After visiting the famous Chaozhou bridge, we headed through the old city gate and entered the Old Town area.
Old City east gate
We walked around a bit, occasionally popping into shops to take a look at the local handicrafts. The day was brutally hot and humid, even for the locals. So it wasn’t before long that we decided to seek refuge indoors – somewhere that we can sit for a bit and fill our tummies, and most importantly, somewhere with air conditioning.
inside the Old City
The Old City area has many Chaozhou “small eats” restaurants. From what I could see, they all looked more or less the same with the same type of food. So there’s not a particular one I recommend. We were lured into a random one with the promise of air conditioning in the upstairs private room.
Sufficiently cooled, it was time to decide on our order. A lot of the food is new to both of us, so Susan and Lydia did the only reasonable thing: order a plate of everything. Of course.
Chaozhou is from the Guangdong province of China and the cuisine is pretty unique to the area. It’s one of the great 8 regional cuisines of China. It’s more delicate, focusing on mostly fresh ingredients for flavor, as opposed to heavy sauces or seasoning. I would say the flavor profile leans more towards the slightly sweet side. The result is very mild (read: sometimes bland) flavors, but fresh and considered to be more healthy since there’s not heavy oil or sauces used.
*since I procrastinate way too much on writing up these posts, I had forgotten what a few of these dishes were. Luckily, Susan was happy to help fill in the lapses in my memory so I can present the most accurate information!
First to come is a bowl of appetizer soup for everyone. This is a slightly sweet soup with rice balls (tang yuan), white woodear, and sweet red dates. The rice balls have sweet fillings, such as black sesame or peanut paste.
If you’re not Chinese, you may never have heard of woodear. It’s a type of mushroom/fungus that’s thin and kind of resembles a bath loofah in its dried state. The texture is a bit crunchy and jelly-like. It’s believed to have medicinal purposes like cooling the body. I can tell you that this soup was perfect on a hot day. I slurped down both mine and D’s.
Soon, a steady stream of plates arrived to our table.
Fried taro cubes – the taro itself is plain in flavor but these are crusted with a sugar layer. Told you they like their food sweet here.
Pork trotter jelly – yep, it’s what it sounds like. The lower grade meat (such as trotters and skin) are boiled in water with spices for so long that the collagen and gelatin dissolve into the broth, which then can be cooled and set into a jelly.
Brief interruption here for a group photo:
Lydia + daughter, Susan + son, me + D, Susan’s husband, and Lydia’s husband
And now, back to regularly scheduled foodgramming:
Oyster omelette – I’ve had this in Taipei before. It wasn’t my favorite then and it still isn’t my favorite now. It’s a pancake made with flour + egg batter, which would be delicious, if not for the oysters hidden within every bite…
Chaozhou is located next to the ocean and is actually directly across from the island of Taiwan, so it’s not surprising that they share some cultural similarities. Seafood is a big part of Chaozhou cuisine, but unfortunately, I’ve never been that much of a fan.
Crispy spring rolls
Side note: I really love how Susan, Lydia, and their families didn’t think I was weird for taking photos of all the foods. In fact, they encouraged it, pushing each plate to me for photos as they arrived. I think they are excited to get a little exposure for their town. :)
Beef meatball soup
Fried radish balls
Sticky rice sausages – these were SO good! Sticky rice, chestnuts, corn, mushrooms, and ham stuffed inside of pork intestine casing, then boiled, sliced, and drizzled with a slightly sweetened sauce.
Little rice flour bites with salted pickled radishes – this reminded me of banh beo in Vietnam. A little sweet, a little salty, a little sour… delicious!
Pan-fried dumplings – we got two different fillings: bamboo shoots and egg + chives. These are different from the dumplings I’m used to because the wrappers are made from rice flour instead of wheat. This makes the wrappers a little stickier and chewier.
Pan-fried radish cakes
Oh look, we were responsible and got a plate of veggies too :P
Sweet and sour meatballs – this was probably one of the most interesting dishes. Meatballs coated with batter and lightly fried. When I asked what was inside, Susan told me it’s minced pork, mati (马蹄), and onions. Mati?? As in horse hooves?! Luckily, no. That’s just another word for ‘water chestnuts’.
And lastly, a Chaozhou specialty: roast goose.
A picture of the spread of all the dishes:
It looked like a lot of food, but we polished off every last bite. I remember being absolutely stuffed. And with full tummies, we were off once again to brave the sweltering heat…
I feel so lucky to have experienced Chaozhou and its food. I don’t think Chaozhou is a place on most people’s China itinerary. Even for someone from China, I’ve never even heard of it. This was a short visit, but I feel like I walked away with a much better understanding of this city’s culture, history, and food. And many, many thanks to Susan, Lydia, and their families for the wonderful day!
Have you had any food similar to any of these before?
Linking up with Monday Escapes.
Mmm I really want to try rice balls!
I’m all hungry for my dinner now!
The sweet rice balls in soup are SO good! I just went to this place in Taipei famous for these rice balls the other day, and I crave them all the time now!
I’m seeing some similarities to Taiwanese cooking here! All of this looks delicious– call me biased, but I love the way Asian cuisine approaches vegetables and seafood. :) Also, you look gorgeous in that photo!
Awww you’re too sweet, Daisy! Everything was really good (except for the oysters :P)! I really like how that part of China do their veggies too.
Everything looks so good! I’m especially craving the tang yuan, the fried taro, and the rice flour bites! Looks so yummy :) I definitely see the similarities to Taiwanese cuisine. I loved oyster omelettes when I was in Taiwan, but I guess seafood is one of those things you either love or hate. I guess if I ever do go to China, I should check out Chaozhou to get a taste of Taiwan :)
Yeah I’ve never liked seafood much, especially the mollusk type stuff :/. I don’t think too many tourists go to Chaozhou but it was a beautiful and interesting place! It’d be a good side trip from Hong Kong because it’s close!
Wow! I would jump into trying these new (at least to me) flavors. I have to check where in Los Angeles I can get food from this province. In an area called the San Gabriel Valley, food from every province of China can be found.
Ooh yes, I’m familiar with San Gabriel Valley :). I know there’s a lot of Guangdong food there (the province of China where this city is from), but some of these dishes still seem to be quite unique. Let me know if you ever do look for one!
my mom makes the fried taro coated in sugar.. hehe.. delicious. =) also, going to send you an email!
Ooh how interesting that Cambodia has that dish too! I’ll keep an eye out for the email! Haven’t seen it come through yet.
well my grandpa is from Chaozhou so my mom knew how to make it because she’s teochew born in cambodia. =) a large exodus of teochew resettled in southeast asia in the 1900’s. =)
Ohhh yum! I love sharing plates at restaurants, that way you get to sample so much more ;) I love the look of those dumplings, they looks delicious. And, those green veggies look so deliciously green to me!
A lot of those were vegetarian so you would have no trouble finding food there! :)
Huh… they look totally different from the Teochew cuisine we get in Malaysia. Strange. (Teochew = Chaozhou, pronounced in their own dialect)
Ohhhh thanks for clearing that up for me! I have heard of Teochew (I believe in singapore?) but never made the connection that it’s Chaozhou. That’s cool that it spread that far. I’ll have to see what they have in Malaysia :).
So cool! I love seeing food from around the world. I plan on exploring Asia in a few years and always wonder what’s available for vegetarians, but it looks like you found plenty in Chaozhou! I do think I’ll probably have to start eating fish and seafood since I know it’s hard to avoid, but that’s totally okay by me – I’d be missing out on important cultural experiences otherwise!
I admit that I usually avoid the local fish & seafood dishes because I just don’t really like the taste. But since you’re already missing out on the meat dishes, might as well get into seafood ;). I don’t think you’ll have too much trouble going vegetarian (or pescatarian!) in Asia… they’re pretty big on veggies and tofu!
YUMMM. I love the oyster omelettes actually! I grew up with them every time we went back to Taiwan. I agree with Daisy, btw. You look stunning!
Thanks Michelle! You’re too kind. I just cannot get past the texture and taste of oysters!
Gosh this is SO much food! I’m not big on sweet stuff, but I kinda like the idea with the meatballs and sausages. Now that I’m home, Asian food is about to be way too much of a priority.
Oh those sausages were SO good! Yessss gorge yourself on Asian food! Although, you are coming to SEA in a few weeks, right? :)
I am chinese, and love the way we eat – lots of different dishes so you can try everything! I’ve never been to Chaozhou region of China but the food definitely looks familiar. Thanks for linking up with #MondayEscapes and a very happy new year
I love the Chinese way of eating too! It’s so much more fun than everyone just eating their own individual dish! Thanks for stopping by :).
Yum! My family likes to order a bit of everything too..the sweet and sour meatballs look insane. I’m reading this at lunch hour..starving now!
Yeah, sharing everything is the best way to eat! Everything was so unique and good! Thanks so much for stopping by and taking the time to leave a comment. :)
Food attack early this year!! Bring it on… grt post! :D
Chaozhou food is one of my favorite Chinese regional foods alongside with Cantonese food, those dishes on the pictures looked great.
I knew Chaozhou food for the first time through my father who lives in Singapore, my father introduced me to many Chaozhou dishes when I came to Singapore to visit him there.
My favorite Chaozhou dishes:
1. Popiah: Chaozhou style un-fried spring rolls.
2. Braised meats (braised duck, goose, and pork): My father has ever cooked braised meat for my 21st birthday.
3. Chaozhou Porridge: Best served warm with salted eggs and other dishes for companions.
4. Fishball noodles: Nice comfort food
5. Chaozhou Beef Noodles: My father has ever cooked and I quite like it.
6. Chaouzhou Seafood Noodles: I tried this at Singapore with my father and I loved it.
7. Oyster Omelette: I could make this dish at home
8. Chaozhou Steamboat: Best served with taro pieces
9. Chaozhou Steamed Pomfret: Best served with plum and sour vegetables
10. Pan fried yam cake: I love the combination of crispy and soft of this dish.