Shenzhen is a big city. It has a population of over 17 million people. For reference, that’s 4 million people more than the Los Angeles Metropolitan area (13.1) million people and just under the New York Metropolitan area (18.7 million).
Now, all 17 million of those people have to eat. A lot of them cook their own food. Some go out to sit-down restaurants or fast food places. And a lot of them gravitate towards hawker stalls for some street food.
So if you want to know which Chinese food in Shenzhen you should try, go ahead and read on.
Congee
First up is breakfast, supposedly the most important meal of the day. Now, you may be used to pancakes, bacon, eggs, cereal, or something that would be referred to as a dessert in a country other than America. But in Shenzhen, and large parts of Asia beyond that, a meal is not a meal if there’s no rice.
Congee is a soup made of rice. Basically, it’s kind of like porridge. By itself, it’s kind of bland. But, you can add other ingredients like shredded pork flakes to it for extra flavor. Congee is a very popular dish in China and is a staple breakfast food.
There’s also another way to eat congee and it’s “without” rice. There’s still rice in there. It’s just that the rice has been cooked for so long that it’s melted into the broth and any remaining grains are filtered out. Congee “without” rice is great for older men who may have digestive problems. It’s got a gentle flavor and is easy to swallow.
Since its main ingredient is rice, that means it is loaded with carbs. That’d be great for the energy of a guy that wants to start getting with the younger women in Shenzhen.
Tea
Tea is a staple of China. After all, China’s probably where it comes from. Tea is a very common drink in Shenzhen, and China as a whole. While you might find it a little lacking if your palette is a little more acclimated to something like coffee, it comes in such a wide variety of flavors like oolong and jasmine that you’ll probably find something suited to your taste.
Dumplings
Dumplings are another staple Chinese food. Balls of meat rolled in flour and steamed until cooked, then topped off with carrots. They’re popular not just in China, but all over East and Southeast Asia as well.
With the number of Chinese restaurants around the world, you’ve probably had dumplings in some form or other before, so this dish shouldn’t be a surprise to you or your palette.
Seafood Hot Pot
One of the most decadent dishes that Shenzhen has to offer is a seafood hot pot. You start with a base soup and you can choose the flavor of that soup. Satay is the most popular base for the soup. Those who prefer a milder flavor can opt for a pork bone, tomato, or potato base.
Once you have the base soup, then you can add all the little bits of seafood. There’s no wrong way to do it. You can select whatever fish you want. You can shrimp if that’s what your heart desires. You can dip some oysters in there if you want.
You can even turn it into a group meal and share a big hot pot with a group, with everyone throwing in the ingredients that they want. You don’t even have to share it with a group. You could be on a date with a girl and you can split a hot pot.
In fact, a hot pot can be the perfect date. Sharing food is romantic according to some research. So if you’re looking to fall in love, then split a hot pot — or any kind of food, for that matter. But the way hot pots are prepared makes them ideal for sharing.
Cantonese Sausage
Of course, if seafood isn’t your thing, you can always opt for a more terrestrial animal to consume. Now, sausage is a pretty common food across the world. Turns out, a lot of disparate cultures figured out that taking ground pork and shaping it into a tube made it really convenient to cook and eat.
Cantonese sausage has a few idiosyncrasies that make it unique. First of all, you start with the pork. Before it’s shaped into a tube, the meat is cured and the substance used to cure it can be pretty diverse. Sugar, wine, salt, and soybean sauce are all fair game. Once that’s done, the sausage is encased in a tube, waiting to be eaten.
There’s also a myriad of ways that they can be eaten as well. They can be steamed, fried, or used as a flavoring for some other dish. Or you can just eat them with rice. Dealer’s choice. Just go with whatever your heart tells you.
Bo zai gao
You’ve got breakfast foods and main courses covered. But what about dessert? Or what about those moments when you’re kind of hungry but not enough to want a full meal? What about the moments when you just want a little something to nibble on? What if you got a sweet tooth that needs satisfying?
Well, for those moments, there’s bo Zai gao, or Cantonese pudding. When you think of pudding, you probably picture a semi-viscous liquid that comes in chocolate or vanilla, or butterscotch. You probably eat it out of the cup it comes in.
Rid yourself of that notion when it comes to Cantonese pudding. You don’t eat with a spoon, you eat with two sticks stabbed into the side and the sticks work because the pudding is solid, sort of like gelatin.
Now, the flavors it comes in might be somewhat different than the pudding flavors you’re used to; you’ll get strawberry, apple, peach, sesame, coconut, and pineapple.
Or you can just find what you’re used to
If you’re not feeling like Chinese food, then you don’t have to eat it. Shenzhen is a pretty big city with a strong international presence. You’ll be able to find the kind of food you’d normally eat at home if that’s what you want.
Eat what you like and eat what your system can handle. Just make sure to eat to keep your strength up for the reason why you came to Shenzhen in the first place.
