Yunnan cuisine is the most varied and arguably the most interesting in China. Sub-tropical south, Tibetan north, and Han Chinese centre all contribute, plus the cooking of the 25 ethnic minorities recognised in the province. Kunming is the place where the strands come together. Three dishes you should not leave the city without trying:
- Crossing-the-Bridge Rice Noodles (过桥米线) — the dish that travelled around the world from a small spa town near Kunming. Boiling chicken broth is brought to the table in a deep bowl; raw vegetables, slices of pork, ham, fish, mushrooms, and rice noodles are added in sequence and cooked at the table.
- Steam Pot Chicken (汽锅鸡) — a whole chicken slow-steamed in a specially shaped pottery vessel, the steam condensing back into the bird to produce an intensely clear and aromatic soup. The classic is the Jianshui pot, made in the town of that name south of Kunming.
- Wild mushrooms — in the summer rains, hundreds of edible species are foraged in the Yunnan hills and brought to the city. The most famous are the matsutake and the porcini-like ji zong. The mushroom hotpots at the Wenlin Street restaurants are the easiest way to try a range.
For these and other Yunnan specialities, Wenlin Street, the lanes around Jinma Biji Square, and the Yunnan-themed restaurants attached to the larger hotels are reliable.