Over 300 roast chicken, 100 steamed fish dumpling sets, 1,500 plus meat balls…That’s the one-day sales record left for the 2024 “A Bite of Zhejiang” Food Festival being triumphantly concluded on May 21 at Wulin Square. Spanning four days of gastronomic delight, the event brought together a medley of flavors from across Zhejiang, drawing in 253,000 visitors who enthusiastically checked in to savor the offerings, with on-site spending exceeding RMB 17 million. The festival not only fueled appetites but injected vigor into the surrounding commercial areas - the average sales in Wulin’s malls surged by 40% month by month. Remarkably, during the two-day weekend, the area collected RMB 130 million in sales, a further testament to the event’s significance.

The zone for Hangzhou’s cuisine, named “A Savor of Hangzhou”, demonstrated the richness of the city’s food heritage. It presented not only old snacks such as the scallion pancakes and fried dough sticks, but trendy delicacies like Master Fang’s chicken feet, Fuyuanju’s crispy pork intestines, and Hangzhou Restaurant’s signature steamed buns. These dishes, with their distinctive flavors, draw countless visitors.

Star dishes from the city’s 13 districts or counties were also selling like hot cakes, such as steamed dumplings from Shangcheng, roast chicken from Gongshu, old duck pot from Xihu, braised pork from Binjiang, dried turnip from Xiaoshan, tea snacks from Yuhang, meat balls from Linping, sweet cakes from Qiantang, fried gluten balls and beef from Fuyang, fennel cakes and hotpot from Lin’an, rice cakes from Tonglu, sheet jelly from Chun’an, tofu-stuffed buns and fried glutinous puddings from Jian’de. 

A highlight was Michelin-starred chefs showing their culinary wizardry on a daily schedule. They not only delighted visitors with an eye feast but presented to them a unique opportunity to savor exquisite, exclusive dishes for free, offering a taste of gourmet heaven.

Over 50 art events, like ancient-costume parade and song & dance shows, were staged to add flavor to the food festival. We may come across a disguised “Su Dongpo” bowing for exchange of a punch word, or a street man vending his swallow-shaped kite. Also, we might have the privilege of witnessing up close the “Four Elegances of the Song” – the art of incense burning, tea ceremony, flower arrangement, and hanging paintings – immersing ourselves in a vibrant and fragrant visual feast woven with cultural interactions that amount to a sumptuous banquet for both senses and mind.

A checklist of the local dish restaurants or makers of Zhejiang’s 11 cities was unveiled, including 20 plus ones from Hangzhou. 

At the ceremony, Hangzhou’s loquat-braised pork, crab soup, and crab- roe fish balls claimed the prestigious Five-Star Gold Awards, while the “three delicacies” and bamboo shoots secured Four-Star Gold accolades. The old duck pot, five-flavored fish, and braised soft-shell turtle also received the Heritage Award, signifying a respect for Hangzhou’s culinary heritage but a resounding endorsement of the seamless blend between tradition and innovation.

Some more additional events of the food show will remain active till this June.