3-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.