Top 10 Nanjing Restaurants

 Chinese name: 马祥兴菜馆 mă xíang xīng caì guăn
With more than 170 years history, Ma Xiang Xing is the most famous halal Nanjing restaurant. However, instead of cooking beef and mutton, this restaurant has many innovative cuisines made of fish, duck and shrimp. The most popular dishes are Squirrel-shaped Mandarin Fish, Phoenix-tailed Prawns and Steamed Egg Dumplings. You will definitely be satisfied with its good-quality ingredients and cheap price!

 Chinese name: 韩复兴 hán fù xīng
Han Fu Xing Restaurant makes the best Nanjing Salted Duck, which was even the royal’s choice in the late Qing Dynasty (1866-1912). This restaurant prefers to choose smaller ducks with chewy flesh. And its special cooking technique can retain the original flavor of duck. The crispy Duck Fat Pastry with strong fragrance is another must for tourists. Pastry’s two versions, sweet and salty, are both available.

 Chinese name: 奇芳阁 qí fāng gé
Established in 1920, Qi Fang Ge Restaurant is reputable for making traditional Nanjing food. The four most famous dishes are Duck Sesame Cake, Shredded Dried Tofu with Pepper Oil, Assorted Stuffing Dumpling and Shredded Chicken Noodles. The sesame cake perfectly blends the fragrance of sesame seed and duck oil, truly palatable. Also, its dumplings have a refreshing flavor of the mix of spinage, dried tofu, agaric and pepper oil. By the way, you will be impressed by this Nanjing restaurant’s quaint decoration!

 Chinese name: 蒋有记 jĭang yŏu jì
Speaking of Beef Potsticker / Pan-fried Beef Dumpling, local people will strongly recommend Jiang You Ji Restaurant. It really lives up to its reputation because this dish at this restaurant has been listed as one of the 8 Specialists of Nanjing. Each golden potsticker is like a mini crescent moon, and combines the crispy crust and juicy minced beef. This dish’s delicate balance of salty and sweet makes Jiang You Ji a Nanjing restaurant you must visit.

 Chinese name: 刘长兴 líu cháng xīng
Many Nanjing people choose to have a morning tea at Liu Chang Xing Restaurant, and Steamed Bun Stuffed with Crab Roe is its signature dish. The plentiful crab roe and crab meat are wrapped in thin but chewy coating. The finished steamed buns taste sweet and fresh, and remember to suck the delicious soup inside before eating it. At this restaurant, stewed cuisines, noodles with pork, eel and smoked fish are also worth trying.

 Chinese name: 永和园酒楼 yŏng hé yuán jĭu lóu
Yong He Yuan is a traditional Nanjing restaurant famous for both main course and pastry. Nearly all the Nanjing dishes can be savored here and its most popular dish is Duck Blood and Vermicelli Soup. For those who want something sweet, Sweet Dumplings with Red Bean is sure to satisfy your need. As for pastry, you should never miss its Crab-shell-like Sesame Seed Cake. It has salty version and sweet version. The former features crispy crust with enticing smell, and the latter with enough black sesame seed stuffing is sweet but not greasy.

 Chinese name: 莲湖糕团店 lían hú gāo tuán dìan
This one is a must for those who like glutinous dessert! Lian Hu Gao Tuan Dian is reputable as the most representative dessert store in Jiangsu Province. Among all kinds of desserts, Sweet Dumplings Filled with Fragrans and Five-color Sponge Cake are the hottest orders. As a main ingredient, the bean paste is sweet, chewy but not cloy. If you want to take away some pastries, Assorted Sponge Cake, Chestnut Cake, Green Rice Cake and Bean Paste Rice Cake are also good options.

 Chinese name: 绿柳居 lǜ lĭu jū
Lv Liu Ju is the most well-known vegetarian Nanjing restaurant, thus also a good option for Muslims. The vegetable food at Lv Liu Ju is so palatable that it used to frequently hold banquets for local celebrities in the early 20th century. The restaurant’s signature dish is Steamed Vegetable Dumpling and it is said that Lv Liu Ju can sell 5,000 steamed dumplings per day. In addition, the most striking feature of this restaurant is that the chef can use vegetables to cook vivid meat dishes. For example, the chicken and duck here are actually made of gluten, bean curd skin and other bean products. Both the visual and texture are very similar to real meat. If you visit this restaurant with lots of families or friends, then it is recommended to reserve a Vegan Feast in advance.

 Chinese name: 清真安乐园菜馆 qīng zhēn ān lè yuán caì guăn
As a time-honored halal restaurant, An Le Yuan is good at cooking not only beef and mutton, but also various snacks for the morning tea. At breakfast time, many people will line up for Spicy Soup, Steamed Beef Dumplings, and Steamed Bean Paste Dumplings. Some customers even buy dozens of steamed dumplings at one time. Recommended main courses are Braised Beef Meatballs and Stewed Vegetables with Duck Tongue, and the latter can’t be found elsewhere.

 Chinese name: 鸭得堡老鸭粉丝汤 yā dé băo lăo yā fĕn sī tāng
Compared with the Nanjing restaurants mentioned above, Ya De Bao has the most chain stores and specializes in cooking Duck Blood and Vermicelli Soup. Though various duck giblets are presented together, you can still taste the subtle differences of each ingredient. Fresh duck blood, salty duck intestine and chewy duck kidney add flavor to each other. What’s more, many local people will order a piece of rice crust and soak it into the rich soup base, which is really worth trying.