Yangzhou is one of the birthplaces of Huaiyang cuisine — one of the four great schools of Chinese cooking — and eating well here requires no special effort. The food is subtle, sweet-inflected, obsessed with freshness and knife technique, and best appreciated at a slow pace. The restaurants around Dongguan Street and the old quarter are the most reliable, and a traditional Yangzhou breakfast (dim sum-style small dishes eaten over tea) is one of the city's not-to-be-missed experiences.