Great Eats: 花中城 (Huā Zhōng Chéng - Flower City)

This post was meant to be completed a couple weeks ago, apologies for the slight delay. With that said:

花中城 (located in Shangcheng, Hangzhou) has many affordable but delicious options ranging from desserts to seafood, and everything else. This 11-part meal ended up costing only ~$30 (US)! My relatives originally brought me here during my first week in Hangzhou; turns out my coworkers come here often too since it's so close to our school!

A dessert dish (a fruit jelly)

Fried shrimp cakes - this was one of my favorites!

Standard greens

Fried taro pastry - a tasty dessert!

Hangzhou duck - another great dish!

String Beans

Some kind of Fish from Hangzhou

More fish

A Hangzhou soup with three "rarities"

 

"Tofu skin" - another tasty option (I grew up eating this)!

Didn't get the name off the menu, but this is basically a steamed cake - very spongy

Great Eats: 外婆家 (Wài Pó Jiā - Grandma's House)

Grandma's House is a popular chain restaurant in Hangzhou (there was a 1+ hour wait when I went to another one with friends!) - I kind of associate this with Applebee's or Chili's in the States, only this one has tasty Chinese food instead of burgers and other Western goodies. Take a look!

蒜蓉扇贝 (Suān Róng Shàn Bèi - Garlic-ed Scallops)

马蹄响铃 (Mǎ Tí Xiǎng Líng - "Horseshoe Rings," Water chestnuts wrapped in tofu skin - a sweet, snack-like goodie; one of my favorites to simply pop into my mouth!) 

葱包桧 (Cōng Bāo Guì - Cypress leek wrap)

鸡蛋挑石头 (Jī Dàn Tiāo Shí Tóu - Egg cooked over stone)

菜胆鱼面筋 (Cài Dǎn Yú Miàn Jīn - Fish balls with fried gluten; another tasty option!)

糖醋里脊 (Táng Cù Lǐ Jǐ - Sugar and Vinegar with Pork Loin) 

绿茶饼 (Lü` Chá Bǐng - Green Tea Cakes)

青豆泥 (Qīng Dòu Ní - Green Bean Soup)

Sightseeing: 西湖 (Xī Hú - West Lake), Seal Carving Museum, and Great Eats: 莲蓬 (Lián Péng - Lotus Seeds)

My uncle also brought us to 西湖, a very touristy (but beautiful!) location in 杭州. Apparently, it's lotus flower season, so many tourists make the visit to see the flowers in bloom. Along the way we passed by the Seal Carving Museum and had some lotus seeds to munch on!

西湖 (Xī Hú - West Lake):

One of the entrances

岳飞 (Yuè Fēi - A Song Dynasty hero)

秋瑾 (Qīu Jǐn - Another hero; she helped overthrow the Qin Dynasty but was martyred in the process)

莲蓬 (Lián Péng - Lotus Seeds):

3 for 10RMB

Break open the shell and enjoy the inside!

Seal Carving Museum:

A little museum - I don't know much about the art of seal carving, but now I'm curious...apparently the most expensive seal in the gift shop costs 15,000RMB!