2019 Jun. Shantou. Chaozhou. China

This trip was inspired by Netflix Flavorful Origins Season 1. After watching the mouth-watering delicacies and local delights on TV, my food kaki besties enthusiastically decided to make a food trip to Shantou 汕头 and Chaozhou 潮州 together. Itinerary was simple and straightforward, mark out all the good food places, just eat and eat and eat. We found a midweek direct flight on Jetstar for about S$200 and booked hotel for less than S$50 a night, super good deal for a 6-day trip to China! Very happy before the trip even started, hahaha… can’t wait.

Flew in to Jieyang Chaoshan Airport, cab to hotel 城市精选酒店, put down luggage, then straight out to have our first dinner at the nearest 福合埕牛肉丸 outlet nearby. Shantou is famous for its beef cooked in simple broth, to savour its freshness and unique special selection cuts from various parts of the cow that we never heard of.

这趟潮汕之旅，只有一个目的，就是吃！一下机到酒店放下行李，直接出门吃汕头出名的牛肉火锅。汕头人爱吃牛懂吃牛，把牛分割成非常细小的部位，每一个部位都命上独特的名称 – 勃仁、匙仁、吊龙、花趾、胸口朥、肥胼、嫩肉… 不过我们完全搞不清楚，只能随便点个几样试试。

       

Love this auntie selling herbal tea around the corner from hotel. She was so friendly and chatty, such a joy talking to her while enjoying the herbal tea. She gave us excellent recommendation of a no name stall selling glutinous rice sausage and pork stomach soup only locals knew. We hunted it down the next day and the food was as good as she relished it to be.

凉茶铺的大姐是个饕客，听她兴致勃勃地跟我们推荐在地人的私房美食，让人垂涎。

 

Selection of fruits at the stalls along the street was so inviting. Not easy to find fresh bayberries outside of China, so happily bought some back to hotel. Reminded me of the fun time back in Suzhou  when I went farm picking fresh bayberries from the trees, dressed in ponchos to avoid stains on clothes.

水果摊看到杨梅真开心，在新加坡很少买得到新鲜的。第一次看到黄皮果长什么样子。

 

The popular Longbei Market was just in front of the hotel, with an array of stalls selling all kinds of Teochew food and goodies. I was particularly interested in the various seafood and meat balls, which were all so good, that I packed multiple kgs of assortment balls in ice boxes to bring home on my flight back. 🙂

龙北市场就在我们住的酒店前面。疏果生鲜海味各式丸子熟食玲琅满目。

                 

Tried kway chap at 李记粿汁 which looked similar yet tasted different from our local version. Cboice of original or black pepper broth to go with your chosen ingredients, both tasty and delicious.

米浆做的粿条、肠粉是潮州常见的主食，这家粿汁口味和新加坡的有些不同，好吃。

     

Walk past this cheong fun shop 大树肠粉 and tried its beef cheong fun which came packed with bean sprout and vege under the thin layers of freshly steamed rice flour skin, drizzled with a delicious sweet savoury sauce. There is another even more popular and crowded shop 小吴肠粉 not far down the same road selling similar items, which we tried few days after.

   

This was the nondescript shop in the alley at 华坞市场 without any signage mentioned by the herbal tea auntie. I finally managed to locate the address 华坞路14号 on Dianping, as I could not remember its exact spot. Be prepared to ask around and search for the 40 yr-old shop which is a locals’ favourite. The glutinous rice sausage 糯米肠 was really fantastic both in texture and flavour, and ingredient packed with sausage, pork, chestnut and peanuts. Really the best I have ever tasted anywhere. The salted vegetable pig stomach soup 酸菜猪肚汤 goes very well with the glutinous rice. Awesome local street delicacy.

昨晚跟酒店旁凉茶铺大姐闲聊，她热心大力推荐的本地美食，华坞市场没有招牌的人气猪肠涨糯米和猪肚汤，糯米肠的确是我吃过最好吃的，料足味美，超赞！

         

Oyster omelette from a random stall near the lunch place. Big and succulent oysters fried with egg batter with crisp edges. Oily and sinful but nice.

   

Tea time in hotel room, snacking on the 鸡仔饼、腐乳饼 bought from the pastry shops. Teochew biscuits and pastries are popular, with many stores found everywhere along the streets.

 

Took a break, went for a run by the harbour, exercised to get hungry faster and be ready for the next meal.

         

We reached the restaurant for dinner at 8pm, but found out it was too late by local’s standard. The place was empty and most dishes were not available for order as the kitchen was closing. A bit disappointed.

8点钟吃晚餐太晚，很多招牌菜色都没了。

               

The next morning, we headed out to old Shantou city area where there is a cluster of good food places near 小公园, starting with the famous rice dumplings at 老妈宫粽球. Good stuff.

小公园商圈的著名老妈宫粽球。双烹粽球，综合咸甜，好吃！糯米肠远不如昨天华坞市场的，可免。

       

The place 飘香小食店 that would satisfy all your Teochew kueh cravings. They have a whole assortment of  kuehs, and we ordered almost everything to try. Pan fried to a crisp, everything tasted good, although the platter didn’t score well in looks department. Delicious and satisfying, including the oyster omelette 蚝烙 . Can skip the fishball soup though, very mediocre and not worth showing the pic.

飘香小食店是潮州粿天堂，种类多样样可口。蚝烙也超赞，但鱼圆汤别踩雷直接跳过。

             

This chi chi modern tea house served thirst quenching cold beverages, excellent for a hot day. They also sell nicely packaged local food products, which tasted great and made nice gifts. Chaoshan is famous for its ‘3 treasures’ 潮汕三宝  (老香黄，老药桔、黄皮鼓）which are marinated preserved chayote, kumquat, and wampi fruits. The three ingredients each have different health benefits, such as alleviating nausea or cough and warming up bodies. There are many traditional shops selling these along the commercial streets in Shantou and Chaozhou.

小憩片刻再继续… 吃！潮聚装潢典雅，应该是文青喜欢的茶馆。冰的黄皮汤清凉解腻沁人心脾，很好喝。

             

After this bowl of famous dry noodles, I was really almost going to burst and had to stop eating. Took a break at the nice cafe next door.

爱西干面的这碗人气干面下肚后，真的得暂停几个小时了。隔壁的咖啡馆饮料不错。

       

   

This is the biggest and most posh Teochew Porridge place in Shantou, featured in many TV shows. The food selection displayed was amazing. Even though the place seemed touristy and pricey, and locals preferred more modest options, we just had to try it ourselves. And loved it by the way. 🙂

游客必到，但滴滴司机说富苑贵又不好吃，本地人才不会来，都怪谢霆锋和网路捧红的。我们来了，宁可杀错不可放过。菜色超多吃得很爽很过瘾很开心。

                                         

The star dish that surprised and I enjoyed the most was the marinated live crabs. The flesh was full of flavour from the natural seafood sweetness and marinated sauces, with a gelatinous texture that is unforgettably good. So delicious and yummy, and addictive, that we ordered another order!

生腌螃蟹着实让人惊艳、绝佳美味、口感绵密、让我念念不忘！

         

Found a dessert shop after dinner.

饭后甜点，细姨甜汤。

       

Simple breakfast at a local shop around the corner from hotel. The steamed cheong fun is made from freshly ground rice on the spot. Then continued Part 2 of breakfast few shops away, dried noodles with soup, simple but satisfying.

酒店旁边的早餐，现磨米浆蒸肠粉。

       

       

‘Didi’ to Chaozhou for sightseeing at Arch Street 牌坊街。It is a pedestrianised street running 2km north to south in the old quarter, lined with 22 archways recounting the city’s history in Chinese.

到潮州市的牌坊街逛逛。

                 

Had dim sum lunch at 韩上楼 in Chaozhou before heading back to Shantou. Nice setting and decent food.

               

The cab driver who picked us up at Fu Yuan the day before, quipped that Fu Yuan was for tourists and highly recommended this restaurant. So here we were, but food standard was very very so so.

昨天吃货滴滴司机的介绍，中规中矩还不错，没他说的那么有有。

           

Too many food options in Shantou but too little stomach space, planned for supper to try out this beef ball shop recommended by locals. Searching for the hand chopped beef balls seen on Netflix, but was told nobody does that anymore, most are machine ground obviously. The beef tendon balls were excellent, even more bouncy and juicy than the regular beef balls.

宵夜。牛筋丸多汁有嚼劲，比牛肉丸更好吃。听说 Netflix 拍的手打牛肉丸，现在谁还有功夫真的花时间用手打给你看、问了店家，说是在工厂里打，看来算了别傻了甭找了，好吃就好。

         

After trying 3 shops selling cheong fun, this is the most crowded, most popular online, and best tasting one 小吴肠粉. No prize for guessing which one we ordered, the all-in combo obviously, even came with oyster!

货比三家，这家的肠粉最合我口味。粉皮最薄、用料最丰富、生意最旺、人也最多。

       

There is also an artisanal coffee culture brewing in Shantou, with youngsters setting up shop serving barista coffee.

 

Teochew braised goose is so delicious. This famous shop 春梅里鹅肉店 is seriously good. I wanted to dabao a whole duck home the next day I was flying home, like I always do when visiting HK or London, but the stall ran out!

潮州卤鹅拼盘，卤得入味，鹅肉内脏都好吃，超赞！

         

Break at hotel eating more snacks bought from the pastry shops. And my advance order list for meat and seafood balls frozen packed prepared to be picked up just before my flight the following day.

   

Teochew porridge for dinner again at a modest local place near to the hotel. Food is decent, and at a fraction of the price compared to Fu Yuan. Ordered the marinated raw prawns, not as mind blowing as the raw crabs previously but still delicious.

酒店旁转角处的巷弄小店，本地人称为 ‘打冷’ 的潮州粥经济实惠。

                         

Dim sum for breakfast, decent food but nothing to shout about. We are blessed with too many excellent choices with high standards in Singapore, tough to impress.

       

Too full from all the eating, found a nice cafe to hangout. Interesting “dirty coffee” named 脏啡, basically hot espresso over chilled milk, first sip to be drank in a gulp to taste the layered flavours and temperature.

   

We really ate A LOT in these 6 days. I must say Chaoshan is a food paradise with so many delectable local dishes, snacks and offerings, mostly cheap and very affordable, with high culinary standards. I will definitely want to come back here and do it all over again.

潮汕美食名闻天下，绝对是老饕必游之地，吃过就知道，让人回味难忘！