Nanjing Food Guide: Eat Your Way Through the Streets and Alleys of Nanjing, Savoring the Authentic Flavors of Jinling from Morning to Night

What really brings out the local flavor in Nanjing is the food. Eat from morning to night and you'll taste it all. Start at Fangpo Gaotuan Shop for a filling black rice ball, or pair a duck-fat flaky pastry with small wontons for pure satisfaction. Li's Halal Restaurant serves juicy, crispy beef potstickers and fragrant steamed rice cakes—childhood flavors for locals. For breakfast, try duck blood vermicelli soup with xiaolongbao; the juicy soup dumplings and savory broth are a perfect match. Duck is the star here: Zhang Yun and Han Fuxing serve tender salted duck that's never greasy, firm flavorful salted goose, and roast duck drenched in rich gravy. For fresh soup, head to residential neighborhoods for Xiao Pan Ji or Ya De Bao, where duck-bone broth is deeply savory. Pork skin noodles and braised shredded tofu are local classics that warm the stomach. Don't miss the chewy osmanthus cakes, plum blossom cakes, summer jelly noodles, or the lotus root cakes in Laomendong—you can't go wrong. At night, hit Sanpailou or Kexiang for late-night snacks like stir-fried snails, small wontons, and salted duck. Eating slowly in the breeze is the best way to experience Nanjing's food scene.