh Food", the editor will take you to find fresh food in Zhenze Ancient Town. Please note that it is best to "go on an empty stomach"!

Photo source: Fun Suzhou

TIPS: Come to Zhenze Ancient Town to taste delicious food. Xiaoi recommends that you drive there by yourself. Park your car in the Baota Street parking lot of the ancient town, and then walk along Baota Street to taste Renchang Shun, Four Bowl Tea House, Ren'an Xuan, Wangji Begonia Cake, Grandma Dumplings, Zhenze Laoyan Stewed Vegetable Restaurant, and then through Yuji Bridge to the other side of the river, check out Zhangji Snack Shop and Zheng Dingfeng Dried Black Tofu.

1. Renchangshun

Address: No. 1, Baota Street

Photo source: Fun Suzhou

The first store at the intersection of Baota Street Renchangshun is a famous pastry shop in Zhenze. It was founded in the third year of Tongzhi in the Qing Dynasty. The most famous pastry in Renchangshun is a piece of Dingsheng cake with large ends, thin waist and rose red color. After the third season of "A Bite of China" was broadcast, Renchangshun's Dingsheng cake suddenly became a popular "Internet celebrity" delicacy from a folk pastry hidden deep in the ancient town of Zhenze. When many tourists come to Zhenze, You have to walk through the streets and alleys to find its "trace".

Dingsheng cake has the meaning of auspiciousness, joy, and promotion. Suzhou people often give it to relatives and friends as gifts for festivals, housewarming, and weddings. Before major exams such as high school entrance exams and college entrance exams, parents of students will order this cake to pray for their children to achieve ideal results in the exams.

Renchangshun’s Dingsheng cake not only symbolizes good luck, but the ingredients and cooking methods are also full of sincerity. The main raw materials, glutinous rice and japonica rice, are Changyang rice produced at Zhenze’s doorstep. In addition, traditional ingredients such as white sugar, rose sauce, sugar suet, and bean paste are also used.

Crush glutinous rice and japonica rice into rice flour and then mix them thoroughly. After sifting the powder several times, the dough is separated into a more uniform and fine texture, making the cake softer.

Sprinkle rice flour into the Dingsheng cake mold, add other auxiliary ingredients, scrape it flat with a knife, flip it over the chopping board, and each exquisite and lovely Dingsheng cake will be formed.

The steamed Dingsheng cake exudes the fragrance of roses and the sweet aroma of sugar lard. It is small and cute, soft and chewy, and is very suitable as a souvenir for relatives and friends.

2. Four Bowls of Tea House

Address: No. 3 Baota Street

Four Bowls of Tea is a unique tea custom in Zhenze area. The locals are warm and hospitable. When a distinguished guest or a new son-in-law comes to visit, the host will offer four bowls of tea to show welcome and respect.

The Siwan Teahouse located at the corner of Baota Street is the first choice for many tourists to experience Zhenze tea customs. The owner, Wu Jinxue, has been running this teahouse since 2004. From the initial five or six tables, it has now become a popular, spacious and comfortable teahouse with a two-story store.

The so-called four bowls of tea are Waiti tea, water_egg, smoked bean tea and clear tea. They are sweet first, then salty and then light. Each bowl has its own unique taste. Waiti tea, also known as Fengqi tea and rice cake tea, is brewed from rice dumplings. It is said that Emperor Yongle once drank this tea. The water_eggs are made from farm-grown eggs, golden soft-boiled eggs, with a hint of sweetness in your mouth.

The smoked green beans, dried carrots, tangerine peel, sesame and other ingredients in the smoked bean tea are all produced in the countryside of Zhenze. The colorful colors are both beautiful and delicious. The last tea is Anji white tea. Zhenze is adjacent to Zhejiang. White tea is the most commonly drank tea by the locals.

Four bowls of tea is the way of hospitality for Zhenze people and the way of life in the Jiangnan water town. Sit in the teahouse facing the river, taste four bowls of tea, see the mirror-like reflection of the river, and enjoy the afternoon leisure time in Zhenze like the locals do!

3. Ren'anxuan< /p>

Address: No. 43, Baota Street

Photo source: Fun Suzhou

Ren'anxuan is a tea house near the river, but the store is most famous for its "Internet celebrity" "Gourmet egg yolk and fresh meat wontons. A bowl of eight wontons, each containing half a salted duck egg yolk. The wonton soup is delicious and refreshing. The wonton fillings are plump and firm, not salty and not greasy. The salty egg yolk texture makes the wontons taste rich and unique.

4. Wangji Begonia Cake

Address: No. 60, Baota Street

In almost every ancient town in the south of the Yangtze River, there is a locally famous Begonia. Cake shop, when you come to Zhenze Ancient Town, if you want to eat crabapple cake, Xiaoi recommends everyone to go to Wangji Haitang Cake. The crab apple cake stuffed with red bean paste has a strong caramel aroma. It has a crispy outside and a sweet and soft inside. It gives people a warm and tender feeling, just like the Jiangnan water town.

5. Grandma’s dumplings

Address: No. 62-1, Baota Street

Photo source: Fun Suzhou

Grandma’s dumplings, a cute one The dumpling shop opened by Zhenze’s grandma specializes in cauliflower dumplings.

Fragrant green vegetables are a traditional vegetable grown by farmers in the southwestern region of Wujiang. Thanks to the "night tide mud" along the Taihu Lake, the fragrant green vegetables grown in this soil have a unique fragrance.

Cauliflower head dumplings are the nostalgia of Zhenze people. They are filled with dried green vegetables, diced bamboo shoots and dried fragrant spices to make snow-white and round dumplings. The most simple atmosphere of human fireworks in Zhenze Ancient Town. I took the dumpling from grandma's hand and took a bite while it was hot. The unique fragrance of fragrant green vegetables lingered on my tongue.

6. Ze Laoyan Braised Vegetable Restaurant

Address: No. 67, Baota Street

Zhenze Laoyan Braised Vegetable Restaurant is a well-known braised vegetable restaurant in the ancient town. The master chef here has been making sauce duck since the 1980s, and it is the best in town. Later, the store introduced Su-style noodles with braised vegetable toppings, a bowl of exquisite sauce duck noodles. As word-of-mouth spread among diners, it also became a popular delicacy in the ancient town.

Based on the unique geographical location of the ancient town, at Lao Yan’s House, you can not only eat Su-style noodles that are comparable to restaurants in Suzhou City, but also dry noodles from Changxing, Zhejiang and thick soup noodles from Tongxiang.

7. Zhangji Snack Shop

Address: No. 4, Revegan

Zhangji Snack Shop, near the southern end of Revegan Road, Old Street, is a typical family This traditional snack bar is run by four members of the Zhang family, happily serving authentic old street flavor.

This small shop sells small soup dumplings, fried steamed buns, fried pot stickers and other snacks in the morning. Neighboring residents come here to buy breakfast. In the afternoon, the golden-fried shredded radish pancakes made their "dazzling appearance", attracting tourists.

The outer layer of the dough is burnt and fragrant, but when you bite it, you will find sweet and soft radish shreds. The fragrant taste is full of childhood memories.

8. Zheng Dingfeng’s Dried Black Tofu

Address: No. 6 Revement

Zheng Dingfeng has been making dried tofu since the Republic of China. It is a well-known restaurant in Zhenze Ancient Town. A hundred years old. To make dried black tofu, the best soybeans from the Taihu Basin are the first choice. The dried tofu is processed with honey sauce. It is delicious, moderately sweet and salty, and tastes full of bean flavor and chewy.

The fried tofu in the store is also a must-have. Many tourists passing by the store will weigh some of the shiny and golden fried tofu and take it home for cooking.

It’s always raining in Jiangnan recently.

On a wet rainy day, take a walk to Zhenze Ancient Town, taste the delicious food, listen to the wind and watch the rain by the Tang River, and experience the carefree leisure of Jiangnan!