Datong Food

Datong is mainly famous for its various wheaten foods. Datong dishes are a little salty and oily.

The most famous dishes and local flavor snacks are very much worth tasting:instant-boiled lamb, cat ear noodles, pea noodles, naked oats noodles, dried bean curd, yellow cake, crisp soybeans, Yanggao dried apricot...

Datong Instant Boiled Lamb

Instant boild lamb

Datong instant boiled lamb is famous all over China for its four big characteristics:attractively shaped, fresh, tender, and delicious.

The raw materials of this dish can be found almost everywhere in Datong. Among them, the lamb from Guangling and Shuozhou is regarded as the best. The chef often cuts the lamb into pieces evenly and then freezes them in the fridge.

While eating, people first grab a piece of lamb with chopsticks and put it into the boiling water for just one or two seconds. And then put the cooked lamb piece into a bowl of sauce which is made of sesame paste, chili oil, balsam, soy sauce, gourmet powder, and coriander and so on.

This sweet-smelling lamb meat will taste delicious and the savory aroma will enlargeone's appetite. It is one of the most popular foods in Datong.

Guangling Dried Bean Curd

Dried bean curd

The bean curd, brined with five spices, is pliable but strong, chewy and tasty. There are two kinds of dried bean curd, the salty dried bean curd and the smoked dried bean curd.

In Datong, Guangling dried bean curd is a very common snack. It is regarded as the best side dish and salad in their banquets.You can buy it at almost every super market or food shops on the streets.

Pea Noodles

There are hundreds of kinds of noodles in Shanxi province. Each is cooked by a special method with a unique flavor, name, and taste. Pea noodles is one of the most popular and famous noodle types in Datong.

Pea noodles

Pea noodles require wheat and oat flour for the dough. The dough is flattened with a rolling pin or by hand, then sliced with a sharp knife. Different flattening and cutting make different shapes of noodles.

After the noodles are boiled and drained, minced meat or a mixture of eggs, bean curd, lilies, and mushrooms is added. Pea noodles are very tasty. So do not miss them when you travel in Datong city.

Yellow Cake

Yellow cake is a kind of local food, which is popular in the south of Hebei province and Datong prefecture of Shanxi province. Some local people even eat yellow cake as their daily lunch. The main ingredient of yellow cake is broomcorn millet flour.

Fried yellow cake

There are two kinds of yellow cake in Datong city. One is fried yellow cake, the other is steamed yellow cake. Fried yellow cake is steamed yellow cake fried from cold.

Steamed yellow cake is light yellow, soft, and tasty. fried yellow cake is dark yellow, crisp, and of course, delicious.

Datong Restaurant for Muslims

Getting Moon Hot Pots Restaurant, a Muslim-style restaurant, primarily offers many kinds of delicious hot pots and other dishes that are fried, braised, or sautéed. Located opposite the Datong Coach Station, it is convenient for travelers to have meals. The two-storied restaurant has an ancient appearance and is decorated delicately with brown wooden tables and chairs and landscape paintings on the wall. The good service adds another advantage to the restaurant.

Hotpot

• Chinese name: 得月楼火锅 Deyuelou Huoguo
• Recommended dishes: mutton hot pot (涮羊肉), fried mutton with cumin (孜然羊肉), Moo Shu Rou/sautéed sliced beef or mutton with egg and black mushrooms (木须肉), sliced beef in hot chili oil soup (水煮牛肉), and assorted balls (丸子拼盘).
• Average price per person: 30 yuan
• Opening hours: 5pm – 9.30pm
• Address: Yantong West Road, Urban District 城区雁同西路
• Tel: 0352-2051444
• Transportation: Take bus 15 or 30, and get off at Weidu Dadao Caochang Chengjie (Cheng Street Playground of Weidu Avenue/魏都大道操场城街).

• Average price per person: 30 yuan
• Address: Zhenhua South Road, Urban District 城区振华南路
• Tel: 0352-2106444
• Transportation: Take bus 4, 11, 26 or 67

Datong Restaurants for Vegetarian

1. Ai Jia Yuan Vegetarian Restaurant

Datong bean jelly

This restaurant adheres to egg-free, milk-free, smoke-free, alcohol-free and animal-ingredient-free dishes and advocates a tasteful, faithful and merciful life!

• Chinese name: 爱家源素食餐饮店 Ai Jia Yuan Sushi Canyin Dian('Love Home Source Vegetarian Restaurant')
• Recommended dishes: fried buckwheat cake (烩菜扒糕), Datong bean jelly (大同凉粉), oat noodles (莜面), fried cake (炸油糕), transparent steamed dumplings (玻璃蒸饺), sliced noodles (刀削面), boiled dumplings with fresh cedar leaves and a vegetarian "meat" filling (香椿素肉水饺)
• Address: Located on the northern side of Xuanhe Garden, Youyi Street友谊街轩和家园北侧
• Tel: 0352-5022744
• Opening hours: 6am – 7am; 9am – 1pm; 4pm – 9pm
• Transportation: Take bus 2, 32, or 201 and get off at Liuhangli (柳航里)

2. Jing Yi Vegetarian Restaurant

Boiled dumplings with fresh cedar leaves and a vegetarian "meat" filling

Located beside a river, this restaurant enjoys a pretty and elegant environment. An atmosphere of Zen prevails there, which makes one feel free, easy and relaxed. Feedback on the food portions have been good but serving speed may be a little slow!

• Chinese name: 净怡素食 Jing Yi Sushi
• Recommended dishes: 'ice bamboo shoots'(冰笋), olives cooked with spinach (橄榄菠菜), green vegetable soup cooked with potatoes (青菜土豆汤), boiled dumplings (水饺), 'shrimp meat'cooked with celery and corn (西芹虾仁玉米粒), mixed coarse cereals (什锦杂粮), and fragrant pepper noodles (椒香龙须丝)
• Kindly reminder: The "meat" and "fish" dishes are all made from vegetarian ingredients.
• Average price per person: 30 yuan
• Address:27 Beixin Garden Periphery, Yingbin Street(opposite Sanjiang Kangle Palace) 大同市迎宾街北馨花园外围27号（三江康乐宫对面）
• Tel: 0352-2046333
• Opening hours: 11.30am – 2pm; 6.30pm – 9pm
• Special service: Card payment is available.
• Transportation: Take bus 27 or 31 and get off at Beixin Garden (北馨花园)

We Can Organize a China Trip for You

We are here to help you find and choose your meals whilst touring China. Please feel free to contact us and tell us your requirements, especially food items that you don't eat.

Further Reading

• See 8 Most Popular Chinese Dishes You Should Eat on your China tour.
• There are thousands of foods in China. The classic styles are summarized as 8 Regional Cuisines.