The worldwide migration of Fujian people in the past 100 years has had an enormous influence on the popularisation of the province's food. The Taiwanese diet largely evolved in Fujian. If you go to any Chinese restaurant in New York's Chinatown it's likely to be Fujianese. Provincial capital Fuzhou, a metropolis of five million people, is an eating experience in itself, with strange street food and noisy, packed restaurants. All prices are from 200 yuan for dinner for two.
Junchunyuan Hotel
2 Dong Jie Street, Fuzhou (tel: [86 591] 8753 3604)
The eatery here has been a Fuzhou institution for a century, with its army of staff and seating for more than 900 on several floors. Almost everyone comes for its most famous dish, Fo Tiao Qiang (Buddha jumps over the wall). This delicacy has more than 20 ingredients, including shark's fin, scallops, chicken, duck, pigs' trotters, mutton and wine. Two days' notice is required to prepare a 10-person feast (5,000 yuan). A single serving is available for 200 yuan. Excellent soups (a major part of the Fujian diet), snake, tortoise and fresh seafood with such exotic monikers as 'Elephant nose clam with mustard' are also available.
Old Street
Rongchen and Taijiang roads
Food streets are native to nearly every Chinese city and Fuzhou has two of note. The new food street on Taijiang Road is popular with the younger set for its east-west offerings, but can be homogenised. The real eating action can be found at the adjoining Rongchen Road, where the old food street offers four blocks of stores and stalls. Tu Zha Er is a naan-like spicy flat bread that has the punters lining up, and fresh seafood is abundant and cheap.
