The forests of the Greater Khingan range are among China's most productive mushroom habitats, and the late-summer and autumn menus in Zalantun reflect this. Vendors at the morning market sell fresh boletus, chanterelles, and several varieties of edible species with no direct English equivalent; the best restaurants cook these to order with garlic and lard in the northeastern style.
Wild mushroom hot pot is the dish most visitors end up ordering repeatedly: a broth built on dried mushrooms, into which fresh varieties and river fish are added at the table. Several dedicated hotpot restaurants near the bus station specialise in this format, and the broth left at the end of a meal — dark, savoury, intensely flavoured — is worth drinking by the cup.