Guangzhou

Guangzhou · One City, One Color

Guangzhou’s colors are Ram City Green and Kapok Red — the green of Baiyun Mountain, the fiery passion of kapok blossoms, the golden amber of old-fire soup.

“Cantonese cuisine is king” is no empty boast. A Guangzhou local can sit from 8 a.m. to noon over “one pot of tea and two dim sum items.” Har gow must have thirteen pleats, cheong fun must be thin enough to see light through, and the rice crust on claypot rice must be golden and crispy.

Signature Street Foods

Har Gow (Shrimp Dumplings)

The king of the four great morning tea dim sum. The wheat starch wrapper is rolled so thin it’s translucent, revealing the shrimp inside. One bite, and the crunch of bamboo shoot, the sweetness of shrimp, and the richness of pork fat explode at once. Thirteen pleats is the dim sum master’s signature.

Cheong Fun (Rice Noodle Rolls)

Rice batter spread on cloth, steamed in a flash, then rolled up and drizzled with sweet soy sauce — not ordinary soy sauce, but one simmered with rock sugar, cilantro, and shallot heads — the sacred “cheong fun soy sauce.” Beef, fresh shrimp, pork liver, or plain — everyone has their favorite.

Claypot Rice

Raw rice cooked on the spot in a clay pot, cured meats laid on top. The oil from lap cheong sausage seeps into the rice, forming a golden crust at the bottom. Drizzle on sweet soy sauce, scoop from the bottom with a spoon — that crisp “chah” sound is the ritual of claypot rice.

Recommended Spots