Eating Chaozhou in Shenzhen

An arrangement of deep-fried tofu and squid fritters.

The braised platter included black pudding, duck's webs, pig intestines and a couple of gizzards. This is yet another dish that reflects the Chaozhou principle of letting nothing go to waste. Every part of animal, mineral or plant is eaten.

Tougher cuts are braised and slowly cooked in a soy sauce broth until they are tender and delicious. The savory pieces of meat are eaten with rice congee in yet another way to stretch the dollar.

The cold crab was sold out that day, even though we had arrived pretty early, which I guess, is testimony to its popularity. Instead, we had two blue swimmers steamed and they came, fat and solidly packed with sweet meat.

We also ordered a type of little red bream fried and served with a saucer of Chaozhou salted beans. This used to be a very cheap fish, although nothing from the sea is cheap anymore. It is a sweet fish with flaky meat and for this reason, the Cantonese nicknamed it "big-eyed chicken".

At the other end of the scale, Chao-zhou food is definitely the main attraction at Xingli Chinese Restaurant, the Ritz-Carlton Shenzhen.

It is probably because the hotel sits on property owned by a Chaozhou tycoon, but also because this cuisine is one of the rare ones that can stand up against Cantonese competition.

Xingli loses none of the authenticity even though its decor and comfort levels are far above those of Futian New Village.

Here, the steamed fish we are offered is another Chaozhou specialty, a black mullet steamed with pickled and fresh lemons. The fish is neatly split in half for easy cooking and garnished with plenty of shredded ginger and chili before being topped with lemon slices.