Zhejiang, China -

hinese food is the original fast food. Within minutes of ordering, a scattering of dishes will have landed, rapid-fire, on your table – always hot, nearly always fresh. It's a unique eating experience, with sizzling meats and glistening vegetables arriving in no particular order and disappearing quickly down several gullets in a bountiful flow of green tea, beer and baijiu.

This is true, too, of the revered cuisine of the ancient city of Hangzhou in the eastern province of Zhejiang. For centuries, Hangzhou people have taken their food very seriously indeed, with its most famous dishes invariably having been refined over a time span measurable in dynasties. These days, the city's restaurants generally have room for up to 800 people to eat. One of the more famous and best loved can host up to 3,000.

The Italian explorer Marco Polo passed through Hangzhou in the 13th century, then the capital of the southern Song Dynasty (1126-1279). He said it was one of the world's most splendid cities. No doubt he formed this conclusion having sampled the food.

Some believe Chinese cooking took its distinctive and enduring form during the time of the Song, when the northern Mongol hordes occupied Beijing but left Hangzhou well alone to continue developing as a commercial city. Within China, Zhejiang province, and particularly Hangzhou food, is a byword for both quality and diversity, particularly when it comes to seafood. Freshwater fish are taken from the beautiful West Lake and East China Sea, not a million miles away.

Within China, Hangzhou cuisine is currently enjoying a period of great popularity, especially in neighbouring Shanghai where there is no shortage of themed restaurants.
The emphasis is on natural, often sweet flavours, exceptional presentation and tastes that are light and easily palatable.

Bamboo is fresh all year round and is a staple factor in many dishes including bamboo steamed rice, which is traditionally roasted over fire, with ham and salted egg yolk. As the bamboo heats, the rice is perfectly steamed.

Beggar's chicken, jiaohuazi ji, is wrapped in a lotus leaf, baking paper and mud before being cooked in charcoal over several hours. For a dish that is garnished with thick slabs of brown soil, it's surprisingly sophisticated and an absolute must-eat. If you fancy a change from chicken, go for lamb shanks instead, again wrapped in lotus leaves and mud, and roasted.

A distinguished mention must be made to Hangzhou's xiao longxia, or crawfish. Taken literally, the Chinese word means 'little dragon' and these lean creatures provide a suitably challenging, and occasionally treacherous, encounter. The effort is worth it. Cooked in a secret potion of 13 fragrant herbs and spices, they take the usually messy shrimp experience to a whole new level.

Also a sweet dish but generally happily nestled among the savouries on the table is tang ou, lotus root stuffed with sweet glutinous rice and simmered in honey.

Though the restaurant tradition in Hangzhou goes back over 600 years, many of the most famous dishes made their name not in multi-storey feasting halls on land but on the pleasure boats that have traversed tranquil West Lake for centuries.

The lake is said to yield the catch for vinegar fish, a quintessential Hangzhou dish that comes accompanied by a great story. According to legend, Du Mu, a Tang Dynasty bachelor, one day espied a young girl out walking with her mother. His keen eye spotted her potential for beauty so he asked her to marry him in 10 years time. The Confucian system of promotion in public life did not bend for matters of the heart, however, and it took the hapless Du Mu 14 years to make it as a city official. When he came back from his training, he found his sweetheart already married with two children. Inconsolable, he did what most Chinese people do when they are depressed – he went out to eat. Aware of his plight, the restaurateur came up with a dish that would both respect his sadness but also raise his spirits – lake fish cooked in sour plum and vinegar. He didn't get the girl, but Du Mu loved the fish. And all of China now enjoys this Hangzhou speciality.

Hangzhou is a good walking city, and something hearty to eat before heading for the Temple of the Soul's Retreat are the local xiaolongbao – miniature dumplings, plump with pork and scalding broth.

Zha xiangling may be described as the french fries of Hangzhou. Literally 'fried sound of the bell', these crispy sheets of tofu skin are utterly irresistible and commonly served with good, old-fashioned tomato ketchup.

Hangzhou food goes really well with longjing cha, Dragon Well tea, and the delicious brew has pushed its way into the kitchen. If you get the chance, also try the shrimp cooked in Dragon Well tea.

Dessert is not always a given with Chinese food, perhaps understandable given that ideas and inclination can tend to flag after the first 15 dishes. Hangzhou offers some encouragement toward gluttony. Xiang rusu are flaky spirals of pastry that look and taste divine.

Louwailou restaurant on Solitary Island is probably the most famous restaurant in the city. It seats up to 3,000 and is much loved by Hangzhou residents, from all walks of life. There may be a lot of space, but be prepared for queues at lunchtime.

Kuomintang leader Chang Kai-Shek, who lived in Hangzhou for a spell, reportedly had his last meal on the mainland here before beating a hasty and humiliating retreat to Taiwan. Mao's great statesman, Zhou Enlai, was also fond of bringing foreign visitors here. Among those who've sampled Hangzhou's finest are US President Richard Nixon and his Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger. Even ping pong diplomats have to eat.