Hangzhou's food culture has a long history, and it has always been called the paradise food house. Hangzhou dishes has a long history. It combines the beauty of mountains and rivers and draws on the strengths of major cuisines. It is one of the eight major cuisines in China and is a school of Zhejiang cuisine in the south of the Yangtze River. The famous specialties are: West Lake vinegar fish, Dongpo meat, south breast meat, Huatong chicken, steamed shad and so on.

1. West Lake Vinegar Fish

West Lake Vinegar Fish, commonly known as West Lake Vinegar Fish among the people, is one of the traditional famous dishes in Hangzhou.

The history of vinegar fish in West Lake begins with the "Song Saoyu Soup" in Hangzhou in the Southern Song Dynasty more than 8 years ago. It is said that at the end of the Northern Song Dynasty, Jin Bing invaded, and Zhao Gou, King of Kang, fled to the south, making Lin 'an his capital. At that time, a woman, called Song Wusao, refused to be ruled by invaders, and fled to Lin 'an from the north with her brother-in-law, making a living by fishing at the West Lake. Once, my brother-in-law was caught in a rainstorm and fell ill in bed. Wusao was cooking fish and eggs for his brother-in-law to supplement his health. Unexpectedly, the officers and men came to catch young men to build a palace. Sister Song pleaded with the officers and men not to catch his bedridden brother-in-law, and accidentally knocked over the wine vinegar bottle on the stove. After the officers and men left, the fish eggs in the pot were cooked into a soup, but the brother-in-law felt extremely delicious after eating it, and his appetite was wide open, and he soon recovered. Since then, the neighborhood imitation has become a delicious fish soup. Later, when Emperor Xiaozong of the Southern Song Dynasty visited the West Lake, he summoned Sister Wu of the Song Dynasty. After tasting the fish soup, he was greatly appreciated. He was rewarded with a large sum of money and gave a wine flag as a rainbow, allowing him to cook fish soup and sell official wine exclusively. "Song Saoyu Soup" has become a famous dish among fish dishes through continuous improvement. Louwailou Restaurant, which was founded in the light years of the Qing Dynasty, inherited this famous dish and innovated into a "West Lake Vinegar Fish" with fresh, sweet and sour taste of crab meat, and promoted it as "the first dish in the West Lake by Song Sister-in-law of Beijing" and became the first famous dish in Hangzhou.

2. Dongpo Meat

Dongpo Meat is one of the famous dishes in Hangzhou. According to legend, Su Dongpo was appointed as the local official of Hangzhou for the second time during the Yuan You period of the Northern Song Dynasty. When he saw that the West Lake had not been dredged for a long time, the grass was overgrown and it had lost its function of storing and discharging. Then tens of thousands of migrant workers were mobilized to dredge the West Lake, build dikes and irrigate fields, and benefit the people. On the day of completion, the people of the whole city killed pigs and cooked wine and dedicated them to Su Taishou. Su Dongpo refused to accept his words, but he felt very kind. He came up with an idea and ordered the chef to cut the meat he sent into small pieces, cook it "slowly, with little water" and give it to the migrant workers together with the wine. The chef mistakenly thought that wine and meat were cooked together, and the meat cooked was particularly mellow and delicious, unique and delicious. Su Dongpo faces the West Lake and eats with migrant workers. Migrant workers call this delicious meat "Dongpo Meat".

"Dongpo Meat" has been circulated in Hangzhou for more than 8 years, and the "Dongpo Meat" cooked by Tianxianglou is the most famous.

3. South Milk Meat

South Milk Meat is stewed with streaked pork and red fermented bean curd marinade. Folk call it "a product of southern breast meat". Legend has it that the Southern Song Dynasty declined, and Yuan soldiers invaded the south on a large scale. At that time, Jia Sidao, the power minister, monopolized the state affairs and ignored the country's peril. The ruling and opposition parties complained bitterly about his mistakes in the country and harmed the people. Therefore, the people moved Jia Sidao's first-class official title to his hometown dish, Nanru Meat, to express their hatred for Jia Sidao's eating meat. As the saying goes, "the power of the country is wrong, and the country dishes are handed down from generation to generation." Since then, "Yipin Nanru Meat" has also become an authentic Hang Cheng dish.

4. It's called Huatong Chicken

"Huatong Chicken" is the earliest traditional delicacies introduced by Hangzhou Tianxianglou and other Hangzhou restaurants, with a history of more than 4 years. According to legend, the beggar stole the chicken, and when there was no pot to burn, he used dirt to paste the hairy chicken into a ball with its head and feet, collected firewood to cook the chicken, and when it fell on the spot, it was burnt to pieces, and the chicken feathers peeled off with the burnt soil, making it a delicious beggar chicken. "Jiaohua Chicken" is a traditional dish in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces with the names of "Jiaohua Child Chicken" and "Jiaohua Babaoji" because of its unique taste and continuous improvement in cooking.

5. Steamed shad

Shad is a rare fish that swims in rivers and seas. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the first batch of shad caught in the waters from Qiantang River to Fuchun River at the turn of spring and summer had to be sent to the government before they could continue to catch them. Some people also took shad as a sign of good harvest. According to legend, Liu Xiu, Emperor Guangwu of the Eastern Han Dynasty, tasted shad and praised it for its delicious taste when he visited Yan Ziling who lived in seclusion by the Fuchun River more than 1,9 years ago.