Yunnan: Must-eat Foods

All the most amazing foods you absolutely must try in Lijiang, Shuhe, and the surrounding area!

Flower cakes

A sweet center of rose petals, wrapped in a flakey pastry. It’s light, and fresh, and delicious – you must try them!

They are the freshest when it is rose season, but they are available year-round. The best ones you can find will be freshly baked – it's worth making a concerted effort to track down the freshest ones!

One highly rated place is Jiahua Flowers Pastry (嘉华鲜花饼). There are a few of these bakeries in both Shuhe and Lijiang.

If you are lucky enough to be there in rose season, you'll see people pulling the petals off roses everywhere.

Yak milk

Yak milk is common in Yunnan, so I suggest trying something with yak milk… either yak milk cheese (similar to halloumi and actually pretty yummy), yak milk tea (salty tea), or yak-milk ice cream.

Mushrooms

Yunnan is famous for its mushrooms, with many, many types of mushrooms available. While you are in Yunnan, I suggest ordering as many mushroom dishes as possible – they are delicious, and Yunnan has so many different types!

Coffee

Yunnan is also famous for its coffee, which is delicious and well-known throughout China. Try it out by stopping at a café or two while on your travels.

Potato cakes

Potatoes in the Yunnan area are amazing, and the potato cakes (very similar to hash browns) are amazing! You'll find them at a lot of the restaurants within Yunnan.

Beer

Each area in China has its own beer, so I always make an effort to try beer from the region I'm visiting. Yunnan has many different varieties, so you will definitely find a range of them during your trip!