Features: It is the signature dish of Zhangjiajie. Usually, three ingredients among intestine, pork belly, beef tripe, lamb tripe, pig’s trotters or pig’s head meat are selected and cooked together in one pot through special processing by local chefs. It has a unique taste with a strong spicy flavor.
Recommended Restaurant: Hu Shifu Three-pot Dish. This is a very popular old restaurant with fresh ingredients, authentic taste and sufficient portions.
Tujia Bacon
Features: It is smoked with pine and cypress branches, walnut shells, peanut shells, etc. It has a brownish-yellow color, firm texture, strong smoked aroma and unique flavor.
Recommended Restaurant: Some old local restaurants in Zhangjiajie urban area, such as Laonongcun Restaurant, where you can taste the authentic Tujia bacon.
Stone Ear Stewed with Chicken or Duck
Features: Stone ear is a delicacy in Zhangjiajie mountains. When stewed with chicken or duck, it tastes delicious and is rich in nutrition, having the effects of nourishing and beautifying.
Recommended Restaurant: Some farmyard restaurants near the scenic spots will use fresh local stone ears to make this dish. For example, the Farmyard Restaurant near Tianzi Mountain.
Loach Drilling into Tofu
Features: Live loach and tofu are put into the pot together. When heated, the loach will drill into the tofu. The dish tastes tender both of loach and tofu, and the soup is delicious.
Recommended Restaurant: You can try it in some characteristic restaurants in Wulingyuan District, like Yinxiang Xiangxi Theme Restaurant.
Recommended Food Streets/Locations
Zhangjiajie Urban Area
Dayongfu City Food Street
Features: It gathers various special delicacies of Zhangjiajie and flavor snacks from all over the country. Besides the above special dishes, there are also snacks like Tangyou Baba (Fried Glutinous Rice Cake in Sugar Syrup) and stinky tofu. Here you can stroll and eat, enjoying the lively atmosphere.
Representative Restaurant: There are many characteristic small shops worth trying. For example, Li Shifu Special Snack Shop, whose Tangyou Baba is sweet but not greasy, crispy outside and tender inside.
Nanzhuangping Food Street
Features: It is dominated by local restaurants with relatively affordable prices, where you can experience the market food culture of Zhangjiajie.
Representative Restaurant: Zuixing Xiangxi Restaurant. The environment in the restaurant is good, the dishes are rich and the taste is authentic. Especially its Tujia-style stir-fried dishes are very popular.
Wulingyuan District
Xibu Street
Features: Besides food, there are also various specialty shops and bars, etc. It is a block integrating leisure, entertainment and catering. The food here mainly features Tujia characteristics and Xiangxi flavor. It is very lively at night with bright lights.
Representative Restaurant: Peng Dajie Three-pot Dish. It has a good reputation among the locals. The taste of its three-pot dish is authentic and the price is reasonable.
Precautions for Tasting Food
Freshness of Ingredients
When ordering some special dishes like Stone Ear Stewed with Chicken or Duck and Loach Drilling into Tofu, pay attention to the freshness of the ingredients. You can judge by observing the color and luster of the dishes and smelling the odor. For example, fresh stone ears have a natural color and no strange smell.
Taste and Personal Adaptability
The food in Zhangjiajie has a strong taste, especially the three-pot dish which is quite spicy. If you can’t eat spicy food well, be sure to tell the waiter in advance and ask the chef to put less chili.
Hygiene Situation
Try to choose regular and clean restaurants to eat. Avoid buying food from some small vendors with poor sanitary conditions to prevent gastrointestinal discomfort and other problems. You can judge by checking the environment of the restaurant, the hygiene of tableware and whether there is a food business license, etc.
