Yunnan Food Menu

The Chinese have a rich culinary culture and heritage and Chinese food has traveled all around the world. When you step into a Chinese restaurant, do you know how to read a Chinese Food Menu? In China, visiting a Chinese restaurant for the first time and using a Chinese menu can lead to frustration, especially if the menu is not written in English and there are no pictures of the dishes. Here, you’ll get the styles of the Chinese menus and how to use them. Yunnan Food Menu is just one of the kind.

The Principal of Yunnan Dishes

In most traditional Chinese dining, dishes are shared communally. Different from the western dining, people sit at the table and share some different dishes placed in the center of the table instead of each having their own dishes. In China, it is customary to choose a dish for everyone, no matter meat dishes or vegetable dishes. It means five dishes for five people and ten dishes for ten people. 

While meals in Western restaurants are often served with a cold beverage, Chinese establishments often first offer their various teas. Even dishes renowned for their spice are accompanied by a pot of hot brewed tea. 

How to Use Yunnan Menus

There’s a huge variety of dishes in China. Look at the menu in many of the restaurants and you’re handed a book of what they offer. The selection is more than you could possibly imagine in China. Sometimes it was difficult to decide what to get because it was too much. In fact, what you should know clearly is that how many parts of the dishes needs. 

First, choose the dishes including the meat and vegetable, which is the main part of menu. There are many kinds of these dishes for you to choose from, and some with pictures. When you order, you can see the pictures of the dishes(if available) and simply point and use your fingers to indicate. If no pictures available, you can see the dishes of other guests in the restaurant and choose what you like. If you have your preferred dishes, you can download the picture in advance and show it to the staff.

After the main dishes, you can choose the staple such as rice and noodles, or other desserts. 

Also choose the drinks if you like. Most restaurants offer Chinese Drinks like Baijiu Drinking, Beverages Drinking, Tea Drinking, Wine Drinking, etc. 

Popular Dishes on Yunnan Menu

1. Crossing the Bridge Rice Noodles

Crossing the Bridge Rice Noodles are the most celebrated specialty in Yunnan, served with a large bowl of hot chicken broth and a platter of side ingredients including rice noodles, slices of pork, fish and raw vegetables. You cook for yourself by adding them all into the stock, stir it well and then enjoy.

2. Steamed-pot Chicken

Featuring the chicken being steamed in a Yunnan-style clay pot with a mixture of medicinal herbs for 3-4 hours, Steamed-pot Chicken is famous for its tender meat, delicious soup and nourishing values.

3. Yunnan Mushroom Hotpot

A seasonal specialty with the broth made from brewing dozens of fresh mushrooms harvested wild from the mountains, such as boletus, matsutakes and bamboo fungus; the flavorful mushroom hotpot is best enjoyed from June to September.

4. Xuanwei Ham

One of the three best hams in China, Xuanwei Ham, noted for its small bones, thin skin, bright color and fragrant flavor, can be prepared in a number of different ways, including frying, steaming, grilling and stewing, to enjoy its delicate taste.

5. Rice-flour Cake(Er Kuai)

A popular Yunnan snack, Rice-flour Cake has many versions, like a large roasted pancake wrapped with pickled cabbage and spicy sauce, thin square pieces stir-fired with ham, vegetables and chili, or thread-shaped Ersi fried or just boiled quickly with hot soup.

6. Dali Casserole Fish

Fish caught from Erhai Lake cooked in an earthen pot with rich ingredients like slices of chicken, ham, sea cucumber, tofu and various vegetables, this tasty Casserole Fish hotpot is a special treat of Bai minority people to entertain guests.

7. Bamboo Chicken

A traditional dish created by the Hani People, involving stuffing the bite-sized chicken, ginger, chilies, garlic and other seasoning into a bamboo tube and being toasted until fully cooked. The bamboo chicken is tender with the fresh fragrance of bamboo.

See more about Yunnan Dishes.

Yunnan Food Culture Travel

For people who are interested in Yunnan food, it is a good choice to take a Yunnan food culture tour, which can help the tourists better understand Yunnan cuisine. Yunnan cuisine, also named as Dian cuisine, is an compound of the cuisines of the Han people and other ethnic groups in Yunnan Province, southwest China. With the largest number of ethnic minority groups, Yunnan cuisine is vastly varied. Many Yunnan dishes are quite spicy, and mushrooms are featured prominently. The ingredient is diverse and rare, like flowers, ferns, algae and some insects. Curious about Yunnan food? Why not start a Yunnan food tour?

Recommended Yunnan Food Culture Tours

Read more about Yunnan Food Tours. 

Regional Food in Yunnan