Restaurants in Harbin
I'm not a gourmet nor a big eater. But I have done some research through the web and get to know several highly recommended restaurants
in Harbin.
Also one of my taxi driver tells me that I must try "Shazhucai", a kind of local flavor, literally meaning "kill a pig cuisine". It is a stew dish with the ingredients of pork, Chinese vegetable, inners of a pig.
From the funny name "Sha Zhu Cai", you can understand a bit about the personality of the people in the northeast China. Traditionally local farmers will raise pigs for about 8 months. When the spring festival is in sight, thet will kill the pig to make various kinds of dishes to improve diet and entertain guests. They will make full use of the pig from head to tail, from skin to blood and bone.
So I go to a nearest restaurant, which is supposed to make a very good "Sha Zhu Cai". The name of the restaurant is called "Da Feng Shou", literally meaning "a big harvest". It is located on 283, Yiman Jie, just north of Harbin Railway Station.
The entrance is marked by a huge neon sign and a long, lantern-lit pathway
Actually it is one of a number of those Cultural Revolution restaurants in Harbin. The whole place is done up to look exactly like things looked in the late 1960s. The staff wear army uniforms and Reg Guard armbands.
There is entertainment, a stage on which the uniformed staff perform the old propaganda songs and dances. Most of the people in the restaurant know the words and sing along. One old guy sat alone at a table, not eating anything, sipping his drink and nodding his head at the music.
Today Er-ren Zhuan is performed in front of the diners. Er-ren Zhuan is a local folk dance and song item from Northeast China. It usually consists of two people, a boy and a girl. They sing as well as dance.
I order the dish of "Sha Zhu Cai". It is a little disappointment - too oily and huge! And, you have to use bowls to eat an drink!
Dongfang Jiaozi Wang (the King of Oriental Dumpling)
Dumpling or Jiaozi is my favorite food. It is said that The dumpling of Dongfang Jiaozi Wang is the best among the many jiaozi restaurants in Harbin.
It is a chain dumpling restaurant. I find one Dongfang Jiaozi Restaurant on Zhongyang Street No.39.
People in northern China eat Jiaozi, or dumplings, during Lunar New Year, as they think "jiaozi" in sound means "bidding farewell to the old and ushering in the new". Also, the shape of the dumpling is like gold ingot from ancient China. So people eat them and wish for money and treasure. But with the increase of people' living standard, jiaozi has become a common and popular food in daily life. People don't have to wait till Chinese new year for a bite.
The dumpling of Dongfang Jiaozi Wang is for its amous fthin skin, full stuffing, and delicious taste. But the service is so so mainly due to the good business! You must has enough patience to wait your turn.
Harbin also has lots of western food restaurants. When I walk along Zhongyang Street, I find the famous western restaurant - Hua Mei Xi Restaurant.
It has a 3 floor frugal Russian-style appearance the restaurant especially noted for its Russian-style cuisine, concurrently the flavor cuisine of England, France, and Italy.
Address: No.142, Zhongyang Dajie, Daoli District
Why not try some local snack? Baked potatoes!
Questions & Answers:
Here is only for Questions and Answers. ( For anyone who wants to have an enquiry or customized tour, please email us to 
. )
