Fujian Travel
Xiamen Food Guide
Xiamen, a coastal city filled with Nanyang charm, has a food culture as rich and diverse as its history. As a representative city of Minnan culture, Xiamen's cuisine blends flavors from Minnan, Chaoshan, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia, known for its fresh, crispy, and authentic taste. From street stalls to high-end restaurants, every bite will let you experience the unique charm of this city.
I. Must-Try Classic Snacks
1. Satay Noodles
Status: The absolute ace of Xiamen snacks, the city's food business card.Features: The essence lies in the satay soup, which is simmered with dozens of ingredients such as peanuts, dried shrimps, chili, and spices. It has a golden color, a salty, spicy, and slightly sweet taste. Diners can choose to add pork liver, squid, tofu, shrimp, pig blood, and other ingredients, making it affordable for all.
Recommended Restaurants:
- Wutang Satay Noodles (No. 76 Minzu Road, Siming District): Simmer soup at 4 am every day, adhering to "no franchise, no delivery". The soup is freshest in the morning.
- Yuehua Satay Noodles (No. 78 Zhenbang Road, Siming District): A time-honored restaurant with rich and mellow satay soup.
- Sili Satay Noodles (Sili Hubin, Siming District): A favorite among locals with rich ingredients.
2. Oyster Omelette
Status: Known as "oyster omelette" in Minnan dialect, it is a well-known classic snack.Features: Made by frying sweet potato starch, eggs, scallions, and fresh oysters on an iron plate. It has a soft, chewy texture with crispy edges, and the oysters are tender and juicy. It is best eaten with Xiamen sweet chili sauce for a better flavor.
Recommended Restaurants:
- Lianhuan Oyster Omelette (No. 33-2 Jukou Lane, Jukou Street, Zhongshan Road, Siming District): A time-honored restaurant with fresh oysters and excellent frying skills.
- Huang Laobo's Oyster Omelette (No. 131 Kangtai Road): Made to order with a crispy texture.
3. Earthworm Jelly
Status: Xiamen's most legendary and daring signature snack.Features: "Earthworm" is not bamboo shoots, but a type of marine worm called "star worm". After simmering, the jelly from the worm's body dissolves into the water and solidifies into a crystal-clear jelly-like substance when cooled. It has a chewy texture and is served with soy sauce, Yongchun vinegar, garlic, and mustard, making it fresh, crispy, and unique in flavor.
Recommended Restaurants:
- Tianhe Ximen Earthworm Jelly (No. 33 Douxi Road, Siming District): A long-established restaurant with authentic earthworm jelly.
- Dongji Fish Porridge (No. 31 Taishan Road): Earthworm jelly paired with fish porridge is a classic Minnan breakfast combination.
4. Peanut Soup
Status: Xiamen's favorite traditional dessert, especially suitable for breakfast or afternoon tea.Features: Peanuts are simmered until they are soft and melt in the mouth. The soup is milky white and has a sweet and refreshing taste. Locals like to crack an egg into the bowl and pour the hot peanut soup over it to make it even more creamy and fragrant.
Recommended Restaurants:
- Huang Zehe Peanut Soup Shop (No. 22-24 Zhongshan Road): A century-old time-honored brand. Peanut soup paired with five-spice roll is a classic.
- Sibe Peanut Soup (No. 106-2 Siming North Road): Open late at night, the egg version is highly favored.
5. Braised Pork Rice Dumplings
Status: Unlike Zhejiang rice dumplings, Xiamen's pork dumplings are "braised" and have rich fillings.Features: Glutinous rice is stir-fried first, then wrapped with braised pork, mushrooms, salted egg yolk, dried shrimps, chestnuts, etc. Before eating, it should be dipped in sweet chili sauce, peanut butter, and cilantro, creating a rich and layered taste that is salty and fragrant.
Recommended Restaurants:
- 1980 Braised Pork Rice Dumplings (No. 353 Zhongshan Road): Made and cooked fresh every day, with long queues.
- Wu Zaitian Snack Shop (No. 7, Meihu Road, Hexiang West Road): A time-honored restaurant with rich and flavorful braised pork rice dumplings.
6. Thin Noodle Soup
Status: A classic breakfast choice for Xiamen people, warm and comforting.Features: Made with extremely thin noodles and sweet potato starch cooked into a paste. The soup is usually simmered with big bones and seafood, making it extremely delicious. Diners can choose to add pig blood, large intestine, squid, vinegar pork, fried dough sticks, and other ingredients, creating a smooth and easy-to-digest texture.
Recommended Restaurants:
- Fuyu Thin Noodle Soup (No. 200 Xiahe Road, Siming District): The soup is simmered for 8 hours with fresh ingredients.
- A Ling Thin Noodle Soup (No. 155-1 Wenping Villa): Limited to 300 bowls per day, regular customers need to arrive early.
7. Five-Spice Roll
Features: Pork (with both fat and lean meat), water chestnuts, scallions, etc., are seasoned with five-spice powder, sugar, etc., rolled into long strips with bean curd skin, and fried until crispy. When eaten, it is cut into small pieces and dipped in sweet chili sauce, creating a crispy exterior and tender interior with a fragrant aroma.
Recommended Restaurants:
- Freshly Fried Five-Spice Roll in Eighth Market: Fried and sold on-site in the Eighth Market, with a fragrant aroma.
- A Jie Five-Spice Roll (No. 111 Kaihe Road): A time-honored restaurant with crispy five-spice rolls.
II. Classic Main Dishes
1. Ginger Duck
Status: Originated from Quanzhou, but it is also very popular in Xiamen as a nourishing dish.Features: Uses red-faced Muscovy duck, simmered slowly with a large amount of old ginger (ginger mother), sesame oil, and rice wine until the duck meat is tender and flavorful. It has a strong ginger aroma, firm and chewy duck meat, and a rich soup that is warm but not dry.
Recommended Restaurants:
- Guanding Ginger Duck (No. 24-2 Xiagang Xincun Store): A well-known restaurant near Xiamen University with a fragrant ginger duck.
- Duck Villa Ginger Duck (No. 115 Shigu Road, Room 105-2): A popular restaurant in Jimei District.
2. Tong'an Braised Pork
Status: A traditional dish in Tong'an, a "hard dish" at Xiamen banquets.Features: A whole pork knuckle (with skin) is wrapped in gauze, and ingredients such as mushrooms, dried shrimps, chestnuts, etc., are added. It is braised with soy sauce, sugar, star anise, etc., until it is extremely tender and flavorful. The meat is fat but not greasy, melts in the mouth, and the braising sauce is thick and fragrant.
Recommended Restaurants:
- Conghui Tong'an Braised Pork (No. 24 Dayuan Road): Next to A Jizi Pie Shop, with soft and tender braised pork.
- Tong'an Restaurant (Next to Dongdu No. 6 Middle School, Hening Road): Near the Cruise Center Wharf with authentic braised pork.
3. Soy Sauce Braised Seafood
Status: The most authentic and homely way to cook seafood in Xiamen, and it is the standard to test whether a food stall is authentic.Features: Simple preparation method, using soy sauce, water, ginger, garlic, fermented black beans, and other simple seasonings to quickly braise fresh sea fish (such as yellow croaker, noon fish, oyster fish). It retains the original flavor of the seafood to the greatest extent, making it salty and delicious, perfect with rice.
Recommended Restaurants:
- Kaiyuan 141 Food Stall (No. 141 Kaiyuan Road): A time-honored food stall with authentic soy sauce braised seafood.
- Little Glasses Food Stall (No. 7 Hubin Middle Road): A popular seafood food stall with highly praised soy sauce braised seafood.
III. Special Drinks and Desserts
1. Four-Fruit Soup
Features: A summer heat-relief masterpiece. In ice-cold sugar water, add agar jelly (a type of seaweed jelly) and various ingredients such as adzuki beans, mung beans, coix seeds, taro balls, pineapple, etc., making it refreshing and thirst-quenching with a rich texture.
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