West Lake carp in sweet and sour sauce, also known as ShusaoChuangzhen in Chinese. It’s a must-taste traditional Hangzhou dish.

Legend has it two brothers, surnamed Song, used toby West Lake and made a living by fishing. The elder brother had a beautiful wife named Sister Song. A local villain met Sister Song, fell in love with her, and murdered the elder brother to get her. There was no possibility of getting justice from then local government, so the younger brother had to leave Hangzhou to hide away from the villain. During the farewell dinner, Sister Song cooked a special fish, which was both sweet and sour. She used this dish to remind the younger brother of his elder brother’s death. The fish tasted sweet, but one must not forget it’s also sour. Years later the younger brother came back as a high-ranking official and he avenged his brother and found Sister Song. He then resigned his post and lived a simple life by West Lake with Sister Song. Since then, West Lake carp in sweet and sour sauce has been handed down, generation to generation.

Once there was a man who was so enchanted by the amazing taste of West Lake carp in sweet and sour sauce, he wrote a poem on the restaurant’s wall to praise it. A constant stream of people went straight to the restaurant to taste West Lake carp in sweet and sour sauce.