Hefei's food scene is Anhui cooking at its most urban — less touristic than the Huizhou cuisine of the south, more varied and working-class in character. The city's signature dishes are the Li Hongzhang hotpot — a clay-pot stew named for the city's most famous historical figure — and the crayfish that have made Ninguo Road famous throughout the region.
The morning food culture is worth experiencing: Hefei has a strong breakfast tradition centered on tofu nao (soft tofu in broth), fresh wontons, and shaobing flatbreads. Street breakfast stalls are found throughout the city and are at their best before 8am. In the evening, the university districts around USTC and Anhui University have dense clusters of affordable restaurants catering to students — good value and genuinely local.