CULINARIA YANGTZE RIVER DELTA
The culinary delights of the Yangtze River Delta: Shanghai, Jiangsu Province (Nanjing & Suzhou) and Zhejiang Province (Hangzhou).
[知味长江三角洲]
The region is rich in gastronomical excellence - the Delta is home to both highly acclaimed Su [苏] and Zhe [浙] culinary veins - specialising in highly refined dishes, likened to well polished gemstones, that tantalise both soul and stomach.
This is the area where traditionally, both literary and mercantile powerhouses chose to call home, hiding from brutal power struggles plaguing the Imperial Court up north. Freed from political wrangles, time was wisely used to develop dishes to compete and top each other, in a competition that only serves to drive tastes to new heights.
Strangely, caught between two culinary powerhouses, Shanghai's dishes seem like a paler cousin, garnering few accolades, all attributed to the locals having a great affinity for both oil and sugar. It appeared as if it had chosen to shun it's greater cousins, to plot its own path and go it's own way.....almost a mirror of the spirit of the City, as it hops, jumps and leaps ahead of every other city to become the living beating heart of the Middle Kingdom.
