Tianjin · A City’s Color
Tianjin’s colors are bright gray and brick red—the concession buildings of the Five Avenues, the warm yellow of the Italian Style Town. Tianjin locals are famously picky eaters; as the saying goes, “Borrowing money to eat seafood isn’t considered wasteful.”
Signature Snacks
Goubuli Baozi
18 pleats is the standard. Half-leavened dough, water filling (meat filling with broth jelly), steamed to produce a pocket of soup. The name comes from founder Gao Guiyou’s nickname “Gouzi”—business was so good he had no time to talk, so “Gouzi ignores people.”
Jianbing Guozi
Mung bean batter spread into a thin crepe, crack an egg and spread evenly, wrap in guozi (fried dough stick) or guobi (crispy cracker), brush with sweet bean sauce, fermented tofu, and chili sauce. Tianjin locals only accept mung bean batter jianbing—wheat flour ones are just “pancakes.”
Erduoyan Fried Cake
Glutinous rice flour wrapped around red bean paste filling, deep-fried until golden and crispy. The crust is crunchy, the inside is soft and sweet. The name comes from the original shop’s location—Erduoyan Hutong (Ear Hole Alley).
Recommended Shops
| Shop | Address | Specialty |
|---|---|---|
| Goubuli | Shandong Road Main Branch | Baozi |
| Ersaozi Jianbing Guozi | Nankai District, Weijin Road | Jianbing Guozi |
| Erduoyan Fried Cake | Beimenwai Street | Fried Cake |
| Guifaxiang | Dagu South Road | 18th Street Mahua |