Dalian dining is all about abalone, sea cucumbers and sea urchins - 5 places to try them
China’s best seafood is harvested from the cold, clean waters around the northeastern city, making it a destination for foodies
In 1898, the Russian empire coerced a lease of the Liaodong peninsula from the Qing dynasty. Almost equidistant between Beijing and Pyongyang, the new port city was dubbed “Dalnyi” – Russian for “remote”.
Thanks to its cold waters, China’s northernmost ice-free port city, in Liaoning province, boasts the country’s best abalone, sea cucumbers and shellfish. It’s also one of the cleanest and greenest of Chinese cities. Come summer, the constant cool ocean breeze has locals and tourists flocking to alfresco cafes, pop-up beer gardens and beach barbecues.
Dalian is a young, immigrant city. Many of its residents’ grandparents ventured north by boat from Shandong, which lies southwest across the Bohai Sea. They came to the Russian enclave at the southern tip of the Liaodong peninsula for more opportunities in the dying days of imperial China, as the Cantonese fled south to British Hong Kong.
Despite the city’s location, Dalianites are quick to inform you that they are not culturally “northeastern” or “Dongbei” – a people often stereotyped as country bumpkins. Dalian locals claim ancestry from illustrious Shandong, the cradle of Chinese civilisation, the hometown of Confucius and lu cai, or Shandong cuisine, one of the four great classic culinary traditions of China.
The food of Dalian is, accordingly, a branch of lu cai, with influences from the more rustic Dongbei style of cooking, such as simple but truly delicious dumplings, plus the use of Liaodong seafood.
For a taste of old Dalian, the casual chain Fuhongji serves steaming bowls of clam noodles. “It’s the flavour of Dalian’s street stalls; originally for workers and fishermen,” says chef Zhang Jing, as he stirs thick, handmade wheat noodles in a bubbling pot of clam broth over a roaring flame. Thinly sliced green beans and scallions go in at the last minute. Ladled into enormous bowls, the noodles are piping hot but retain an al dente chewiness in a clean, sweet and viscous soup.