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Those who love reading Hong Lou Meng (A Dream of Red Mansions), one of China's four great classical novels, may wish to find their way to Yangzhou City, Jiangsu province to taste the Huaiyang cuisine, Honglou Banquet.
Honglou Banquet is developed from two sources—one is the food culture recorded in Hong Lou Meng, which introduced more than 200 kinds of food and drinks such as pastries, tea and wine dating back to the middle of the 18th century during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), and the other is in some literature detailing Huaiyang cuisine produced in the same period as Hong Lou Meng.
The standard banquet features 37 different categories of dishes, including desserts, dried fruits, pickles, cold dishes, hot dishes and fresh fruits. Each dish can be linked to its literary allusion in Hong Lou Meng, as referenced in the document about the standard Honglou Banquet released by the city's Bureau of Quality and Technical Supervision.
The dishes are known for their rich materials, light, fresh taste and exquisite cuts. The banquet has strict standards in many details such as the music, dinner ware, waiters' uniforms and the tea before meals.
Huaiyang cuisine, one of China's Four Grand Cuisines, refers to foods that have the characteristic flavors of dishes in the three cities of Hua'an, Yangzhou, and Zhenjiang in Jiangsu province. It is famous for pot-roast, stew and simmered dishes, featuring standardized soups and strong fumet preservation.
Yangzhou was acclaimed by the China Cuisine Association in July 2001 as the "Land of Huaiyang Cuisine". Those who want to know about the historical origin between Yangzhou and Hong Lou Meng might read the book "A Dream of Red Mansions and Yangzhou", which was written by Ding Zhanghua and published on Feb 1, 2007.
Recommended restaurant:
Yangzhou Xiyuan Hotel, the city's first four-star foreign-oriented tourism hotel, is located near the popular tourists spot Slender West Lake. It has received many honored guests such as world famous government officials and businessmen since it opened in 1958. It provides the standard Honglou Banquet.
The Honglou Banquet provided by Yangzhou Xiyuan Hotel, the city's first four-star foreign-oriented tourism hotel. [Photo/lyj.yangzhou.gov.cn]
The Honglou Banquet features 37 different categories of dishes, including desserts, dried fruits, pickles, cold dishes, hot dishes and fresh fruits. [Photo/lyj.yangzhou.gov.cn]
