Guiyang Cuisine

Characterized as “Numb and Spicy” (short for numbingly spicy), Guiyang cuisine is an important part of Guiyang food, with its flavors close to Sichuan and Hunan cuisine. Among them, tongue-numbing is from several kinds of spices, while the spicy flavor is mainly extracted from pepper. In Guiyang, no matter which street are you in, there are places to eat, as the saying goes that you can find food even when you take the wrong way. Guiyang’s night market, dominated by snacks, flourishes all year round, and runs all through the night. Walking around the streets of Guiyang, you can always smell different aromas and see a variety of cuisine, showing that people in Guiyang have a sincere worship of eating.

Spicy Chicken

Spicy chicken is a dish with Guiyang characteristics. First cut the chicken into pieces and marinate it with spices, then put it into a frying pan to stir fry, dish it up after it’s cooked. Put a large number of chili peppers into the oily pan, and when the chili pepper is prepared, pour the chicken pieces back into the pan for more cooking. This dish can be stir-fried at home or in a hot pot. Due to the spices in the stir-fried chicken, it can be stored for a long time after it is fried and dried, and many people store it well and enjoy it slowly.

Characteristics: golden colored, spicy and delicious
Recommendation: Shuchu Authentic Guizhou cuisine restaurant (Guiyang Grand Cross store)
Address: No. 12 Zhonghua South Road, Nanming District, Guiyang (next to Novotel Hotel (Former Parker Bar), Zhicheng Department Store), near Dade Primary School

Sour Soup Fish

Usually made as hot pot, sour soup fish is a special dish of Miao nationality. It uses special sour soup as a base, adding wild tomato, garlic, ginger and pepper etc. With its alluring bright red color, the hot and sour soup is truly appetizing. Each store’s sour soup in Guiyang is self-concocted and has different flavors. Some stores even sell sour soup and it’s a good idea to buy some as a gift.

Characteristics: bright color, hot and sour and refreshing
Recommendation: Kaili Miao-ridge Sour Soup Fish (20-year-old store)
Address: next to Delightful Forest Restaurant, top of the flagstone Street, No.1 Shengfu East Road, Yunyan District, Guiyang

Guiyang Roast Meat

Mostly spicy, and some sauce fried, Guiyang roast meat is different from that of any other place, and the flavor is up to people’s preferences. Some stores that have delicious roast meat are so popular that you have to queue up to enjoy it.

Characteristics: fragrant and spicy, moderate fat-to-lean meat
Recommendation: Old Guiyang Ice-point Bamboo Stick Roast Meat
Address: Diagonally opposite to Dicos, Park Road, Qixingguan District, Bijie, Guizhou Province

Crispy Duck

There is a particular duck dish in Guiyang that meets the flavor of Guizhou people, the crispy duck. In contrast to the spicy and refreshing taste of the spicy-salted duck and Zhou’s Black Duck, the crispy duck is completely different with its fresh, crispy texture, fragrance, and long aftertaste.

As the crispy duck has had a lot of peppercorns put into it, and stuck with a little bit of chili noodle, you will feel crispy and numb after eating. An excellent crispy duck should be roasted first, then daubed with specially concocted seasoning, cut into small pieces and fried in the pan. After it is cooked, the crispy duck is crispy and delicious, moderately spicy and sufficiently moist, and very enjoyable to bite.

Characteristics: rich aroma, crispy but not oily
Recommendation: Dan's crispy duck (Xingguan Road Store)
Address: 1st Floor, Yuyang Building, No.46 Xingguan Road, Nanming District, Guiyang (near the food market at the new crossing )

Sour Soup Rice

As mentioned, sour soup rice has two meanings for Guiyang people. One is made with red sour soup as the base, usually in a casserole, adding bean sprouts, day lily, cucumber slices, potatoes, kelp, cabbage, quail eggs etc. You can also add meat or meatballs, fish fillets etc. according to your preference, and then add rice and specially concocted pepper water. When you drink a bit of sour soup before eating, you can forget all your fatigue! The second kind of sour soup rice originates in Zhijin, has been improved in Guiyang, and is made with pickle-bean sour soup. Boil the rice, and add a bit of braised pork to neutralize the taste. Spoon up to eat, add some of the herb houttuynia, and it just simply couldn’t be more delicious!

Characteristics: sour and spicy, nutritious
Recommendation: Shuchu Authentic Guizhou cuisine restaurant (Guiyang Grand Cross store)
Address: No. 12 Zhonghua South Road, Nanming District, Guiyang (next to Novotel Hotel (Former Parker Bar), Zhicheng Department Store) , near Dade Primary School

Qingyan Pigs Trotters

Qingyan is an ancient town in Guiyang, and the pigs trotters dish they sell is fragrant but not greasy. Eaten when still hot, it is chewy and soft. As you gently chew, the fragrance will spread out through your mouth and nose. There is not even a hint of greasiness nor the kind of skin smell that comes from badly prepared pigs trotters.

Characteristics: fragrant but not greasy, chewy and soft
Recommendation: Old Kaili Sour Soup Fish (Zhongtian Exhibition City Store)
Address: No. 1-20C, Huizhan North Road, Guanshanhu District, Guiyang

Kidney Bean Hot Pot

Kidney bean hot pot is a kind of hot pot with a strong local flavor in Guiyang. Its kidney bean soup base is made and consumed on the same day. With less oil and a disposable soup base, its taste is light and suitable for both young and old. In particular, the combination of thick bean soup and preserved meat or meatballs is really delicious.

Characteristics: light taste, suitable for all ages
Recommendation: Tufeng Kidney Bean Hot Pot Restaurant (Qianling East Road store)
Address: No. 67 Qianling East Road, Yunyan District, Guiyang