Jiaomin Caifan (Dingshan branch)

Jiaomin Caifan (焦敏菜饭) is a casual rice shop in Dingshu Town, the ceramics-making district of Yixing in Jiangsu province, China. The Dingshan branch sits on the north side of Zisha Road, about 50 metres east of the Dongxian Middle Road junction, a short ride from the purple-clay (zisha) workshops and showrooms that give the street its name. The cuisine is Yixing home-style rice cooking, built around caifan, a one-pot rice of chopped greens, often cooked with salted pork, that is a staple across the Taihu Lake region of southern Jiangsu. Signature dishes include the vegetable rice with salted pork, braised tofu and seasonal greens. The rice is the centrepiece: grains are cooked with greens and savoury cured meat until the fat and aroma are absorbed, then served in a bowl with a side dish or soup. Portions are generous and prices modest, at roughly CNY 20-40 per person. The dining room follows the pattern of a neighbourhood eatery: simple tables, fast service, a steady stream of local workers, ceramics-industry staff and visitors fitting a meal between studio visits. There is no dress code, noise levels rise at the lunch peak, and there is no notable wine or cocktail programme; soft drinks, tea and bottled beer are the usual drinks. Reservations are not normally taken. At peak lunch and on weekend evenings, arriving before about 11:30 or 17:30 avoids queues. Opening hours are roughly 10:30 to 20:00, though hours at small restaurants in China can shift, so checking a map app such as Amap or Baidu Maps before visiting is sensible. For travellers working through Dingshu's potteries, the shop is a dependable, inexpensive option and a good way to sample the rice-and-salted-pork tradition that defines everyday eating in this part of Jiangsu.