WEIRD FOOD TO EAT IN GUANGZHOU

Guangzhou may be the ultimate travel destination for those of you seeking to expand your culinary horizons with unusual exotic food. Weird food, does not necessarily mean bugs and strange furry animals. The people of Guangzhou have a love for food, and there is a huge diversity of fresh produce available. A simple trip to the market in Guangzhou can present a wide range of fresh food that would be more than enough for an episode of Bizarre Foods. Chickens with black meat, goose eggs, pigeons, scorpions, crocodiles, more varieties of mushrooms than you have ever seen before, and that is before you check out the seafood.  Any of you that are lucky enough to visit Guangzhou can see these exotic wonders and a lot more on our Guangzhou Food Tours.

Our focus in this list is bizzare or unusual foods that are readily accessible to try in Guangzhou, the things that are part of everyday life for local Cantonese people. Remember, what is weird to you, is normal to us!

Weird Foods of Guangzhou - No 1. Black Chicken (Wu Gai)

In English this chicken is called a Silkie. They have beautiful soft white feathers, and amazingly black meat and bones. If you go to a market in Guangzhou, you will see the black meat on display at any chicken stall. The meat is commonly used to make chicken soup and is has been prized for its medicinal qualities in China for hundreds of years. The soup is a clear soup boiled with goji berries, dried yam, dried orange peel and ginger.

Another unusual fact about this chicken is that is has 5 toes instead of 4 toes like most other chickens.

In addition to chicken soup, the eggs from Silkie's are blue / black colour, fragrant and delicious. They run at about double to cost of normal chicken eggs.

Black chicken is so common that we will not recommend an individual restaurant. Almost every neighbourhood has a soup shop that will sell Wu Gai soup. Most large restaurants will also serve the soup. Ask your concierge for a suggestion, or any Cantonese local!

Weird Foods of Guangzhou No 2 - Scorpion

If you are reading this, you have probably already come across the common images of people selling scorpion skewers in Beijings night markets. Unlike in Beijing, this is not a tourist novelty. In Guangzhou if you go to most wet markets, you can find someone selling a variety of different scorpions. In Chinese medicine, scorpions are known for their detoxification purpose.  It is often used to treat arthritis.  Normally used in soups, locals think male scorpions with small bellies and thick legs are the best. 

If you are interested in trying some scorpion soup, there is a 35 year old restaurant called Dun Ping Huang on Tong Fu Dong Road, Haizhu. They specialise in slow cooked soups and serve a wide variety of medicinal soups including scorpion soup, cow penis soup and turtle soup.
 

Weird Foods of Guangzhou No 3 - Goose Eggs

Goose eggs, exotic, delicious and sure to give you high cholesterol. One of the more tame exotic foods that you can try in Guangzhou, these jumbo eggs are around 3 times the size of a normal chicken egg, and at least double the price per gram of a chicken egg. We like our goose eggs pan fried and have it as a common breakfast treat. You probably won't find this on many restaurant menu's, but you can buy it at any wet market. Goose eggs are high in protein content and full of minerals and vitamins.  It is said to help improve one’s memory.
 

Weird Foods of Guangzhou No 4 - Pigeon

There is a Chinese proverb that one pigeon is worth nine chickens. Pigeon is a delicious treat available in many restaurants across Guangzhou and also fresh in all wet markets. Common ways to eat pigeon are roasted, similar to duck or goose, or in a soup or hot pot. The meat is darker than chicken, more like duck, flavoursome but not fatty. There is not much meat on a pigeon, so either order a few to share, or have it as part of your main meal. Pigeon soup is particularly delicious. 

Where to try it?

You can try good roast pigeon all over Guangzhou, ask a Cantonese concierge for a recommendation. For pigeon soup, my favourite is from a small restaurant in Liwan district. Nothing fancy, but authentic and delicious.

Wang jin ge on Jiang Yi Road, Haizhu specialises in pigeon and is one of our favourite restaurants.  You can have your pigeons cooked in four different ways plus treat yourself with one of their medicinal pigeon hotpots. 

Weird Foods of Guangzhou No 5 - Donkey

Donkey is not a Cantonese speciality, but it is available in Guangzhou. Originating from Northern China, Donkey can be prepared in a variety of ways. Hot pot is one of the most common. The meat is similar to beef, but with a more subtle flavour and is considered a delicacy.  If you are living in Guangzhou, you can buy fresh donkey meat in Liwan near the Lamb wholesalers. There is a Chinese saying “There is dragon meat in heaven and there is donkey meat on earth.” It is meant to be excellent for people with bad back.

Weird Foods of Guangzhou No 6 - Geoduck 

Geoduck (pronounced Goo-ey-duck) its the largest burrowing clam in the world. They originate from the west coast of Canada and the USA and are sold live in markets across Guangzhou, as well as neighbouring Hong Kong. Geoducks take 6 years to reach maturity and can live for an amazing 140 years, although life expectancy is considerably shorter for those in Guangzhou Restaurants! A single Geoduck can weigh around 1.5 pounds.
Lots of high end seafood restaurants in Guangzhou will have live Geoduck on display. Alternatively for the very freshest and widest choice, head to the Huang Sha Seafood markets and be amazed. Expect to pay around 300 RMB per kilo for this rare delicacy. The best way to prepare geoduck is to quickly boil them in hot water then dip into ice cold water.  Sprinkle with shallot, ginger and chilli, drizzle with soy and cooked oil.