The Chinese city of Suzhou, about 60 miles from Shanghai, is known best for its gardens and for the network of canals that once earned it the nickname, alongside numerous other Asian cities, of “the Venice of the east”. Though much of the old city has been erased by overzealous development, the gardens are still enchanting, with their rockeries, pools and pavilions. The canalside street of Pingjiang Lu has a sleepy, old-world charm. However, I am here mainly to investigate the food, for Suzhou has its own culinary style, su bang cai, or Suzhou cuisine.
A certain obsession with food is perceptible just by strolling along Guanqian Street, the main shopping street in the city centre. Here, engraved plaques outside famous old cake shops explain their pedigrees, and shoppers queue for seasonal delicacies such as red-sauced pork or glutinous rice balls stained by fresh wheatgrass. On another street running south, the old noodle shop Zhuhongxing dispenses soup noodles served with sticky-sweet eel and tender pork belly and other favourite local snacks. It all reminds me of the novella that gave me my own first sniff of Suzhou culinary culture, The Gourmet by local writer Lu Wenfu: a satirical tale of the relationship between a gluttonous landlord and a young communist with a priggish disdain for gastronomy. Hints of the devastating pleasures of Suzhou cuisine pepper every page.
Broadly speaking, Suzhou belongs to the great Huaiyang culinary region in the east, which is notable for its easy climate, plentiful produce and rich artistic and gastronomic culture. For centuries, this region was a magnet for the literati and many gentlemen of letters who lived or lingered here, such as the Song dynasty poets Su Dongpo and Lu You, and the Qing dynasty poet Yuan Mei, wrote about its food.