Chengde Manchu Banquet Tasting

The Chengde Manchu Banquet Tasting is a restaurant-based tasting in Shuangqiao District, Chengde, Hebei province, China, centred on the Manchu and imperial-style cooking associated with the former Qing summer capital. There is no tour guide or operator; visitors walk in to Qiaojia Manchu Eight Big Bowls at No. 9 Zhongxing Road and order the set directly. Chengde grew around the Mountain Resort where Qing emperors spent their summers, and the local cuisine blends Manchu, Mongolian and Han traditions, with a strong emphasis on game, braised meats, mountain vegetables and wheat or millet-based dishes. The centrepiece is the eight big bowls set, a traditional Manchu celebration meal in which eight large bowls of stewed, braised and steamed dishes are served to the table, typically including pork, chicken and vegetable preparations in rich, deeply seasoned sauces. The meal is complemented by an imperial silk noodle soup, a light, delicate dish of very fine noodles in clear broth that offers a contrast to the heavier bowls. The tasting ends with ludagun, sweet rolled glutinous-rice cakes coated in soybean flour and filled with red bean paste, sampled at Chengde Ludagun Snack Shop, which provides the principal sweet note in an otherwise savoury meal. The restaurant set is priced per table rather than per head, at about ¥168-288 for a table of four to six, so it works best for families or small groups; solo visitors will find the portions large. Allow around two hours for the meal and the dessert stop. Food is included in the set price, while drinks, tea and extra dishes are usually charged separately, and transport between the restaurant and the dessert shop is at the visitor's own expense. Menus are in Chinese, often with photographs, and the pace is relaxed and sit-down. Dietary substitutions are not guaranteed because the set menu is meat-centred, so vegetarian or halal requests should be raised when ordering. The tasting pairs naturally with visits to the Mountain Resort and the Eight Outer Temples.