What delicious food can you find in Tai'an?

The most celebrated banquets in Mount Tai cuisine are the Tofu Feast and Wild Vegetable Feast. Emperors of all dynasties would observe vegetarian diets to purify their body and mind as a sign of piety when they came to worship Mount Tai.

Tai'an boasts a great many flavourful local dishes, including lotus tofu, hibiscus tofu, Chinese cabbage in creamy soup, tofu balls, cleverly deep-fried red-scale fish, cold fresh daylily salad and wild clove salad. All these dishes have a delicate and refreshing aroma.

Other distinctive local delicacies include white honey pastries, red-scale fish, pickled sweet melons, marinated eggplants, Mount Tai candied jujubes, mutton kebabs and roasted sweet potatoes. Mount Tai Jianbing pancakes are crisp and tasty.

The red-scale fish living in mountain streams of Mount Tai is a rare fish species unique to Tai'an. It has few bones and no fishy odour with tender meat, making it an absolute must-try.

The fish has tender flesh and produces clear, delicious soup without any fishy smell. Main ingredient: live red-scale fish Seasonings: Chinese prickly ash, Shaoxing wine, peanut oil and flour.

Cooking method and features: The red-scale fish is a rare specialty of Mount Tai famous both at home and abroad. It was designated an imperial tribute in the Qing Dynasty. The golden red-scale fish from Longtan Pool of Mount Tai is the most precious variety.

Deep-fried red-scale fish, commonly known as cleverly fried red-scale fish, is made by cleaning live fish and deep-frying them quickly. If the operation is fast enough, the fried fish will arch its body with its mouth open when served, creating an interesting sight. The finished dish is pale golden brown, crispy outside and tender inside. Served with spiced salt, it tastes rich, tender, fresh, salty, aromatic and numbing. There are no small bones when chewing. It ranks first among all classic dishes of Mount Tai.

Also known as thick-rind melon, Dongping muskmelon belongs to the melon genus of the gourd family. It is a climbing vine plant with thick and tough peel suitable for long-distance storage and transportation. The fruit tastes sweet and fragrant with juicy tender flesh. It is rich in carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals, which help digest protein and provide special nutritional benefits for patients with kidney diseases.

Apart from being eaten fresh, the melon can be processed into dried fruit and preserves for long-term consumption.

This baked snack was selected as an official featured food for the 11th Asian Games and exhibited at the Shanghai World Expo. Meanwhile, it has applied for Shandong Provincial Intangible Cultural Heritage certification and green food label.