Nantong cuisine focuses on fresh river food, tea-themed delicacies, and traditional Huaiyang cuisine, combining local ingredients with traditional techniques. The following recommendations are based on recent events and classic dishes:
Specialty Recommendations
Braised Langshan Chicken
Using Rudong Langshan chicken, this dish is slow-cooked for three hours, resulting in moist skin, tender meat, and a rich, savory broth. It was featured in the "Famous Chinese Recipes."
Razor Clam Soup and Mandarin Clam Pancakes
Prepared on-site at a famous Rudong seafood restaurant, the razor clam soup offers a vibrant flavor, while the mandarin clam pancakes combine the aromas of seafood and pasta.
Baipu Dried Tea Leaves
Made from Northeastern soybeans through over twenty steps, these amber-colored dried tea leaves can be mixed with shredded green peppers or braised, making them a versatile bean-flavored snack.
Shigang Yeast Cakes
Made after the Beginning of Spring, they are made with 70% polished rice and 30% glutinous rice, topped with fresh osmanthus bean paste. Steamed, they are pristinely white and fluffy, with a sweet but not greasy texture. Rugao Dongtang (Dongtang)
Made in twelve steps, it combines the aroma of sesame with the sweetness of maltose, perfect with Biluochun tea.
Recommended Restaurants
Brothers Restaurant (Qixiu Road Branch)
A 20-year-old establishment, their signature spicy chicken is crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, and their stir-fried clams are juicy and tender. Average price per person: around 40 yuan.
Yuweixiang Sichuan Restaurant (Haobei Road Branch)
Specializing in Sichuan cuisine, their braised pig throat is crispy and spicy, around 60 yuan per person, and their specialty, drunken mud snails, is fresh and crispy.
Sihailou (Tongzhou Branch)
A century-old establishment, their crab roe buns are rich in broth, and their dried white cattail tea is tender and fragrant. Average price per person: around 56 yuan.