Kunming provides an abundance of special foods. Its current distinctive local flavor was established by the time of Emperor Guangsu of the Qing Dynasty (1875-1909). The following are some of the most famous and popular dishes.

Over-the-Bridge Rice Noodles	Steam Potted Chicken	Yiliang Roasted Duck
Xuanwei Ham	The Eight Treasures of Yunnan	Gong Bao Ji Ding
To Doe Zi

Over-the-Bridge Rice Noodles: This famous dish consists of several courses. It is prepared in a big bowl of chicken soup with very thick and oily gravy on top to hold the heat for cooking the food. Items such as raw pork, cooked chicken, pork liver, squid, and carp constitute the first course and are dipped into the boiling hot soup. Vegetables are added as a second course. Finally, the rice noodles are cooked; this is the last course.

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Steam Potted Chicken, Steam Potted Chicken with Tienchi, and Steam Potted Chicken with Cordyceps: The steam pot has a hollow central tube that measures nearly the height of the pot. Food such as raw chicken pieces, ginger, salt, and other spices are placed in the pot (and around the tube). Then this pot is placed on a larger pot of boiling water--much like a double-boiler pot functions in the western world. Steam from the top of the tube of the first pot is what heats the food in the pot. This chicken dish takes about three to four hours to cook. The same method is used to cook other food. It is said that this method of cooking intensifies the flavor of any dish.

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Yiliang Roasted Duck: Yiliang Roasted Duck can be compared with the famous Peking Duck, but it is roasted differently and therefore has a different taste. The Goujie (Dog Street) Roasted Duck produced in the Goujie Street of Yiliang is extraordinarily delicious--with crispy and yellowish skin, soft and tender duck meat, and a delicate flavor of pine needles. It is said that the name of the dish--Goujie--does not have anything to do with dog, however.

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Xuanwei Ham: This dish dates back to the early 1700s. It is noted for having won a prize at the Panama Fair in 1915. In 1923, Dr. Sun Yi Xian (known as the Father of the Kunmingtang Party) wrote an inscription, "Yin He Shi De" (which means "eat properly for a sound mind"), for Xuanwei ham that was featured at a food competition in Guangzhou. Xuanwei ham sells well in the countries of Southeastern Asia and Europe. It can be bought fresh from just about any store in Kunming; it is also available in a canned version.

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The Eight Treasures of Yunnan: This is the most popular of Yunnan cakes. It is packed in eight small pieces, consisting of one hard-skin cake, a ham-stuffed moon part, two crispy white parts stuffed with puree, and two crispy parts stuffed with sesame, peanuts, mushroom, and rutabaga pickle.

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Gong Bao Ji Ding is a spicy chicken dish prepared with peanuts and vegetables. This dish is never the same from one restaurant to another, so be prepared for variations.

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To Doe Zi is for potato lovers. Shredded potato is stir fried with some green peppers; this is a normally hot and spicy dish. (In fact, most dishes in Kunming are hot and spicy.)

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