Zhaotong Dining

Zhaotong is always regarded as one of the important destinations in the classical Yunnan Travel. What's more, Zhaotong Dining is as beautiful as the sceneries here. Especially, the dishes historically cooked by the ethnic minority people, should not be missed when you come to Zhaotong. To some extent, Zhaotong is a melting-pot for many different cultures. Therefore, when you come to Zhaotong, you can eat the food from around Yunnan Province and other Chinese dishes. Whether in the small stalls, or in a small restaurant with a strong ethnic style, you can taste a lots of different and delicious food in Zhaotong.

What to Eat in Zhaotong

Zhaotong food is effected by Sichuan Cuisine and Guizhou Cuisine. It has Sichuan cuisine's spicy and pungent flavor and Guizhou cuisine's incense and they are good at using ingredients and picking. They emphasize that the spicy and pungent flavor can defeat the damp.

Must-eat Dishes in Zhaotong

Weixin Sour Fish(威信酸鱼)

Weixin sour fish is a special dish of Weixin County, Zhaotong City, Yunnan Province. Weixin sour fish uses fresh fish caught from the Luobu River(罗布河) as raw materials, and is mixed with salt, Sichuan pepper, pepper, star anise, mountain naphthalene and other seasoning powder, and is marinated in earthenware jars. Pickled sour fish can be stored for a long time. When cooking, cut the marinated fish into pieces and add seasoning to cook. The sour fish has a delicious taste, crisp and delicious, and has the characteristics of acid, sweetness, spicy and salty.

Fried Preserve Meat with Bracken(蕨菜炒腊肉)

Fried Preserve Meat with bracken is a main ingredient of bracken and preserved meat. After the bracken is blanched, the preserved meat is added to the bracken and then added to the appropriate seasoning. Because the preserved meat is very salty and hard, it needs to be boiled before cooking, so the taste is better. This is the dish that needs to be fried quickly, so after pouring the vegetables, the time of frying should not be too long.

Tianma (Gastrodia Elata) Steamed Chicken(天麻炖鸡)

Tianma stewed chicken is a traditional cuisine in the Zhaotong City of ​​Yunnan. It is a good family health dish. Tianma stewed chicken is delicious and nutritious. Tianma is stewed with chicken, and its taste and efficacy are delicious. It can be used as a daily health care soup for middle-aged and elderly people.

Shuifu Bacon(水富腊肉)

In the old time, without refrigerator or any other refrigeration technology, the redundant meat was pickled into bacon so as to be preserved for a long time. In Shuifu county, especially the rural areas, people makes bacon in the end of a year, and eat in the coming year. Bacon with high quality can be preserved  for two to three years with keeping its good taste. Most restaurants in Shuifu offer the dishes of bacon. You’ll taste different flavor from the dishes.

Must-eat Snacks in Zhaotong

Zhenxiong Tangyuan(Glutinous Rice Balls)(镇雄汤圆)

Tangyuan is one of the representative snacks of the Chinese Han nationality and is the most characteristic food of the Lantern Festival, with long history. It is said that Tangyuan symbolizes family reunion, and eating Tangyuan means that the new year is a happy family reunion. Therefore, the Tangyuan is round. However, Zhenxiong Tangyuan has completely different shape with that of other places and belongs to the triangle.

Yougao Erkuai(油糕饵块)

The Yougao Erkuai is the main breakfast of Zhaotong people. The snack is mainly divided into two parts. The main raw material of the Yougao part is the outer layer of thin rice noodles. The raw materials in the filling are mostly potatoes, and some stinky tofu.  The main raw material of Erkuai is mostly rice, and then the ingredients such as chopped green onion, pepper, peanut butter, etc. Yougao Erkuai becomes Zhaotong a unique famous snack.

Zhaotong Sauce(昭通酱)

Zhaotong Sauce is a traditional place with a long history in the Zhaotong City of ​​Yunnan Province. It is the crown of sauce in Yunnan Province. The color is brownish red, bright and oily; the ester flavor is pleasant; the taste is fresh and spicy.

Bean Jelly(豌豆粉)

In Zhaotong, bean jelly is also a signature snack. It varies a lot in such aspects as materials it is made from (like buckwheat, maize and peas), places where it is made (like hot jelly of Dalongdong Area, and cold jelly of Yanshan Area), and producers that specialise in (like Fu's and Zhao's). Generally speaking, most of bean jelly in Zhaotong is made from peas.

Zhaotong Roasted Potatoes(昭通烤洋芋)

Zhaotong in the northeast of Yunnan Province is a large grower of potatoes due to its mountainous farmlands. Strolling on the streets of Zhaotong, you may find there are many snack stalls serving roast-on-the-spot potatoes. A charcoal brazier for roasting potatoes is a popular draw for most snack explorers to Zhaotong.

Zhaotong Buckwheat(昭通荞麦)

Zhaotong, which is located in the mountainous area of Northeast Yunnan, is a big producer of buckwheat. Buckwheat grown in Dashanbao area is found to be rich in trace elements such as iron; it contains ten times the dietary fibres of normal rice. Comparing with other kinds of grains, its granules are relatively tiny so they are much easier to cook and digest. At present, related buckwheat products of Zhaotong are mainly buckwheat tea and buckwheat flour.

Corn Cake(包谷粑)

Corn cake is the traditional Han people’s snack. In the old time, rice was not planted in Yunnan, it was hard to make a living in the mountainous area, especially during the war and impoverished period. Corn was the principle food for people inhabited in the rural areas like Qiaojia. Corn cake has been popular among them since that time. Today, it is one of the presenting snacks of Qiaojia county. 

More about Snacks in Zhaotong

Where to Eat in Zhaotong

Yunnan Cuisine

  • Hansi Restaurant(韩四饭店)
    Add: No. 64 Zhenxing Road, Fenghuang Subdistrict, Zhaoyang District, Zhaotong City(昭通市昭阳区凤凰街道振兴路64号)
    Tel: 13578045594/13466218811
  • Qianguan Fish Restaurant(黔冠鱼庄)
    Add: Zhuti Pedestrian Street, Zhaoyang District, Zhaotong City, Yunnan Province(云南省昭通市昭阳区朱提步行街)
    Tel: 15126644489
  • Shiyou Restaurant(师友酒家)
    Add: No. 69 South Shuncheng Road, Cuihua Town, Daguan County, Zhaotong City(昭通市大关县翠华镇顺城南路96号)
    Tel: 0870-5621676
  • Wude Restaurant(五德酒家)
    Add: Zhenxiong County, Zhaotong City, Yunnan Province(云南省昭通市镇雄县)
    Tel: 0870-3832423
  • Zuixianlou Restaurant(醉仙楼)
    Add: No. 12 Wufeng Road, Zhenxiong County, Zhaotong City, Yunnan Province(云南省昭通市镇雄县乌峰路12号)
    Tel: 0870-3128628

Barbecue in Zhaotong

  • Crazy Roasted Wings(疯狂烤翅)
    Add: No. 2 Baojian Road, Ludian County, Zhaotong City, Yunnan Province(云南省昭通市鲁甸县保健路2号)
    Tel: /
  • Xiaoma Babashao(小马把把烧)
    Add: Building 17, Yucai Road, Shuifu City, Zhaotong City, Yunnan Province(云南省昭通市水富市育才路17栋)
    Tel: 15126683575/15974855659
  • Zhaotong Flavor Barbecue(昭通风味烧烤)
    Add: No. 5 Shop of Longteng Lijinyuan Gate, Zhenxiong County, Zhaotong City(昭通市镇雄县龙腾丽锦苑大门第5号门面)
    Tel: 15287725977
  • Longteng Pangzi Barbecue Store(龙腾胖子烧烤店)
    Add: No. 28 of Building 1 Longteng Shengjinyuan, Zhenxiong County, Zhaotong City(昭通市镇雄县龙腾盛锦苑1幢28号)
    Tel: 15012262518

Muslim Food

  • Shunheyuan(顺和园)
    Add: No. 400 Hailou Road, Zhaoyang District, Zhaotong City, Yunnan Province(云南省昭通市昭阳区海楼路400号)
    Tel: (0870)2160888/13308702005
  • Tianxiangyuan(天香园)
    Add: West of North 100 meters of the Intersection of Zhaotong Avenue and Jichang Road(昭通大道与机场路交口北100米路西)
    Tel: (0870)2154388
  • Qingzheng Huajin Jiayan Restaurant(清真华锦佳宴)
    Add: Zhaotong Avenue, Zhaoyang District, Zhaotong City, Yunnan Province(云南省昭通市昭阳区昭通大道)
    Tel: 13887065411
  • Huiweiyuan(回味园)
    Add: No. 54 Suoshan Road, Ludian County, Zhaotong City, Yunnan Province(云南省昭通市鲁甸县梭山路54号)
    Tel: 15911813322/13887133150
  • Tianyuan Jujia(田园居家)
    Add: Floor 5 of Building F, Hongfajindu, Mengquan Avenue, Zhaoyang District(昭阳区蒙泉大道宏发金都F幢5楼)
    Tel: (0870)2168999

More about Restaurants in Zhaotong

Regional Dining in Zhaotong