Ningbo is famous for its softness and the original taste and flavor of food. Lying near the sea, Ningbo has access to abundant sea products. Hence, seafood, especially fish, is preferred in the local cuisine. Many of the ten famous dishes of this region are made of sea food like Steamed Turtle in Crystal Sugar Soup,Braised Eel ,Bean Curd Skin Roll with Yellow Croaker and so on.
In addition to these famous dishes, Ningbo also boasts many delicate and delicious noshes. The most famous one is Rice Glue Ball (Stuffed Dumpling Ball). The skin of the dumpling ball is made of fine glutinous rice power so that it is quite soft and smooth. The common stuffing is made of lard, fine sugar and black sesame. The stuffing can also be made of ham or lean meat. The various stuffings offer different tastes like sweet or salt with a distinctive aroma. Authentic Ningbo stuffed dumpling balls are there for you to enjoy at Gangyagou Rice Glue Ball Restaurant at No.7 Xianxue Street, Haishu District, Ningbo City.
Steamed Turtle in Crystal Sugar Soup
Steamed Turtle in Crystal Sugar Soup may be the No.1 dish among the famous ten dishes of Ningbo. It has two kinds of flavors to choose , sweet and salty ,both of which tastes soft and tender. Its bright golden color can easily arouses the customer’s appetite. Besides the tasty flavor, this dish is also invigorating since it is rich in protein, iodine and vitamin B.Yellow Croaker with Preserved Vegetables is made with a large yellow croaker from Zhoushan Fishery and Ningbo’s famous potherb mustard. It is tender, crisp and delicious with a special fragrance.
Bean Curd Skin Roll with Yellow Croaker
Bean Curd Skin Roll with Yellow Croaker is also very popular among the Ning bo locals. The beancurd roll is cut into small pieces and deep-fried. The skin is crisp while the fish inside is fresh and tender. Add some vinegar sauce and enjoy the pleasant taste.In addition to these famous dishes, the city of Ningbo also has many tasty snacks, such as Ningbo lard dumpling, Xikou multi-layered cake and so on.
Xikou qianceng cake
It is square with 27 clear-cut layers inside. It is golden and green. It is fragrant and crisp, salty amid sweetness, and fresh with a unique flavor. It said to have a history of more than 100 years.
Tangyuan in rice wine
The sweet and delicious snack is quite popular in Ningbo city. It is made of fine quality glutinous rice as its raw material. The rice will be processed by water and milling. The rice powder is rubbed by hands to become many tiny balls. Yeast should be added to the balls after they have been steamed. Preserve for a few day in clean environment. Then they will become attractively fragrant and pretty sweet. The balls should be put in boiled water and they will float on the surface, and then add rice wine, fine white sugar and chicken egg sauce into the bowl. Stir for a while, add osmanthus sugar, and then the sweet Glutinous Rice Dumplings in Sweet Rice Wine is ready to serve.
Ningbo Tangyuan
Tangyuan (rice dumpling) is one of the most popular snacks in Ningbo and also a representative snack in China. It was said that Tangyuan traced its origin back to Song Dynasty. At that time, a novel food sprang up accidentally across the country. It is made of glutinous rice shaped into balls with fruit pastry as stuffing. When fully cooked, it tastes sweet and delicious. The sticky-rice balls float but sometime sink in cauldron, hence the name of Fuyuanzi (Floating Ball). Later, it was renamed as Yuanxiao. Different from in northern China, locals in Ningbo has a traditional custom that in the morning of Spring Festival all family members sit together to have Tangyuan.
Other food in Ningbo
Dry Fried River Eel
Fried Lichen Cubes
Steamed Pork Wrapped in Lotus Leaf
Goose Liver with Lard
Recommended Restaurants
The authentic Ningbo Cuisine (especially seafood)
Sunward Fishery Restaurants:
Caihong location
Address: No.236, Caihong Road, Jiangdong Distric
Bus Routes: 10,804,820,360,367,514,506,560
Zhongxin location
Address: No.977, Yinzhou Road, Yinzhou District
Bus Routes: 108,103,359,361,513,109,116,105,116-1,623,627
Shipu Restaurant:
Tianyi location (New Shipu Restaurant)
Address: No.298, Kaiming Street, Haishu District
Bus Routes:2, 3, 4, 10, 12, 15, 19 , 518, 506 ,517 ,215 ,216, 331, 350, 503, 504, 515 ,517 ,521 , 528 , 804 , 821
Moon Lake location
Address: No.60, Yanyue Street, Haishu District
Bus Routes: 9,357,16,20,214,302,330,354,503,507,506,550,560,560-1,821
Vegetarian Food
Ningbo Jujubetree Vegetarian Restaurant:
Address: No.16 Liuting Street, Haishu District
Opening Hour: lunch time: 11:00~14:00
Dinner time: 17:00~21:30
Tips: 1.This is a non- smoking restaurant;
2.You must place your order before 21:00 each day.
Bus Routes: 506, 507, 812, 820, 821, 906, 517, 516, 357, 7, 9, 20, 809, 19, 330
Fast Food
KFC:
Drum Tower location: No.81, Zhongshan West Road
Chenghuang Temple location: No.118, Jiefang Road, Haishu District
Hualian B location: No. 1, Intime Department Store
Dongdu RoadTianyi location: No.48, Yaohang Street
Pizza Hut:
Tianyi location: Intime Department Store, No.188, Tianyi Square, Zhongshan East Road
Chenghuang Temple location: No.118-120, Jiefang South Road,
Haishu DistrictYinzhou location: No.188, Siming Road, Yinzhou District
McDonald's:
Chenghuang Temple location: No.2, Xianxue Street
Jinguang location: 1st Floor, Jinguang Center, No. 148, Jiangdong Road
