Top 10 local Ningbo snacks

Ningbo-style pastry is one of 12 types of famous pastry in China. These pastries are exquisite and attractive in shape. They are crunchy, tender and crisp in flavor. Many of these delicious Ningbo favorites can be found at Zhaodayou Restaurant, a well-known restaurant for local Ningbo snacks and cakes.

Crystal Leaf Fat Bun

This steamed dessert is made of dough and filled with a mixture of leaf lard, nuts, melon seeds, and sugar. The most delicious crystal leaf fat bun can be found in Zhaodayou Snacks Restaurant in Ningbo.

Dragon and Phoenix Golden Cake

Dragon and Phoenix Golden Cake is one of the top 10 local Ningbo snacks, and particularly well-known throughout East Zhejiang province.

The most famous golden cake is prepared in Zhaodayou Restaurant, a well-known restaurant for Ningbo’s local snacks and cakes.

Golden in color and with a shape of a dragon and a phoenix, the cake is made of polished glutinous rice, filled with processed beans, sugar, orange peel, osmanthus flowers.

The history of the snack dates back to the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279). When the Jin invaded the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty, Lin’an (present-day Hangzhou), the emperor, Zhao Gou, fled to Mingzhou (present-day Ningbo). A village girl saved his life and served him food, including this kind of cake. When Zhao Gou recaptured the lost capital, he renamed the cake "Dragon and Phoenix Golden Cake". From then on, the cake has become a staple served at weddings.

Eight-Treasure Rice Pudding

Ningbo Eight-Treasure Rice Pudding is steamed glutinous rice with bean paste, lotus seeds, preserved fruit, longan pulp, sugar and leaf fat. Sweet and tasty, the pudding is a perfect health-care food.

Ningbo Dumpling with Leaf Fat Filling

Ningbo Dumplings ("tangtuan" in Chinese) are made from a glutinous rice flour wrapping, leaf fat, sugar and black sesame. The dumpling skin is thin, smooth, white and shiny. 

The Ningbo stuffed lard and sesame dumpling is delicious treat that visitor should not miss. Throughout China, sweet dumplings are a symbol of family reunion and happiness. In Ningbo, it is a local custom for all family members to have dumplings on the morning of the first day of the Spring Festival. 

Dumplings are very popular in the city, and the most delicious dumplings can be found at Gangyagou Sweetfood Beaufet. A popular saying in Ningbo goes: "Home-made dumplings are common, but nothing is more delicious than the dumplings in Gangyagou."

Noodle of Three Delicacies

This delicious noodle soup is prepared from select noodles with slices of chicken, port, and ham.

Shortbread with Sweetened Bean Paste

This fried snack is made of dough filled with sweetened bean paste. The snack is golden in color with sweet and crisp taste.

Small Steamed Bun with Pork Filling

The bun is prepared with wheat flour sheet and filled with a pork stuffing and seasonings. It is best served with vinegar.

Steamed Wontons and Wonton Soup

Wonton is a very popular snack in China, but the Ningbo Wonton is well-known for its long history and special flavor. Ningbo Wonton comes in two varieties: steamed wonton and wonton soup. In the past, it was a common sight to see wonton peddlers carrying kitchenettes and wonton ingredients over their shoulders, hawking and selling their wonton along the streets.