Top 10 Cuisines in Guilin

Guilin cuisine is known for its snacks and the use of chili. Many foods have a sour or spicy taste. Stir-frying and steaming are the most common cooking methods in Guilin. Below are some famous Guilin snacks, foods and cuisine you can try while traveling.

Guilin Rice Noodle

Rice Noodles are the most popular local snack of Guilin. It is smooth and delicate. The most important ingredient of Guilin Rice Noodle is the marinade. Legend has it that when Qin troops suffering from diarrhea when entering this region, a cook created the Guilin Rice Noodles for the army because they had trouble eating the local food.

He Ye Bao Ya (Duck Wrapped in Lotus Leaf)

Duck Wrapped in Lotus Leaf is a traditional local dish, which is very tasty and healthy. First, the duck is fried to golden brown, then cubes of lean pork, bamboo shoot, ham, taro, mushroom, green beans and shrimp are stir-fried with seasonings and stuffed into the duck, which is then wrapped with a lotus leaf and steamed. This dish is said to be capable of nourishing one’s stomach and consolidating one’s essence.

Yangshuo Beer Fish

Yangshuo Beer Fish is one of the most famous local dishes that are popular among people all over the world. The fresh fish cooked with beer will arouse your good appetite. When traveling in Yangshuo, if you miss this cuisine, you may miss a chance to experience the very local Yangshuo eating culture.

Lipu Taro Pork

Lipu Taro Pork is a famous specialty food in Guilin, which is made up of Lipu taro, pork. This dish is made by bean curd, and various other ingredients. The pork and taro cubes are fried separately and then steamed together, so each piece is golden on the outside and soft and flavorful from the inside.

This delicious dish can be found at most hot pot restaurants in Guilin and Yangshuo.

Guilin Water Glutinous Rice Cake  

In Guilin, this snack is often eaten for breakfast. Adding some sugar or cooking Soya while taking flour water glutinous rice cake out of the steamer, the glutinous paste is then taken out and made into balls, which are steamed in a bamboo steamer. It is more delicious, fresh, sweet and smooth. 

Nun Vegetarian Noodle

Nun Vegetarian Noodle and Guilin Rice Noodle can be called sister snacks. It is one of the local flavors of Guilin. It is said that 100 years ago, a nun in Yinzhenyan, Yueya Mountain made delicious vegetarian noodles. As time goes by, people call it Nun Noodles. The soup for this noodle is boiled with bean sprouts, fresh mushrooms, dried mushrooms, and bamboo shoots until it turns golden. The soup is then poured over the noodles, vegetables, and seasonings. The Crescent Moon Building in Seven Star Park enjoys a great reputation for its Nun Noodles.

Water Chestnut Cake

Water Chestnut Cake is delicacies of Guangdong. The main ingredient in this snack is rice flour, which is first put into a wooden mold shaped like a horse hoof. Various fillings including brown sugar, water chestnut powder and sesame powder are added. Commonly you can buy in the vendor’s stand on the streets.

Songhua Sugar

Songhua Sugar originates from the private kitchen in the former residence of Li Zongren President in Lingui District, Guilin. It was invented by a cook in Li Zongren's family. After nearly a century’s inheritance and innovation, the flavor is more attractive and sweeter but not too greasy.

Guilin Escargot

Guilin Escargot is a very local snack in Guilin. This sort of snail is large and rich in meat. They are boiled with a special Chili Sauce, Sanhua alcohol, shallot and ginger. Afterwards, they are stir-fried with all sorts of condiments and ingredients. With slightly spicy and vinegar tang, they are tasty and appetizing. You can find this snack at street vendors, or most restaurants.

You Cha (Oil Tea)

The Oil Tea in Guilin uses old leaves of black tea as main material, prepared by frying tealeaves with garlic, salt, ginger, chili. Water is then added and the mixture boiled. The tea, which is more like a broth, is poured through a wickerwork sieve (or tea strainer). The leaves in the strainer may be pounded with a hammer-like wooden pestle to release the flavor.