Shelled Shrimps with Dragon Well Green Tea is a much sought-after specialty in Hangzhou which, as its name implies, uses a unique recipe to combine shelled shrimps and freshly-picked Dragon Well Green Tea together.

The shrimps need to be fresh, and the Dragon Well Green Tea needs to be picked around Tomb-sweeping Day (a Chinese traditional festival). Fresh shrimps are snow-white and taste tender, while the freshly-picked Dragon Well Green Tea is elegantly dark green with a refreshing scent, and unmatched taste. Nothing can compete with this extraordinary dish which perfectly integrates the freshness and tenderness of the shrimps with the delicate aroma of Dragon Well Green Tea.

About the origin of this time-honored dish, it‘s widely believed that the idea has something to do with one of Su Dongpo’s Ci (a type of classical Chinese poetry), created when Su Dongpo1 was transferred to Mizhou (Qingdao). Inspired by his Ci, people came up with the idea of cooking fresh shrimps with Dragon Well Green Tea over Xinhuo2 (literally means new fire). The dish is not only extremely tasty and fresh, but perfectly presents Hangzhou’s flavor as well, hence it became a local specialty of Hangzhou and was handed down.

Where to eat: Lou Wai Lou, Zhi Wei Guan, Kui Yuan Guan and so on