Overview
Guilin is home to many ethnic minorities. Different ethnic lifestyles and cuisines have blended here to create a unique food culture. Local Guilin dishes are known for their simplicity, natural flavor, rich taste, and their use of both sweetness and sourness. The foods here have a strong rustic feel. While Guilin dishes combine the sour and spicy Hunan cuisine with light-flavored Cantonese cuisine, most of the home dishes are influenced by Hunan cuisine. People eat sour and spicy foods for almost every meal.

Famous Guilin Food
Beer Fish
A local specialty in Yangshuo, Guilin, the fame of the beer fish lies in its exquisite ingredients: the main component is a fresh carp caught from the Li River, fried in raw camellia oil produced in the mountainous areas north of Guilin, then braised in superior beer brewed locally in Guilin. Finally, add fresh tomatoes and green pepper into the dish to release the unique green pepper flavor. 

Braised Chicken with Brown Sauce
Choose local chickens reared in small village yards, because they have fresh, tender and compact flesh. Kill the chicken, remove the feathers and innards, wash it in water, then dice it and marinate it with liquor. Finally add refined salt, green onion, and dried red pepper into the wok and stir-fry it on a big fire.

Duck with Blood and Vinegar
This is a famous dish in Quanzhou county, Guilin. For this dish, Guilin people will choose a baby duck, together with duck blood and sour vinegar, to be fried with condiments like peanut and sesame powder, pepper, and garlic in the wok, then serve it with some fresh vegetables chosen by the customer.

Stir-fried Li River Shrimp
A typical Guilin flavor dish, it chooses river shrimps grown in the Li River, stir-fried in Guilin Sanhua liquor. Because the water of the Li River is clear and fresh, the shrimps have fine and exquisite flesh texture and a natural taste. You can savor the purity and sweetness of the Li River in the shrimps.

Recommended Restaurants in Guilin
Between the rugged Karst mountains and the winding Li River, Guilin is one of Southern China’s most picturesque cities. This tourist hotspot’s selection of restaurants won’t disappoint. Belows are the top rank restaurants in Guilin:

Fo Long Xuan Restaurant
For a taste of the royal lifestyle, head over to Fo Long Xuan Restaurant. Built in the style of a Chinese palace and situated in the Guilin Mulong Park, this place lets diners take in beautiful scenic views as they eat. The restaurant is three stories high, with tables scattered throughout the first two floors. There is also a private dining area on the third. Guests can sample the restaurant’s traditional Chinese dishes, as well as Guilin Sanhua, a popular rice wine dating back to the Song Dynasty.

Rosemary Café
Positioned along the bustling Zhengyang Pedestrian Street, a famous downtown shopping area, Rosemary Café is loved by both locals and expats alike. The venue offers a cozy interior where diners can relax, with homey decor and local handicrafts sprinkled throughout. One of the cafe’s walls is decorated with photos and messages from past diners, a testament to its popularity as one of the city’s favorite spots.

Rice Noodles Pub
Also located on Zhengyang Pedestrian Street is Rice Noodles Pub, a modern restaurant with a reputation among expats as a great hangout. The lounge-style pub serves a variety of Asian food, with options such as Chinese-style fried potatoes, lotus root, and dumplings. Modern furnishings give the pub a stylish feel, and a covered patio offers comfy outdoor seating.

Tong Lai Guan
Tong Lai Guan has become a Guilin favorite for its selection of local snacks and traditional Chinese dishes. This casual restaurant is an affordable choice for visitors seeking an authentic taste of China. Located across from Guan Tai Hotel, Tong Lai Guan offers a hot pot option in addition to its other menu options. Courageous guests can select their favorite vegetables, meat, and seafood from the restaurant’s buffet and cook it in a boiling pot of broth at their own table.