Must eat in Guangzhou — 13+ must eat food, famous & best street food in Guangzhou

Known as the “capital of Chinese food”, Guangzhou is home to a long history of culinary art and beverage. The city’s cuisine is a harmonious combination of the flavors of traditional Chinese Guangdong dishes and sophisticated Western cuisine. Guangzhou people pay great attention to color, flavor, and presentation, especially in snacks or small treats. So, what to eat in Guangzhou? Let’s check out our suggested 13+ must eat food in Guangzhou (must eat in Guangzhou) including best food in Guangzhou, best street food in Guangzhou and famous food in Guangzhou as follows!

Below is a list of 13+ local snacks you cannot miss when traveling in Guangzhou that we highly recommend you try.

Wonton noodles (# best street food in guangzhou)

Dishes made from flour are not typical of Guangzhou cuisine, but wonton noodles are quite popular here and are a typical dish in the Cantonese region of China. Wonton noodles are also known by the name ‘huntun’. Legend has it that while on a trip, Emperor Qianlong got lost and found a small eatery. Unfortunately, the food ran out, so the shop owner instantly scraped together some flour, shrimp, and a few eggs. He quickly kneaded the dough and created a dish he had never seen before. Emperor Qianlong ate it all and was moved to name the dish that way.

A bowl of wonton noodles usually consists of two main parts: wonton and noodles, served in a bowl of hot soup and decorated with chives, eggs, and chopped green onions. Inside the thin shell of the wonton, the filling is a mixture of chopped shrimp, pork, and egg, or even a whole shrimp. The noodles are made from flour and eggs and pressed with bamboo, so they are often yellow, quite chewy, and slippery. The broth is cooked with pork or fish bones, but the detailed recipe is often kept secret by restaurants. For only about RMB 10, you can enjoy a bowl of fresh wonton noodles with an authentic Guangzhou taste.

Cantonese He Fen rice noodles (# best food in guangzhou)

Rice noodles have a long history in China and He Fen rice noodles are no exception. The most famous snack in Guangzhou, this dish is also known as Shahe, named after the village where it was first created, Shahe Town, now part of Tianhe District in Guangzhou. Shahe is white, thin, and plain in taste. They are often stir-fried with meat (beef on most occasions) and vegetables, cooked with fish slices and vegetables along with soup, or eaten cold with fruit or vegetable juices. Fried rice noodles made the 2009 list of America’s 10 most beloved recipes, published on the Los Angeles Times website.

Steamed rice noodle rolls (# famous food in guangzhou)

It’s hard to find a visitor to Guangzhou who doesn’t know about steamed rice noodle rolls. This dish originated in Guangzhou and has been popular for a long time. About a century ago, vendors were selling steamed rice noodle rolls as a snack on the streets of Guangzhou.

Steamed rice noodle rolls appear quite similar to Vietnamese rice noodle rolls with the filling rolled into a thin rice noodle cover. Just like He Fen noodles, rice noodle leaves are made from pureed rice flour and steamed on thin cloth sheets, but they are not cut into threads but separated into thin, shiny rice noodle leaves. Then, the chefs will wrap the filling made of pork, beef, shrimp, or other ingredients in rice noodle leaves and roll it up. When serving, people pour sweet soy sauce onto the shiny steamed rice noodle rolls. Thus, this dish has a quite rich and unique flavor.

In Guangzhou, steamed rice noodle rolls are a very popular simple dish. It’s served everywhere, from modest eateries to the breakfast buffet at your hotel. The price of a meal for one person with steamed rice noodle rolls is usually about RMB 19.

Yum Cha – Morning tea (# must eat food in guangzhou)

If the British have a culture of afternoon tea, the Vietnamese have a culture of drinking coffee, then Yum Cha (morning dim sum) is one of the most important parts of the traditional culture of the Guangdong region in China. Yum Cha, which translates to morning tea, is an enjoyable Cantonese pastime and an essential custom of daily life for many locals. And as its name suggests, Chinese tea–with its digestive-stimulating effect–is an indispensable part of Yum Cha. Popular Yum Cha teas in Guangzhou include the Oolong tea, Tieguanyin, and Pu’er tea.

Besides Chinese tea, dim sum also plays a particularly important role in Yum Cha. Dim sum can be divided into wet and dry types. The dry dim sum includes steamed shrimp dumplings, char siu dumplings, steamed sponge cakes, shumai, and so on. Wet dim sum includes phoenix chicken feet, porridge, and tofu.

Pantang water chestnut cake (# must eat in guangzhou)

Originating from the name of the village where the best water chestnuts are produced, Pantang will be a unique dish that conquers every diner upon their arrival in Guangzhou. How to make water chestnut cake is quite simple, just mix the chestnut powder with sugar water and steam it, and you can immediately enjoy this delight. Pantang is usually cut into cubes and steamed or fried before serving.

This cake is quite soft but still retains its shape when consumed. The cake is usually golden brown in color, smooth, fresh, and delicious, with a rich chestnut flavor. Sometimes, the cake also has chopped chestnuts dipped into each square piece. If you want to have the best experience with this dish in Guangzhou, enjoy Pantang in the morning.

Tingzai congee (# what to eat in guangzhou)

Tingzai congee means boat porridge. The name also points to the dish’s origins: In ancient times, this porridge was served to sampans in the western suburbs of Guangzhou. Because of their busy lives, they can only prepare and eat this porridge on their own boat.

Tingzai porridge uses fresh shrimp or fish as the main ingredient, cooked with jellyfish, fried peanuts, eggs, green onions, and ginger. A well-prepared bowl of Tingzai porridge should be mushy and sweet and contain a blended flavor of all the added ingredients. Today, Tingzai porridge can be found in many restaurants in Guangzhou, from roadside eateries to luxury hotel restaurants, but it is no longer served on sampan boats.

Roast goose

The Chinese have a saying: roast duck in the North, roast goose in the South. If you have ever heard of or tried the world-renowned Peking duck dish, then the roasted goose in Guangzhou is also worth a try. This dish is made by roasting a whole goose that has been marinated with spices in a charcoal oven at a high temperature. High-quality roasted goose will be red in color with crispy skin and juicy, rich, soft, and moist meat. Slices of roast goose will be served with plum sauce. The golden, fragrant, sweet, and rich slices of roasted goose meat with the sour sauce will absolutely satisfy the appetite of any diner.

Double skin milk

Similar to pudding or flan, double skin milk is a very simple and sweet dessert, made from fresh milk, sugar, and egg whites. In Guangzhou, double skin milk is the most popular dessert among young girls, and it is also a delicious, nutritious, and easily digestible dish for everyone. A bowl of double skin milk has a delicate aroma and flavor.

As its name suggests, this dessert has two layers: Milk is carefully boiled with a layer of sugar, and on top is a mixture of milk and egg whites. The two-layered dessert is quite soft, sweet-smelling, at the same time, rich in nutrients and supporting skin care and lung nourishment. When serving, you can add fruit, lotus seeds, raisins, or red beans to enhance the taste. In addition to regular restaurants, you can also find double skin milk at mini supermarkets or grocery stores in Guangzhou.

Ginger milk pudding (Jiang Zhuang Nai)

Ginger milk pudding is a dessert made from milk and ginger juice. The name Jiang Zhuang Nai in Chinese means the blend of ginger and milk in jelly form. Shawan ginger milk is a famous snack of the Panyu District with more than 100 years of history. Ginger in Chinese medicine is a very good drug for the stomach and spleen and also has the function of eliminating flus and relieving colds. Combined with nutritious buffalo milk, ginger milk has many health benefits. This snack is suitable for drinking on cold winter days and has the effect of nourishing the body and instantly warming it up.

Shunji coconut ice cream

Shunji is a long-standing ice cream brand in Guangzhou. Among selections, the most famous choice is coconut ice cream, first invented by a supplier named Lv Shun in the 1920s using coconut water, fresh buffalo milk, eggs, and white sugar. This ice cream is not only eye-catching but also has an extremely rich, fresh coconut scent with a unique flavor. Many honored guests and heads of state from abroad who came to Guangzhou tried this ice cream and enjoyed the taste of it.

Dimsum

If there’s anything delicious to eat in Guangzhou city, you can’t miss Dimsum. The dish consists of many small sized snacks. All will be divided and placed in the steamer basket. The unique feature of DimSum in Guangzhou compared to the North is the use of a variety of ingredients such as rice flour and vegetables. Meanwhile, in the North, wheat flour is used mainly.

Egg tarts

For desserts, you can try egg tarts. This is a very famous cake in Guangzhou city. Egg tart has a fragrant, fatty flavor. This is considered a fusion between Eastern and Western cultures.

Stinky tofu

A fairly popular dish will be introduced when asked what is delicious in Guangzhou city. Stinky tofu is essentially tofu that has been fermented more than normal. When processing, people will add a lot of spicy spices, overwhelming its rot. The combination of fatty, spicy, and fragrant flavors truly creates a piece of Guangzhou cuisine that cannot be missed.

Besides the above dishes, you can refer to other dishes. For example, savory dishes include Tingzai ground porridge, Cantonese beef rice, and various types of hot pot. For desserts, there are double-layer custard, ginger milk pudding, Shunnj coconut ice cream, etc. These are dishes that are considered delicious and affordable. Especially demonstrating the culinary cultural identity of Guangzhou city compared to other regions.

“If you want good food, go to Guangzhou”–indeed, Guangzhou is not only a shopping paradise but also the capital of Cantonese cuisine, and Chinese cuisine as a whole. The dishes here are the perfect combination of traditional and modern flavors through the integration process of the vibrant city. Enjoying the city’s specialties, sipping some tea during a Yum Cha session, or sampling light snacks are some of the experiences for visitors to fully appreciate the exciting city home to 12 million people. We wish you a fun and meaningful trip to Guangzhou!

Some best day tours, trips, activities and transfer services, tickets in, from and to Guangzhou you can refer to

• Guangzhou Sunac Snow Park Admission Ticket
• Guangzhou Chimelong Safari Park
• Chimelong Hotel Guangzhou
• Guangzhou Sunac Water Park Admission Ticket
• Chimelong International Circus Guangzhou
• Chimelong Water Park Ticket in Guangzhou
• Chimelong Birds Park Guangzhou
• Private City Transfers between Guangzhou and Hong Kong
• Guangzhou Chimelong Hotel Buffet
• Qingyuan Gulong Gorge Drifting Glass Grand Canyon
• Guangzhou Sunac Land Admission Ticket
• Chimelong Paradise Guangzhou
• Guangzhou Science Center Ticket
• Canton Tower
• Chimelong Safari Park and Birds Park Tickets in Guangzhou
• Guangzhou Zhengjia Penguin Ice and Snow World Tickets

Read more Guangzhou travel guide here.