盤點中國八大美食好去處
Although travelers can try dishes from around China and the globe in renowned food cities Beijing and Shanghai, it is outside these major metropolises where a world of exciting Chinese cuisine awaits the true foodie.
雖然在北京和上海這樣聞名的美食城市，遊客就能品嚐到中國及世界各地的美味，但只有在這些大城市以外的地方，吃貨們才能品嚐到最好吃的中國美食。
With this in mind and after three years of living in China and writing about Chinese food, I embarked on a six-month journey with my husband and two daughters.
懷揣着這種想法，又因爲在中國生活了三年並且一直在寫中國美食相關文章，我就跟老公還有兩個女兒開始了一次爲期半年的旅行。
We loaded up a campervan and set out from Shanghai on July 1. We've since covered more than 20,000 kilometers and 21 provinces in our quest to see China's most remote and beautiful areas, and to taste the different regional foods along our way.
7月1日，我們坐上一輛露營車便從上海出發了。這段20000多公里的旅程穿越了21個省份，一路上我們遊玩了中國最偏遠最迷人的地方，也品嚐了不同地區的美食。
Here are eight most amazing Chinese food cities I've come across so far. The list is in no particular order.
下面是到目前爲止我覺得最棒的中國八大美食城市，排名順序不分先後。
1. Chengdu, Sichuan Province
1. 四川省成都市
Crowned as Asia's first UNESCO City of Gastronomy in 2010, Chengdu is best-known for its fiery hot pot and spicy dishes, which are characterized by the use of Sichuan pepper and are usually layered with salty, sour and sweet flavors. There are also dishes that aren't spicy at all, such as beer-braised duck.
成都在2010年聯合國教科文組織列爲“美食城市”，這是亞洲第一個獲此殊榮的地方，成都以其麻辣火鍋和辛辣菜餚而聞名。四川菜的特點就是用很多川椒，鹹辣酸甜、口味多樣。當然，有些川菜一點也不辣，比如啤酒燜鴨。
The streets hold more than 100 varieties of street snacks, from savory jelly noodles to "dragon lifting a hand" (poached wontons drizzled in toasty chili oil, pepper corns and green onion).
成都街頭至少有上百種特色小吃，比如酸辣粉，還有“龍抄手”（水煮餛飩淋上辣椒油、胡椒和蔥花）。
Chef Yu Bo is a must-go. The high-end restaurant cooks sophisticated Sichuan food with awe-inspiring presentations: abalone on spiced mung bean jelly, crispy ginseng root, and tiny spheres of apple poached in syrup tinged with fiery notes of green Sichuan pepper.
來成都一定要去喻家廚房，這家高級餐館專做工序複雜的川菜，例如鮑魚涼粉、爽口人蔘，還有水煮江團。
Hot pot is as ubiquitous in the city as the smell of chili. At Zigong Delicious Hotpot, the house specialty tiaoshui wa is a cauldron of fiery chili to which vegetables, noodles or other meats can be added.
在這個城市火鍋隨處可見，到處瀰漫着辛辣的氣息。在自貢好吃客，特色菜跳水蛙就是往火鍋里加入大量辣椒、蔬菜、粉絲還有蛙肉等等。
For a real taste of Sichuan's signature pepper, hua jiao, spend a morning at the Chengdu Spice Market where the locals sell and buy it by the sack.
想要真正品嚐到四川有名的花椒，可以早上去成都調料市場，那裏有成包成袋的花椒在賣。
2. Lanzhou, Gansu Province
2. 甘肅省蘭州市
Synonymous in the minds of food-lovers with hand-pulled beef noodles, Lanzhou also has one of the liveliest street food night markets in China.
說起蘭州，吃貨就會想到手擀牛肉拉麪。蘭州的街頭夜市小吃攤也非常的活躍。
Just west of the city center, the buzzing Zhengning Lu bazaar houses more than 100 street food stalls. On offer is a broad selection of hot and cold dishes with emphasis on local Hui cuisine.
市中心往西的正寧路夜市上，少說也有上百個小吃攤位。小吃攤有各色冷熱菜餚，全都是回族美食。
Highlights include whole grilled fish seasoned with aromatic cumin and sesame paste (RMB 25, US$4), sweet, hot bowls of nai zhou (milk rice with sultanas, peanuts, sesame seed and beaten egg, RMB 8) and flaky pastry rou bing stuffed with meat (RMB 2).
特色美食有茴香芝麻烤全魚（25元/4美元）、牛奶雞蛋醪糟（用牛奶、雞蛋、醪糟一起煮，還放了葡萄乾、銀耳、芝麻，8元），還有夾肉香酥千層餅（2元）。
No trip to Lanzhou is complete without feasting on noodles at Wumule Penhui, the 2012 winners of Lanzhou's annual pulled noodle competition. The halal restaurant makes noodles spicy enough to satisfy even the most hardened heat-seekers.
在蘭州不吃烏穆勒鵬輝的拉麪就算不上到過蘭州，烏穆勒鵬輝是2012年蘭州拉麪比賽的冠軍。這家清真麪館的麪條非常辛辣，哪怕是最嗜辣的吃客都能被辣倒。
3. Guangzhou, Guangdong Province
3. 廣東省廣州市
The birthplace of Cantonese food, Guangzhou is thought by many as the best place to eat in China. The city of 12 million has a passionate food culture, with equal excitement reserved for the opening of a hole-in-the-wall congee joint and a high-end restaurant.
作爲粵菜的發源地，廣州被認爲是中國最好的美食城市之一。這座120萬人口的城市擁有相當豐富的美食文化，出色的粥店和高檔餐館隨時敞開大門歡迎人們光臨。
The local cuisine is characterized by fresh clean flavors, seafood, barbecued meats and the wonderful tradition of yum cha, which is tea drinking accompanied by dumplings and small dishes.
廣東菜的特點是口味清淡，有海鮮、烤肉以及傳統飲茶等，配上餃子和小菜。
Congee is the way locals love to start their day, and one of the most popular vendors is Ru Xuan Sha Guo Zhou. Here, one can get a bowl of signature seafood congee any hour of the day.
當地人早上喜歡喝粥，最受歡迎的要數如軒砂鍋粥。在這裏，任何時候都能喝到招牌海鮮粥。
Yum cha addicts are spoiled for choice but the extensive selections at both North Garden Restaurant (where shrimp dumplings are the specialty) and Bing Sheng are exemplary.
嗜好飲茶的人可去的地方很多，但最典型的還是北園酒家（以蝦餃爲特色）和炳勝品味。
Roast meats are Bing Sheng's most popular order -- their roast goose is marinated with five-spice, boiled, air-dried, then roasted by a flame oven to give a succulent crisp skin.
炳勝品味最拿手的是烤肉，他們的烤鵝經過五香醃製、水煮、風乾後才上烤架，皮脆肉嫩。
For something more home style and removed from the madness of downtown, head to Ji Cun for steamed chicken and simple farmer-style dishes.
若想遠離市中心的喧囂，體驗農家風味，可以到雞邨大飯店品嚐蒸雞和清淡的農家菜。
4. Turpan, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region
4. 新疆維吾爾自治區吐魯番
Lying on the northern Silk Road en route to the trading hub of Kashgar, the laidback town of Turpan has the best Uyghur food in Xinjiang. Dozens of open-air restaurants serve halal fare next to the main bazaar.
在新疆通往喀什貿易中心的北絲綢之路邊上，散落着的吐魯番小鎮出產最美味的維吾爾美食。大型集市邊上有許多價格便宜的露天餐館。
Browse the stalls for central Asian specialties like lamb kawop and crispy rounds of nang bread, served alongside less well-known local favorites like banshi (mutton wontons served in a light tomato broth topped with black-eyed beans and cilantro) or lamb, which is marinated in saffron and yoghurt and cooked until it falls tenderly apart in the tonur oven.
一路走過小吃攤，你會看到中亞特有的烤羊肉和饢，跟不太大衆的當地食品（羊肉餛飩番茄湯加黑豆與香菜）或羊羔肉，羊羔肉用藏紅花和酸奶醃漬並燉煮而成，非常鮮嫩。
Finish with a bowl of fresh set yoghurt.
最後還可以來一大碗新鮮酸奶。
The extremely dry county grows China’s sweetest grapes with the harvest spectacle taking place in early to mid-September.
這個中國最乾燥的地方產有最甜的葡萄，每年九月中旬便迎來葡萄大豐收的景象。5. Datong, Shanxi Province
5. 山西省大同市
Shanxi is home to one of China's great eight cuisines, jin cai, characterized by the liberal use of vinegar, round breads and pastries (known as bing) and hundreds of varieties of noodles.
山西晉菜是中國八大菜系之一，特點是擅於用醋，有各種饃饃、大餅和各種做法的麪條。
Located in north of the province, industrial city Datong is an unassuming choice for dedicated Chinese foodies, with a burgeoning number of restaurants serving innovative and elegant jin dishes.
大同是一座工業城市，位於山西省北部，美食實在地道，現如今推出創新精緻晉菜的餐館也越來越多了。
Phoenix Court, housed in an intimate Ming Dynasty mansion since 1518, serves the most refined jin cuisine in Datong.
在始於明朝1815年的鳳臨閣能品嚐到大同最美味的晉菜。
Specialties are the delicate chrysanthemum shao mai (steamed dumplings favored by the Empress Cixi when she last visited), and the unusual yangsheng hulusi, which is carefully coiled shredded bottle gourd dressed with aged Shanxi vinegar, chilies, and finely sliced scallions.
特色菜有可口的菊花燒賣（據說慈禧太后最後一次駕臨山西時非常喜歡），還有特別的養生葫蘆絲（佐以山西陳醋、辣椒和細細的蔥花）。
Across town the 500-seat Yonghe Fine Food City gives a new spin on traditional dishes, with must-tries like golden millet pudding studded with tiny orange sea buckthorn berries.
市區的永和美食城能容納500人，菜餚推陳出新，招牌菜有沙棘黃米飯，米飯裏有小小的沙棘漿果。
6. Qingdao, Shandong Province
6. 山東省青島市
This is one of China's best seafood cities. There is no better accompaniment to the city’s refreshing brew, Tsingtao, than the local shrimp, clams, geoducks, sea cucumbers and crayfish.
青島有中國最美味的海鮮。這裏還有無與倫比的爽口青島啤酒、對蝦、蛤蜊、扇貝、海蔘還有淡水小龍蝦。
At Qingdao's Haidao restaurant, choose the catch of the day from the tanks, request a method of cooking (if unsure, the restaurant will help), sit down with a jug of beer then wait to see what turns up.
在青島的海島漁村，你可以自己從水箱裏挑選當天新鮮海味，選擇自己喜歡的烹飪方法（如果拿不定主意，店家可以幫忙），然後邊喝啤酒邊坐等美味上桌。
The emphasis is on preserving the seafood's fresh taste so don't expect a lot of complex heavy sauces. Instead, enjoy gala (local clams cooked with garlic and a little chili), or wok-fired shrimp with scallions.
爲確保海鮮口味純正，千萬別放太多調料。推薦當地的蒜蓉蛤蜊或蔥爆蝦，味道很不錯。
For those who love to smell brine and hear the creak of rigging with your seafood, Xiao Gang Pier in northern Qingdao is lined with fishing boats selling directly from their decks.
如果你想一邊品嚐海鮮、一邊伴着鹹鹹的海風聽船槳聲，可以去青島北邊的小港海鮮市場，那裏有成排的漁船，甲板上出售各種海產品。
7. Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province
7. 浙江省紹興市
This ancient canal city is home to huangjiu, an amber-colored rice wine that's ubiquitous in Chinese cooking.
這座大運河畔的老城是黃酒的發源地，黃酒是一種琥珀色的米酒，是中國烹飪的必備調料。
Experience the history of 2,000 years of winemaking and taste aged wines at the Yellow Rice Wine Museum before enjoying a meal at the legendary Xianheng restaurant.
在去著名的咸亨酒店饕餮之前，一定要先去黃酒博物館感受一下2000年的釀酒史、品味一下陳年酒釀。
Open since 1894, the dining chain is known by almost every Chinese for its appearance in early 20th century novels by Chinese literati Lu Xun.
咸亨酒店始建於1894年，得名於中國文學家魯迅在20世紀寫過的某篇小說，在中國可謂家喻戶曉，現在已發展成爲連鎖店了。
Xianheng's delicacies include crispy-skinned chicken, smoked red dates in rice wine, beans flavored with fennel, and crispy bream in rice wine.
咸亨酒店的招牌菜有脆皮雞、酒醉紅棗、茴香豆還有香酥黃酒漬鯿魚。
Fried fermented tofu is also a local specialty, which is available all over town at small street stalls including one just outside Xianheng.
油炸臭豆腐也是當地一大特色，市內大街小巷到處都有臭豆腐攤，咸亨酒店外也有。
8. Dazhai, Guangxi Province
8. 廣西省大寨鄉
Not technically a city, but Dazhai is the best destination in China to enjoy fresh food as well as a stunning natural landscape on one trip.
大寨嚴格意義上來說並不是一座城市，但在這裏不僅能欣賞到美麗的自然風光，還能品嚐到新鮮的綠色食品。
The village is about three hours from Guilin by car and is at the base of the remote "Dragon's Backbone" rice terraces.
從桂林開車大概三個小時就到了大寨——周圍是被譽爲“龍脊”的梯田。
Here, the Yao minorities grow, make and forage everything they eat, including rice, tea, fern shoots, wild mushrooms and liquor brewed from wild berries.
在這裏，瑤族人自給自足，種植並生產大米、茶、筍、蘑菇，還能用野莓釀酒。
Vegetables are plucked by farmers from the earth next to dining tables which overlook spectacular centuries-old rice fields.
飯桌上的蔬菜是邊上的籬笆地裏現摘的，放眼望去是恆古壯觀的稻田。
Farmer Li's guesthouse is one of many lodgings that serve simple home-cooked dishes according to the season, for example: stir-fried pumpkin with fern shoots, or sticky rice cooked inside bamboo.
在大寨，有很多像老李家這樣的小客店，向客人提供南瓜炒筍片或竹筒飯這樣的應季農家菜。
