What Exactly Does the South's Top "Gastronomic Desert" City Have to Offer?

Where in China do people love noodles the most?

Is it the Shaanxi folks who "can't walk straight if they haven't eaten noodles in three days"? The Shanxi province with its endlessly varied noodle shapes? Or the fiery and bold Sichuan-Chongqing region with its offal toppings?

It's Hangzhou. The same Hangzhou that recently trended online as a "culinary wasteland."

While people debate how to salvage Hangzhou cuisine's reputation—even offering a "1 million yuan reward to rid Hangzhou of its culinary wasteland status"—locals are busy pondering: Should I have the rich, savory-sweet braised pork chop noodles, splurge on a bowl of shrimp and eel noodles, or keep it simple with a bowl of Pian Er Chuan?

Braised pork chop noodles, savory-sweet and delicious.

In Hangzhou, nearly every street has a noodle shop, each with a bustling kitchen and a crowded dining area where you’ll need to queue or share a table. A search for "noodle shops" on apps reveals over 30,000 in Hangzhou—1.6 times more than Xi’an and 4 times more than Chengdu.

Photo/Coffoodiee

Some say Hangzhou is a culinary wasteland because it lacks native dishes, with current fare brought by immigrants from Shaoxing and Ningbo—including its noodles. But that doesn’t stop locals from loving them. As long as it’s tasty, who cares?

Beyond Ban Chuan, Pian Er Chuan, and shrimp and eel noodles...

How much do Hangzhou people love noodles? Search "noodles" on a food app, and you’ll find over 30,000 shops, with local joints dominating the top rankings.

What’s special about Hangzhou noodles? Start with the noodles themselves: the most common are flat "alkali noodles" or "fresh noodles," about 3mm wide and 1.5mm thick when cooked. They must be al dente—soft, mushy noodles are a fail. Some shops use different noodles for different dishes: classic flat noodles for soup noodles, thinner alkali noodles for stir-fried or mixed noodles to prevent clumping.

Cooking noodles in Hangzhou is an art.

Photo/Tuchong Creative, by Xu Zhenyu

Then there are the toppings. Every Hangzhou-style noodle shop has similar招牌: shrimp and eel, eel noodles, shrimp and kidney noodles, kidney and eel noodles, pork liver noodles, kidney noodles, tripe noodles, Pian Er Chuan, Ban Chuan... Some say Hangzhou noodles are just these with interchangeable ingredients. Not so. The toppings, called "浇头" (jiāo tóu) in local dialect, are the soul of the bowl and can be mixed and matched endlessly.

Toppings include fried eel, shrimp, kidney, pork liver, pork chops, intestines, crispy lard, pickled greens, and vegetables. If your wallet allows, combining 4-7 toppings can create a luxury bowl costing over 100 yuan. Among these, shrimp and eel noodles are the classic Hangzhou luxury.

Shrimp and eel noodles: the pinnacle of Hangzhou noodles.

Shrimp and eel noodles were popularized by the historic Kui Yuan Guan, near West Lake. In the 80s and 90s, hosting guests often meant treating them to this dish after a morning at the lake. Eel is sliced wide, fried crispy, stir-fried with shrimp, then simmered briefly with water and soy sauce before being poured over separately cooked noodles.

For shrimp and eel noodles, the shrimp must be oil-blanched.

In this bowl, the eel, fried crisp yet tender from soaking up broth, pairs with velvety shrimp. The broth is dark and oily—a lavish treat in the leaner 80s, when a 20-yuan bowl was a status symbol. Even today, it remains one of Hangzhou’s priciest and most-ordered noodles.

Shrimp and eel noodles: Hangzhou’s most expensive bowl.

Affordable Pian'er Chuan, the pinnacle of freshness in Hangzhou

Equally famous as Shrimp and Eel Noodles but starkly opposite in its simplicity is Pian'er Chuan. "Pian'er" refers to slices of bamboo shoots and pork, while "Chuan" means blanched noodles, specifically the firm-textured noodles typical of Jiangnan, which stand straight like the character "川" (Chuan), vivid and evocative.

The noodles stand straight, resembling the character "川".

GIF / "A Bite of China II"

Bamboo shoots are essential in Pian'er Chuan. Whether winter bamboo shoots, spring bamboo shoots, whip bamboo shoots, or hairy bamboo shoots, they must be available year-round. Even in the off-season when no fresh shoots are available, dried bamboo shoots are used. Here’s a tip for outsiders to judge the authenticity of a Hangzhou noodle shop: if the Pian'er Chuan lacks bamboo shoots and uses substitutes like water bamboo or lettuce—boldly decide not to return.

Pian'er Chuan is exceptionally fresh. Besides bamboo shoots, much of its umami comes from "Daoducai," a dry, slightly dark pickled vegetable that is fragrant and savory. The meat can be from any cut, as long as it’s thinly sliced.

The two key elements of Pian'er Chuan: bamboo shoots and Daoducai.

Photo / Guriko

In Hangzhou, even the most upscale or trendy noodle shops will always offer a bowl of Pian'er Chuan priced at just a dozen or twenty yuan. It’s like an anchor, forever upholding Hangzhou noodles' reputation for being delicious, affordable, and homely.

Oily, fragrant Ban Chuan—it’s not stir-fried noodles!

Another must-mention is Ban Chuan. Many out-of-town tourists are puzzled by this menu item, only to find upon serving, "Hey, isn’t this just stir-fried noodles?"

The making of Ban Chuan always involves high heat.

Photo / Coffoodiee

Ban Chuan is a unique noodle dish from Hangzhou’s urban core, prized for its smooth, slightly sticky texture. The stir-frying requires ample oil and high heat, with dark soy sauce, yellow wine, salt, pepper, and starch—all indispensable. This creates an oily, aromatic dish where the sauce clings to the noodles, achieving the "smooth and slightly sticky" effect.

Photo / Coffoodiee

Compared to regular stir-fried noodles, Ban Chuan is juicier and smoother, yet more wok-hearty than cold or tossed noodles. Its best pairing is a bowl of dried shrimp and seaweed soup brewed with boiling water, refreshing and palate-cleansing.

Why do Hangzhou people love noodles so much?

Hangzhou’s love for noodles completely defies the stereotype of "rice in the south, noodles in the north." Why do southerners in Hangzhou adore noodles so much?

Hangzhou people love noodles anytime, anywhere.

First, due to China’s unique geography and history, waves of northern migration and southern development have rooted northern immigrants in this hilly land. Though their environment changed, their culinary preferences, passed down through generations, endured. Southerners never abandoned the delight of smooth, slurpable noodles.

Here's a little-known fact: In 2022, Zhejiang province cultivated 1.69 million mu of rice and 1.96 million mu of wheat, with wheat acreage surpassing rice—primarily in northern Zhejiang. This undoubtedly laid the foundation for the local preference for wheat-based foods.

In Hangzhou, you can sample noodles from across the Yangtze River Delta region.

However, the hot and humid climate of southeastern China accelerates wheat growth, shortening the grain-filling period and resulting in poor-quality wheat. This produces noodles that lack the desired chewiness, a point often criticized by northerners. Yet, southerners never gave up on their noodle passion. Hangzhou's most commonly eaten alkaline noodles are a southern innovation—adding edible alkali to the dough alters protein properties, enhancing elasticity. Parboiling removes the alkali, achieving a texture closer to northern high-gluten noodles.

But reusing the same boiling water for multiple batches turns it sticky, ruining subsequent noodles' texture. This explains the Jiangnan tradition of "first-broth noodles": served in clear, fresh water, briefly boiled to retain a firm core. Northerners might grumble about undercooking, while locals relish it, even finding high-quality northwestern wheat noodles overly chewy and "jaw-tiring."

Eating first-broth noodles is Hangzhou's ultimate tribute to noodles.

The variety of toppings, a compensation for the region's subpar wheat noodles thanks to Jiangnan's historic abundance, has become a signature feature distinguishing them from other regional styles.

If a Hangzhou mother says, "Let’s keep it simple today," she’ll likely grab packaged dried noodles and toss them with whatever’s on hand. But if she declares, "Let’s have noodles today," expect a solemn debate: "Sliced noodles or stir-fried noodles?" followed by a dedicated trip to buy fresh noodles and ingredients, meticulously prepared step by step.

Hangzhou people grow up eating noodles.

This, perhaps, reflects the ingrained reverence for wheat foods among rice-dominated Jiangnan folks—a stubbornly preserved noodle ritual unique to Hangzhou.

Text Editor | Jiang Jiang

Cover Image | Coffoodiee

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*Product images are for reference only; actual items may vary.