The Spring Festival, the most important celebration of the year, is a time for family reunions and traditional feasts. In Guangdong, a province renowned for its rich culinary heritage, the reunion dinner showcases a dazzling array of regional delicacies. From Cantonese-style Poon Choi to Hakka stuffed tofu and Chaoshan's sweet-savory dishes, each area offers unique flavors that embody the festive spirit.
Cantonese-style auspicious dinner
In the Pearl River Delta, Poon Choi is the undisputed star of the table. This layered dish is brimming with premium ingredients like abalone, sea cucumber, fish maw, goose feet, oysters, and prawns, symbolizing abundance and prosperity. Another must-try is white-cut chicken, loved for its tender meat and crispy skin, showcasing Cantonese cuisine's focus on freshness and simplicity.
Poon Choi (Photo: Guangzhou Liwan Fabu)
White-cut chicken (Photo: Guangdong Fabu)
Other auspicious dishes include poached prawns, steamed bass, and braised pork knuckles with black fungus, each carrying symbolic meanings of wealth, happiness, or reunion.
For those visiting Guangdong, make sure to explore local specialties beyond reunion dinners. You can enjoy dim sum, roasted meats, clay pot rice, deep-fried snacks, Zhongshan's Shiqi pigeon, and Dongguan's roasted goose rice noodles.
(Photo: Guangdong Fabu)
(Photo: Dongguan Municipal Culture, Radio, Television, Tourism and Sports Bureau)
Chaoshan's sweet start and finish
The Chaoshan region in eastern Guangdong starts and ends its festive meals with sweetness. Dishes like sweet potato and taro simmered with syrup symbolize a "sweet" year ahead, while desserts such as ginger lily soup with ginkgo nuts round off the meal on a high note.
(Photo: Shantou Fabu)
Staples like shrimp balls and meat kueh (粿肉), made with shrimp, pork, and vegetables, are perennial favorites. Seafood also plays a starring role, with blood cockles, fish balls, and squid balls holding a special place on most festive tables.
Shrimp ball (Photo: Guangdong Fabu)
In addition to the reunion dinner, don't miss out on a classic Chaoshan beef hotpot, which locals swear by for its flavorful broth and tender cuts of beef. You can also sample marinated goose, rice cakes, oyster omelets, and marinated raw seafood while soaking in the festive atmosphere.
Chaoshan beef hotpot (Photo: Guangdong Fabu)
Marinated goose (Photo: Guangdong Fabu)
Hakka's home-style flavors
Hakka cuisine, prevalent in northern and eastern Guangdong, delivers heartwarming, rustic flavors. A staple of every Hakka family's Spring Festival table is stuffed tofu, paired with salted chicken, preserved radish with fried egg, and steamed fish. Large meatballs, Hakka-style Poon Choi, and savory stews are also crowd favorites.
Stuffed tofu (Photo: Guangdong Fabu)
Salted chicken (Photo: Huizhou Municipal Culture, Radio, Television, Tourism and Sports Bureau)
Travelers can explore Hakka villages to taste authentic dishes, often made with farm-fresh ingredients. Signature Hakka dishes such as pickled noodles, salty pancakes, beef balls from Zijin Town, fish head soup, and savory river snail stews are also not to be missed!
Pickled noodles (Photo: GDToday)
Western Guangdong's seafood feasts
In coastal western Guangdong, seafood dominates the reunion dinner. Fresh prawns, squid, oysters, steamed crab, and sea snails are the highlights of festive meals, reflecting the region's maritime bounty.
Zhanjiang's seafood (Photo: GDToday)
Meanwhile, New Year's Eve dinner here is intertwined with ancestral worship and blessings. Dishes like white-cut chicken and roasted pork complete the dinner. Careful preparations are made for the "three sacrifices" of chicken, fish, and pork, featuring common dishes such as white-cut chicken, steamed fish, and roasted pork.
White-cut chicken (Photo: Zhanjiang Daily)
The unique "Nian Li" tradition in cities like Zhanjiang and Maoming further enriches the celebrations with communal feasts, parades, and ceremonies. It is held in different villages on different dates in the first two months of the lunar calendar, offering dishes like white-cut chicken, steamed crab, abalone, and lobster, paired with snacks such as rice cakes and leaf-wrapped pancakes.
(Photo: Guangdong Fabu)
Author: Huang Xinying
Poster: Feng Huiting
Editor: Liu Lingzhi, James, Shen He