Nanjing is one of China’s most underrated cities. We like the city as much for its great sightseeing and historical sights as for its exquisite food. The food in Nanjing will surely not disappoint, so wear stretchy pants!
Also called Jinling food, Nanjing cuisine is known all over China for its impeccable presentation and balance between sweet and salty. It has a history going back more than 2000 years and is recognized as one of the Four Great Cuisines of China (alongside Cantonese, Sichuan, and Shandong cuisines).
Nanjing is the Duck Capital of China for its obsession with ducks. From roasted to salted to steamed and everything in between, Nanjing knows how to do duck. And man, do they eat duck? The city consumes an estimated 100 million ducks a year! With duck that good, though, it’s understandable.
But there is more to Nanjing food than just duck. The city proudly boasts over one hundred unique dishes representing Jiangsu cuisine (Nanjing is the capital city of Jiangsu province) and Nanjing itself. You probably won’t have time to try them all (even if you arrive really, really hungry), so we’ll show you some of our favourite restaurants in Nanjing.
Please note: This post may contain affiliate links. This means I may earn a commission if you make a purchase by clicking a link (at no extra cost to you). As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Learn more.
Must-try Nanjing Food
Salted Duck (金陵盐水鸭)
Nanjing Roast Duck (南京烤鸭)
Tang Bao (汤包)
Pan-fried Beef Dumplings (牛肉锅贴)
Steamed Lotus Root Stuffed with Sweet Sticky Rice (桂花糯米藕 )
Duck Fat Sesame Pancake (黄桥烧饼)
Master Gao Beer
Where we stayed: Holiday Inn Aqua City. It ha s agreat location and will stay here again when we are in Nanjing.
Nanjing Food Tour: : Local Food Tour by Public Transportation
The Battle of the Ducks: Beijing vs Nanjing
Everyone knows of Peking duck, but not so much the duck of Nanjing. So here’s a quick crash course to know your Nanjing duck from that of Beijing.
Nanjing was the imperial capital of China for more than a thousand years before it was moved to Beijing (Peking). When the government upped and left, they took their ducks with them.
For this reason, one can argue that Peking duck originated in Nanjing.
With Beijing being much colder than Nanjing, the ducks grew fatter, and the cooking style also changed. Beijing duck is much fattier and is always roasted and presented beautifully and served with wheat pancakes, plum sauce and scallion.
Nanjing duck, on the other hand, can be prepared in various ways. The meat is tender and much leaner than Peking duck. Salted duck is the most popular way to eat duck in Nanjing. It’s served at room temperature and mostly eaten as an appetiser.
Roasted Nanjing duck is done in a subtle sweet-salty sauce for dipping to enhance the flavour to the fullest. In Nanjing, you can also find duck dumplings, duck blood soup, duck fat cakes and much more.
Nanjing Street Food
The best areas for street food in Nanjing are Fuzimiao and Lao Men Dong. Both these areas are pedestrian-only zones and are also of the most popular sightseeing spots in the city.
Here you can snack, slurp and sip your way through countless hole-in-the-wall eateries as you admire the beautiful old buildings and narrow alleys. All the famous Nanjing foods and snacks are found here, so come here at night when it’s beautifully lit up with lanterns and literally try and eat your through Nanjing.
Sesame pancakes, also called duck fat cakes, are almost like shortbread and a delicious and flaky bite on the go. A lump of duck fat is enclosed in the dough before it’s baked, making it super crispy. Sesame pancakes come in sweet or savoury fillings, so try both and decide which one you prefer.
If you’re in Nanjing in early April, look out for stalls selling qingtuan (青团). These bright green dumplings are made of glutinous rice mixed with Chinese mugwort leaves and stuffed with sweet red bean paste. They almost look like jade, but these fragrant morsels are sticky, chewy and quite delicious.
Qingtuan is a traditional snack eaten during Ching Ming Festival, which is celebrated in early April. Ching Ming is also called the Cold Food Festival, so food will be prepared before the festival and served cold.
Nanjing Restaurants
As expected of a city of almost 10 million, Nanjing has restaurants for all tastes, budgets and occasions. Here is our small (but oh so tasty) list of recommended restaurants for the best food in Nanjing.
Nanjing Impressions
A meal at the excellent Nanjing Impressions restaurant must be on the top of your to-do eat list. Here you can sample the best of Nanjing cuisine all in one spectacular restaurant.
Inside, the restaurant looks like a traditional food market from the Qing dynasty where you can see chefs preparing their dishes. Take a peek into the duck room, where you’ll see hundreds of ducks hanging while the workers chop and plate them to be served.
The seasonal menu features local Nanjing dishes, and the food is as beautiful (and damn tasty, too) as the setting. Nanjing is known as the City of Emperors, and the food we had at Nanjing Impressions was indeed fit for royalty.
The beautiful setting, atmosphere and sumptuous food all guarantee a memorable meal – one that’s hard to beat anywhere else in Nanjing.
Here is what we ordered:
- Nanjing Duck
- Duck Dumplings
- Tang Bao (Soup dumplings)
- Steamed Lotus Root Stuffed with Sticky Rice
- Osmanthus Pale Ale from Master Gao, Nanjing’s most famous microbrewery.
Nanjing Impressions has several branches scattered throughout the city, all of them hugely popular. Ask your hotel to make a reservation for you on their App. This will show you how many tables there are ahead of you and an estimated time to arrive.
Almost like sweet, sticky, crunchy…pumpkin.
LiJi Qing Zhen Guan (Liji Halal Restaurant)
After Nanjing duck, pan-fried beef dumplings are the city’s most beloved snack. And to eat the best pan-fried beef dumpling in Nanjing, you MUST go to LiJi Qing Zhen Guan just off Phingshi Street.
We were excited to see a long line outside when we approached the restaurant. It’s always a good sign to see locals queuing.
Liji functions almost like a canteen: you first pay for your food, get a receipt, get a tray, and then go from one station to the next to collect your food. Once you have all your food, find anywhere to sit and dig in!
Since the line was so long, I waited in line while Jin went inside to take pictures of the dishes that we wanted. Once you get to the counter to order, everything is in Chinese, so having pictures to show them is very helpful.
Luckily a friendly Nanjinger behind us took us under her wing and helped us. She also suggested we change one of our orders since she thought the other dish was better.
The food at LiJi Qing Zhen Guan was FANTASTIC. We enjoyed it so much that we decided to come back the next day and line up again for more.
Do yourself a favour and come for breakfast or brunch at Liji. The food is sublime, unpretentious and cheap.
Hours: 05:30-19:30 every day
[Google Maps Location]
Here is what we had for our two breakfasts at Liji:
- Pan-fried Beef Dumplings
- Pot Stickers
- Steamed Dumplings with Duck and Crab Roe
- Wonton Soup
- Beef Soup & Noodles
- Nanjing Duck
Din Tai Fung
Okay, Din Tai Fung does not do Nanjing food, but this Taiwanese franchise does have some damn good xiao long bao, noodles and other tasty goodies from Taiwan. They even do very decent dan-dan noodles, which we got to love when we visited Chengdu.
We also had fluffy steamed buns filled with egg custard and sweet, black sesame paste for dessert.
You’ll find Din Tai Fung on the 7th floor of the DEJI plaza on Zhongshan Road, in the Xinjiekou area. [Google Maps Location]
Hey Tea
The rest of the world has Starbucks, but China has Hey Tea. This franchise has taken the whole country by storm, and a visit to this tea shop is something to look forward to.
They have everything tea-related: from Mango-Oolong to Grape-Longjing to Black sugar bubble tea to normal milk tea. They also do delectable ice cream. Jin loves the black sugar and bobo (tapioca pearls), while I always go with the coconut cream and jelly combo.
Mild Spicy
If it feels like you’ve had enough duck, but still want to keep your culinary adventures bound to Asia, the excellent Mild Spicy in Lao Dong Men might just be what you’re looking for.
This Thai restaurant is located in a beautifully restored building. The food is as good as in Southeast Asia, and the ambience is trendy, yet relaxed. We had to wait a while before getting a table. If that’s the case with you too, a nice stroll along the Nanjing city wall is a good way to kill time and work up an appetite.
Mild Spicy is not on Google Maps, but it’s right next to this Starbucks [location]. The name is also displayed in English on the outside of the restaurant.
Food in Nanjing: What Will You Eat Next?
We hope that you haven’t drooled over your screen as you’ve read this. The food in Nanjing is definitely a big reason why we like the city so much. If you have any questions (or opinions on whether Nanjing or Peking duck is the best), let us know in the comments below.
And most important: WEAR STRETCHY PANTS 🙂