SHENZHENERS love to eat. In fact, statistics show that they spend up to 1 billion yuan (US$122 million) per month on dining out.

The city is regarded as a gourmet's paradise with the saying: "There are all the foods you can think of, and no food you cannot find," aptly describing the culinary variety here. Except for the high-class hotels, diners can find a lot of Chinese-style specialties at reasonable prices throughout Shenzhen. Here is an introduction to some major ones.

Gangxia food street

As an old village in Futian District, Gangxia's populace includes people from all corners of China. They bring with them the same ambition to make a fortune, but different dining habits.

Therefore, Gangxia is almost the epitome of the Shenzhen dining industry. It is here that a variety of foods ranging from Chaozhou cuisine to Hunan cuisine, northeastern cuisine, Beijing cuisine and Hakka cuisine are offered at low prices and with authentic flavors.

The Gangxia food street extends from a food market in eastern Gangxia to the Gangxia Ancestral Temple. The one-kilometer-long street holds more than 100 restaurants and snack bars, serving Guilin noodles, Muslim diets, Chongqing hotpot, Yunnan noodles, and Shanghai dumplings, in addition to all of the major Chinese cuisines. Whether you are from northeastern Heilongjiang or southwestern Yunnan, you can always find your favorite hometown dishes, and the local accents of the restaurant owners will add to the nostalgia.

Nanyuan food street

Nanyuan is inhabited by many Xinjiang people, and the Nanyuan food street is famous for its Xinjiang foods. The most conspicuous restaurant in this street is the Xinyue Muslim Restaurant . The restaurant's food and chefs are all from Xinjiang. Special dishes include mutton shashlik, fried mutton, mutton braised in soy sauce, roasted mutton, among many others. A special alcohol produced in Erie is also served here.

In addition to Xinjiang foods, the street also serves the best Korean barbecue in Shenzhen. There are quite a few authentic South Korean restaurants here, and the most famous one --- Shiduoli Barbecue, serves tasty shashlik, fried dishes and cold dishes. All the waiters and waitresses speak Korean, which further enhances the cultural atmosphere.

Seafood on Fenghuang Road

Fenghuang Road in Luohu District is a paradise for seafood lovers. In the busier sections of the road, there are nearly 20 seafood restaurants within 100 meters. Larger ones include Wangjiao Seafood Restaurant, Tiantianyugang Restaurant, Phoenix Court Restaurant Miaoxiang Seafood Restaurant, Changfa Seafood Restaurant and Zhanjiang Yugang Restaurant. One can have abalone, bird's nest soup, shark fin soup, and many other foods in their original flavors and at fair prices. The seafood on this street has even attracted many Hong Kong gourmets.

Of course, there are many other choices. For example, the Xiangxi Village near the Seibu Department Store serves excellent chicken soup. The Yantian food street is well-known for inexpensive and fresh seafood, and a small street behind the Sunshine Hotel is famous for Hunan food.

 
Editor: Wings