14-Day China
Itinerary

Peking Duck

China's most ceremonial dish: a specially bred duck air-dried for 24 hours to tighten the skin, then roasted in a fruit-wood oven until the lacquered mahogany skin shatters like glass; carved tableside and eaten in thin pancakes with hoisin sauce, spring onion and cucumber; a dish served to visiting heads of state at Quanjude since 1864.

Xiaolongbao

Shanghai's genius invention: a pleated dumpling of pork and aspic-set broth encased in a translucent, gossamer-thin wrapper; when steamed, the aspic melts into a scalding soup inside; the correct technique: bite a small hole in the top, drink the broth first, then eat the rest; Din Tai Fung made it globally famous.

Hot Pot

China's most communal and addictive meal: a split pot of fiery Sichuan mala broth (numbing peppercorns and dried chillies) on one side, mild broth on the other; raw meats, offal, tofu skin, lotus root and vegetables cooked tableside; the numbing-spicy mala sensation from Sichuan peppercorn is unlike anything else in world cuisine.

Dim Sum

Cantonese civilization at its peak: dozens of small dishes (har gow crystal shrimp dumplings, siu mai pork dumplings, cheung fun rice rolls, egg tarts, turnip cake, chicken feet) wheeled on carts or ordered from a menu; the yum cha (drink tea) ritual in Hong Kong and Guangzhou begins at dawn and is a full family event.

Lanzhou Beef Noodles

China's most replicated noodle: hand-pulled to order in five widths from thread-thin to belt-wide from a single lump of high-gluten dough; served in a clear, deep beef bone broth seasoned with Sichuan chilli oil, white radish, coriander and a single chilli oil drizzle; 300 million bowls served daily across China's 50,000 Lanzhou noodle shops.

Mapo Tofu

Sichuan's most famous dish: silken tofu and minced beef in a sauce of fermented black bean, chilli bean paste, garlic and Sichuan peppercorn; the peppercorn creates a mala (numbing-spicy) buzz on the lips that amplifies the heat; it was invented in the 19th century by a pockmarked (ma) elderly woman (po) in Chengdu.

Rou Jia Mo

China's oldest sandwich, a terracotta-coloured flatbread (mo) split open and stuffed with a mound of pork belly slow-braised for hours in a spiced broth of more than 20 aromatics including star anise, cinnamon and cumin; the bread absorbs the fat; sold at Xi'an's Muslim Quarter night market since the Qin Dynasty.