The Cantonese Season

Fish-skin dumplings (魚皮餃)

'In Beijing, one talks; in Shanghai, one shops; and in Guangzhou, one eats.'

This famous saying neatly sums up the status of Guangzhou 廣州 (previously better known as Canton in the west) as China's culinary capital. And it's no exaggeration to say that Cantonese cuisine (粵菜 yue cai) is held in the highest esteem throughout the Chinese-speaking world. In contrast, it has a bit of an image problem in the west, as many people associate it with a bastardised version typified by gloopy multicoloured dishes.

Consequently, with the exception of dim sum, Cantonese food isn't that fashionable nowadays, especially when compared to other Asian cuisines. For example, Japanese food is perceived to be classier, and other Chinese cuisines, most notably Sichuan, are seen as more exciting.

More's the pity in my opinion, as there's so much more to my native cuisine than sweet & sour pork. And having just returned from Guangzhou and Hong Kong, I feel inspired to blog loads about it. That's why for the next month or so, it's going to be The Cantonese Season on Eat Noodles Love Noodles. But for those of you who can't wait 'til the start of the season, here's a few posts on Cantonese food that I made earlier:

Chinese Bakery
Guangzhou
Cantonese BBQ – The Three Roasts
Old School Dim Sum
How To Order Dim Sum
Dim Sum in London

Below are the links to The Cantonese Season posts:

Hong Kong Noodles X 3
Dinner @ The Chairman 大班樓
Dim Sum in Guangzhou @ 海雲軒
Eat Like A Local @ Tsui Wah 翠華餐廳 & Ocean Empire 海皇粥店
Cantonese Classics Part 1 @ Fu Sing 富聲
Cantonese Classics Part 2 @ Belly God 食为天
Under Bridge Spicy Crab 橋底辣蟹
Princess Garden - Going Cantonese in London
The Rustic Delights of Big Rock 大石
Hong Kong & Guangzhou Scrapbook