This was my lunch today, made with a half-price duck leg from the supermarket, one carrot, and one potato. I simply boiled everything in water, and it still tasted surprisingly good.

I’m in Foshan, Guangdong, one of the wealthiest provinces in China. Even a simple noodle lunch here usually costs around RMB 20. But I live very close to a supermarket, which turns out to be a huge advantage. I’ve noticed that after about 8:30 p.m., many prepared foods—chicken legs, duck legs, sausages, and so on—are marked down by 50%. This roasted duck leg cost me less than RMB 5.

Fresh potatoes at the supermarket are about RMB 1 each, and carrots cost roughly the same. So with less than US$1 (around RMB 7) worth of ingredients, plus nothing more complicated than boiling them in water, I can make a meal that leaves me completely full.

The duck leg already had a smoky, spicy mala flavor, which also seasoned the potatoes and carrots as they cooked, so they tasted pretty good too. Nutritionally, it feels quite balanced as well.

Not bad for a meal that costs less than a dollar, right?

Recipe: roasted duck leg, carrot, and potato.
Method: boil everything together for about 15 minutes, until the potato becomes soft and fluffy.

This was my lunch today, made with a half-price duck leg from the supermarket, one carrot, and one potato. I simply boiled everything in water, and it still tasted surprisingly good.

I’m in Foshan, Guangdong, one of the wealthiest provinces in China. Even a simple noodle lunch here usually costs around RMB 20. But I live very close to a supermarket, which turns out to be a huge advantage. I’ve noticed that after about 8:30 p.m., many prepared foods—chicken legs, duck legs, sausages, and so on—are marked down by 50%. This roasted duck leg cost me less than RMB 5.

Fresh potatoes at the supermarket are about RMB 1 each, and carrots cost roughly the same. So with less than US$1 (around RMB 7) worth of ingredients, plus nothing more complicated than boiling them in water, I can make a meal that leaves me completely full.

The duck leg already had a smoky, spicy mala flavor, which also seasoned the potatoes and carrots as they cooked, so they tasted pretty good too. Nutritionally, it feels quite balanced as well.

Not bad for a meal that costs less than a dollar, right?

I was recently in Shanghai for a business trip, and one very hot afternoon I stopped at a Wuxi-style noodle shop near Zhizaoju Road for lunch.

Outside China, especially in Chinatowns, wontons are often associated with the small Cantonese version served in clear broth. But China has many regional varieties of wontons, with very different wrappers, fillings, seasonings, and ways of serving them.

I ordered three things I had never tried at this restaurant before.

Dry-mixed shepherd’s purse wontons 荠菜大馄饨

These wontons were huge—about twice the size of a typical Cantonese wonton and perhaps three times the size of a Sichuan chaoshou. The wrappers were also surprisingly thick, almost somewhere between a dumpling wrapper and the dough of a steamed bun.

They were served dry rather than in soup. A pool of dark sauce was hidden underneath them, so I mixed everything together before taking my first bite.

The flavour was unlike any wonton seasoning I had tried before. At first, I tasted rich soy sauce, but it was quickly overtaken by an even stronger sweetness. Then I remembered that this was a Wuxi-style noodle shop. Wuxi is famous for its sweet style of cooking, especially Wuxi-style braised spare ribs, which I had tried before.

The sauce contained large pieces of seaweed, tender strips of dried tofu, golden pieces of fried egg, and small black pieces of what seemed to be preserved dried vegetables. The preserved vegetables were crisp and added a nice contrast to the soft wontons.

There was also a strong aroma of scallion oil, which gave the whole dish a very recognizable Jiangnan flavour.

Once I bit through the thick wrapper, the fragrance of the shepherd’s purse filling became much stronger. In my hometown in Sichuan, shepherd’s purse is often treated as a wild spring vegetable. Families gather it in spring and mix it with minced meat for dumplings or wontons.

For me, shepherd’s purse tastes like spring.

The wontons came with a separate bowl of clear soup. It was light, oil-free, and had an earthy flavour that reminded me of morel mushrooms. After the very sweet and savoury wontons, the soup immediately refreshed my palate.

This was definitely the highlight of the meal.

Stir-fried beef shank with egg and coriander 香菜鸡蛋炒牛展

Unfortunately, the second dish was a disappointment.

The beef shank was lean but quite dry and tough. The seasoning was mostly salty and sweet, without much complexity. The egg was browned and slightly overcooked, and I could not find any coriander at all.

I could neither see it nor taste it, even though coriander was in the name of the dish.

The contrast was quite funny: the wontons were much better than I expected, while this dish was much worse.

Suzhou-style mung bean soup 苏式绿豆汤

The final surprise was the cold Suzhou-style mung bean soup I took with me when I left.

Shanghai was close to 40°C that afternoon, so this was exactly what I needed.

Before ice cream and modern cold drinks became common in China, sweet mung bean soup was a traditional summer refreshment. When I was a child, one of the most common ice pops we ate was simply sweetened mung bean soup frozen around a wooden stick.

This version came in a huge plastic cup. About one-third of it was mung beans, together with a ball of glutinous rice and what looked like a candied red date.

The first sip reminded me of the large mint candies I ate as a child. Then came the fragrance of the mung beans. As the candied date and glutinous rice slowly softened, they released more sweetness into the drink.

By the time I finished it, the 40°C heat outside somehow felt a little less frightening.

The shepherd’s purse wontons and mung bean soup were both excellent. I would skip the beef dish next time.

This bowl of biangbiang noodles （𰻝𰻝面）was served as the final staple course at a formal banquet in Guangdong.

After several lighter Cantonese dishes, including steamed fish and sweet-and-sour pork, ending the meal with a spicy bowl of biangbiang noodles made for a surprisingly memorable combination.

The chili oil was served separately in a small, preheated dish, so everyone could add as much as they liked. The noodles came with plenty of diced tofu and crushed peanuts, topped with incredibly fresh scallions, cilantro, and bean sprouts. The noodles themselves were thick, firm, and wonderfully chewy.

Everyone had already said they were full, but somehow we all finished our bowls. The heat made us break into a light sweat and seemed to lift the energy of the entire dinner.

This bowl of biangbiang noodles 𰻝𰻝面 was served as the final staple course at a formal banquet in Guangdong.

After several lighter Cantonese dishes, including steamed fish and sweet-and-sour pork, ending the meal with a spicy bowl of biangbiang noodles made for a surprisingly memorable combination.

The chili oil was served separately in a small, preheated dish, so everyone could add as much as they liked. The noodles came with plenty of diced tofu and crushed peanuts, topped with incredibly fresh scallions, cilantro, and bean sprouts. The noodles themselves were thick, firm, and wonderfully chewy.

Everyone had already said they were full, but somehow we all finished our bowls. The heat made us break into a light sweat and seemed to lift the energy of the entire dinner.

Today, a colleague brought us pork knuckles and ginger stew（猪脚姜）to celebrate her baby’s first month.

In Cantonese, this dish is also known as ginger vinegar（姜醋）— a name that tells you almost everything about it: pork knuckles, ginger, eggs, sweet black vinegar, and often a generous amount of brown sugar slowly simmered together.

This is a distinctive Cantonese custom for celebrating the birth of a child. In postpartum tradition, the dish is believed to help the new mother regain warmth and energy after pregnancy and childbirth. The pork knuckles and eggs provide richness and protein; the sweet vinegar and brown sugar create a deep sweet-and-sour broth; and the ginger brings heat, fragrance, and a powerful sense of comfort.

New parents also share this dish with relatives and friends to announce and celebrate the arrival of the newborn. In some Cantonese families, it is distributed around the twelfth day after birth; in others, it appears at the baby’s full-month celebration.

For me, this was the first time in many years that I had eaten 猪脚姜 again.

The combination of ginger’s heat, brown sugar’s deep sweetness, and the gentle acidity of sweet vinegar may sound unusual. But once it soaks into the pork knuckle, the skin and meat take on a rich, almost addictive aroma.

The eggs cooked in the same pot remind me a little of the tea eggs loved across many parts of China. But here, instead of tea and spices, they carry the fragrance of ginger and the spicy-sweet tang of the vinegar broth.

And if you are not afraid of ginger’s fiery bite, you can even chew the ginger chunks directly. They say that whether it is winter, or just another day in an office where the air conditioning is everywhere, eating ginger fully soaked in sweet vinegar and brown sugar can make you feel instantly recharged.

Today in Wuhan, I had a few local specialties: lotus root and pork rib soup (莲藕排骨汤), made with local lotus root; pearl meatballs (珍珠圆子), made with lotus root starch and coated with glutinous rice; red amaranth (红苋菜); and steamed pig trotters with mei cai (梅菜猪手), made with preserved mustard greens.

This restaurant seems to be especially famous for its award-winning lotus root and pork rib soup. I’m a big fan of the soft, starchy lotus root used in Wuhan cooking — it becomes almost creamy after simmering in soup.

Why do I mostly find the crisp, crunchy variety of lotus root in Guangdong, while Wuhan lotus root is so soft and starchy?

Today is the Dragon Boat Festival in China. At home, we ate zongzi (sticky rice parcels)made by our relatives, and also bought some from a store.

The zongzi in Guangdong are much bigger than the ones I used to eat in Sichuan, and they usually come with rich fillings. This one, for example, had pork, peanuts, and mung beans inside. After steaming, the fat from the pork melted into the sticky rice, making it soft, fragrant, and incredibly tempting.

We also bought zongzi from Wufangzhai 五芳斋, one of China’s most famous zongzi brands: a savory pork zongzi with abalone sauce, and a sweet black rice zongzi with red dates.

No matter the flavor, every zongzi carries the unique fragrance of the bamboo leaves. Eating zongzi while watching dragon boat races is what makes the Dragon Boat Festival something I look forward to every year.

I found this adorable set of food toys in a museum gift shop in Guangdong, and it feels like a tiny edible map of Cantonese food culture.

Most of them are classic snacks, dim sum, desserts, or cha chaan teng / Hong Kong-style café foods. Knowing all these, you will surely survive in Hong Kong and Guangzhou.

I found this adorable set of food toys in a museum gift shop in Guangdong, and it feels like a tiny edible map of Cantonese food culture.

Most of them are classic snacks, dim sum, desserts, or cha chaan teng / Hong Kong-style café foods.

In the end, I bought the two toys I’ve been obsessed with recently: double-skin milk (双皮奶) and char siu bao （叉烧包）. But I've never see 把把胡 in person in Guangdong. Anyone know what is that?

I found this adorable set of food toys in Guangdong, and it feels like a tiny edible map of Cantonese food culture.

Most of them are classic snacks, dim sum, desserts, or cha chaan teng / Hong Kong-style café foods.

Here are the 25 items I identified and translated from the labels:

1. Jindui / sesame ball 煎堆
2. Blind-man cake 盲公饼
3. Crispy peanut pastry 酥角
4. Wife cake 老婆饼
5. Egg roll 蛋卷
6. Sticky rice chicken 糯米鸡
7. Red rice roll 红米肠
8. Shrimp dumpling 虾饺
9. Beef ball 牛肉丸
10. Egg tart 蛋挞
11. Pineapple bun with butter 菠萝油
12. Sandwich 三明治
13. “Sorrowful Rice” / char siu rice 黯然销魂饭（叉烧饭）
14. Doll noodles / instant noodles 公仔面
15. Hong Kong-style French toast 西多士
16. Double-skin milk 双皮奶
17. Guilinggao herbal jelly 龟苓膏
18. Sweet potato dessert soup 番薯糖水
19. Milk tangyuan 牛奶汤丸
20. Mango pomelo sago 杨枝甘露
21. Layer cake 千层糕
22. Char siu bao 叉烧包
23. Steamed pork ribs 排骨
24. Siu mai 烧卖
25. “Win every hand” mahjong teapot 把把胡

In the end, I bought the two toys I’ve been obsessed with recently: double-skin milk and char siu bao. Only after opening them did I realize they have magnets on the back, so they can be used as fridge magnets.

location: OneAvenue, Futian, Shenzhen (福田卓越中心)

**Dessert 1: Seasonal Three-Color Fresh Fruit with Galangal （**南姜时令三色鲜）
Main ingredients: crisp green ivory mango, soft Vietnamese mango, red guava, licorice-sour plum juice, galangal powder

Dessert 2: White Jade Coconut Ice with Fresh Chinese Bayberry and Lychee （鲜杨梅荔枝·白玉椰冰）

Main ingredients: coconut water, water buffalo milk, dairy cream, fresh Chinese bayberries, fresh lychees, peach gum

I tried this dessert: Seasonal Three-Color Fresh Fruit with Galangal （in Chinese "南姜时令三色鲜"）in China last weekend.

Main ingredients: crisp green ivory mango, soft Vietnamese mango, red guava, licorice-sour plum juice, galangal powder

The fruit has a very special flavor with Galangal （南姜）powder. I learned that Alpinia galanga is Alpinia galanga (Linn.) Willd.

I am suprised to find that this is the key ingredient that makes Southeast Asian cuisine so special, such as Tom Kha Gai ,in Thai food and laksa in Malay and Nyonya cuisine.

Do you guys aslo eat fruits with Galangal in Southeast Asia?

Dessert 1: Seasonal Three-Color Fresh Fruit with Galangal （南姜时令三色鲜）

Galangal with three seasonal fruits

Main ingredients: crisp green ivory mango, soft Vietnamese mango, red guava, licorice-sour plum juice, galangal powder

Galangal （南姜）has a very special flavor. After checking information from Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine, I learned that its Latin name is Alpinia galanga (Linn.) Willd. In Chinese it is also call 红豆蔻.

This is the key ingredient that makes Southeast Asian cuisine so special such as Tom Kha Gai ,in Thai food and laksa in Malay and Nyonya cuisine.

Dessert 2: Fresh Chinese Bayberry and Lychee with White Jade Coconut Ice （鲜杨梅荔枝·白玉椰冰）

Main ingredients: coconut water, water buffalo milk, dairy cream, fresh Chinese bayberries, fresh lychees, peach gum

location: OneAvenue, Futian, Shenzhen (福田卓越中心)

**Dessert 1: Seasonal Three-Color Fresh Fruit with Galangal （**南姜时令三色鲜）

Galangal with three seasonal fruits

Main ingredients: crisp green ivory mango, soft Vietnamese mango, red guava, licorice-sour plum juice, galangal powder

Galangal （南姜）has a very special flavor. After checking information from Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine, I learned that its Latin name is Alpinia galanga (Linn.) Willd. In Chinese it is also call 红豆蔻.

This is the key ingredient that makes Southeast Asian cuisine so special such as Tom Kha Gai ,in Thai food and laksa in Malay and Nyonya cuisine.

I wrote more about Galangal in here if you are interested: https://open.substack.com/pub/jeffxustory/p/a-chaoshan-style-dessert-experience?r=6qv0ph&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web

Dessert 2: Fresh Chinese Bayberry and Lychee with White Jade Coconut Ice （鲜杨梅荔枝·白玉椰冰）

Main ingredients: coconut water, water buffalo milk, dairy cream, fresh Chinese bayberries, fresh lychees, peach gum

What made this dessert special was the timing: Chinese bayberries (杨梅，Myrica rubra) and lychees (荔枝) had just come into season. The bayberries were large and sweet, and the lychees, even after their pits had been removed, remained beautifully intact. 

We came back to Beijiao 北滘镇 Shunde District 顺德区, Foshan 佛山市, Guangdong, for lunch.

We had some local specialties: steamed pork ribs with fermented black beans, sizzling clay-pot chicken, and stir-fried romaine lettuce with crispy pork lard cracklings. We also got two small bowls of chicken soup, and the rice was free.

The whole meal cost only 80 RMB, about $11.83 USD.

Double-skin milk (双皮奶) is a Chinese pudding made by steaming water buffalo milk with egg whites and cane sugar.

The secret to making it is to heat the buffalo milk first for about 5–6 minutes. Once a visible thin milk skin forms on the surface, you poke a small opening in one corner of the skin in each bowl and pour the milk out through that opening. Then egg whites and white sugar are added to the milk, and the mixture is poured back and steamed again for about 10 minutes.

In this way, the original milk skin and the second skin formed during steaming merge together, giving the pudding a richer flavor and a smoother, more delicate texture than ordinary egg pudding. A traditional way to judge whether it has been steamed successfully is to place a ceramic spoon on the surface: if the spoon does not sink, the pudding is considered well made.

This is a signature dessert from Shunde, Foshan, in Guangdong. The area has many ponds and has long been associated with water buffalo. Compared with regular cow’s milk, water buffalo milk usually contains more fat and total solids. Its fat content is often nearly twice that of cow’s milk, which makes it easier to form a thick and stable milk skin after heating.

I have visited several old dessert shops in Shunde many times to eat double-skin milk. My favorite version is the one topped with coconut milk, and I have also tried double-skin milk steamed inside a whole coconut.

Double-skin milk (双皮奶) is a Chinese pudding made by steaming water buffalo milk with egg whites and cane sugar.

The secret to making it is to heat the buffalo milk first for about 5–6 minutes. Once a visible thin milk skin forms on the surface, you poke a small opening in one corner of the skin in each bowl and pour the milk out through that opening. Then egg whites and white sugar are added to the milk, and the mixture is poured back and steamed again for about 10 minutes.

In this way, the original milk skin and the second skin formed during steaming merge together, giving the pudding a richer flavor and a smoother, more delicate texture than ordinary egg pudding. A traditional way to judge whether it has been steamed successfully is to place a ceramic spoon on the surface: if the spoon does not sink, the pudding is considered well made.

This is a signature dessert from Shunde, Foshan, in Guangdong. The area has many ponds and has long been associated with water buffalo. Compared with regular cow’s milk, water buffalo milk usually contains more fat and total solids. Its fat content is often nearly twice that of cow’s milk, which makes it easier to form a thick and stable milk skin after heating.

I have visited several old dessert shops in Shunde many times to eat double-skin milk. My favorite version is the one topped with coconut milk, and I have also tried double-skin milk steamed inside a whole coconut.