Hello friends, I am Dawen. Today, let’s explore the market delicacies of Dali Ancient City in Yunnan, China together! Dali Ancient City has a history of over 600 years. It is one of the four most famous ancient cities in China. This stall sells grilled Erkuai (similar to grilled jumbo dumplings). Vendor: Can you eat spicy food? Customer: Slightly spicy.
Grilled Jumbo Dumplings
This kind of grilled dumpling is a local traditional snack in Dali. Its outer skin is made from rice flour with a small amount of glutinous rice flour. The fillings include fermented bean curd sauce, chili sauce, shredded potatoes, bean sprouts, pickles, eggs, chicken, minced pork, etc. After wrapping the fillings, place them on the grill and grill until the outer skin is slightly charred and crispy.
This is the first time I’ve tried such huge dumplings. The outer skin is both soft and crispy, the texture is very wonderful. The filling is savory and flavorful. Highly recommend this snack! This kind of steamed corn bun is called “Wotou” in China. Shaped like small bird nests, it is a traditional and simple breakfast.
Soft, sweet, and has a strong corn aroma! Yunnan has a high corn yield. In recent years, locals have been popular for juicing fresh corn as a breakfast drink.
Nest-Shaped Corn Buns and Corn Juice
The taste is slightly sweet, with a strong corn aroma—a good breakfast drink! Suddenly saw a long queue in front of a corn juice stall. Have you ever tried this kind of corn juice freshly squeezed from fresh raw corn?
The price of corn juice is 5 yuan per bottle (USD 0.69). The environment of Dali Ancient City Market is very beautiful with fresh air! This stall sells rice balls with mixed fillings. The rice, stir-fried and seasoned with soy sauce, has a rich soy sauce aroma. Place salted duck eggs, sausages, shredded cucumber, fried peas, shredded green peppers, and other seasonings on the rice at the bottom.
Mixed Fillings Rice Balls
Then put another layer of rice on top of the fillings so that the upper and lower layers of rice completely wrap the fillings. Finally, knead it into a ball. Rice balls with mixed fillings are a very popular breakfast choice among locals. The market is full of various fresh vegetables.
Peas are a very popular daily ingredient for locals. Me: How much is the roasted pork? Shopkeeper: 48 yuan/500g. This shop sells roasted pork and other cooked foods. The best part of roasted pork is definitely that crispy skin. Sprinkle in savory chili powder.
Grilled Pork and Exotic Fruits
The fat of the roasted pork has been completely roasted out, so it’s not greasy at all.
This shop also has roasted duck besides roasted pork. However, this kind of roasted duck is not Peking duck, but hand-shredded style. This fruit is called egg fruit. This brown fruit is called snake fruit. I haven’t eaten these fruits before, let’s buy one of each to try. This egg fruit smells very fragrant, but the texture is like chewing a sponge block.
The skin of this snake fruit really looks like snake skin. This snake fruit tastes fresh and slightly sweet, not bad! This is a unique fruit in Yunnan – tamarind. This food can be eaten after peeling, the texture is sticky and glutinous, and the taste is sweet and sour. Locally, this food is also made into fruit juice drinks.
Freshly Grilled Beef Jerky
This stall sells freshly grilled beef jerky. The beef grilling on the iron rack already looks very tempting. The aroma of charred beef mixed with various spices wafts over. The vendor said that 3 kilograms of beef can only make 1 kilogram of beef jerky, so the price is relatively high. The vendor is very generous, constantly offering samples for customers to try for free.
Me: I want spicy and fragrant spicy beef jerky. This freshly grilled beef jerky is so tempting, how do you think it’s best to eat it? Welcome to leave a comment and tell me! The selling price of these freshly grilled beef jerky is 200 yuan/500 grams.
(16:14) There are four flavors: cumin, original, fragrant spicy, and mala spicy. This beef is grilled perfectly! This is the best beef jerky I’ve ever eaten, much better than factory-made ones! These are not bricks, but brown sugar cubes. The front of a shop is crowded with customers. Customers are queuing at the entrance of the shop to grab a number for their order.
Meat & Scallion Baked Flatbread
This shop sells one of the most famous local snacks – Xizhou Baba (Minced Pork and Scallion Baked Pancake). This baked pancake is made from flour, lard (or rapeseed oil), scallions and other ingredients. After fermentation, it is rolled into a round cake and then baked until the outside is crispy and the inside is soft.
This baked pancake has two flavors: sweet (brown sugar filling) and savory (scallion and minced pork filling). This is a savory baked pancake with scallion and minced pork filling.
(The selling price of this baked pancake is 5 yuan each. Batches of baked pancakes are coming out of the oven one after another, but they are still in short supply. Customers are constantly lining up to buy. Crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, full of scallion flavor, so delicious! This stall sells freshly squeezed pomegranate juice.
Fresh Pomegranate Juice & Crispy Tofu
These huge and fresh pomegranates are very tempting. Me: How much is the pomegranate juice? Vendor: 10 yuan per bottle. Yunnan has a very large pomegranate yield, and people usually juice them for drinking. Pure natural pomegranate juice, healthy and delicious!
This stall sells grilled crispy tofu. Me: How much is it? Vendor: 8 yuan per serving. These small pieces of tofu are grilled on the rack until the outer skin is golden and crispy, emitting a strong charred aroma. Add slightly spicy chili sauce and savory mala powder. This snack looks simple but is exceptionally tempting.
Crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, the charred aroma mingled with the savory flavor of spices, so delicious! This simple snack is simply irresistible! Every crispy grilled tofu stall in this market is very popular. This is loquat. Loquats are juicy, have a light fragrance, and taste sweet. Plus, traditional Chinese medicine believes that loquats have a certain cough-relieving effect.
Mushrooms in Sauce
Therefore, they are very popular among Chinese people. This stall sells mushrooms in sauce. This cooked food is made by first slicing wild mushrooms and deep-frying them until golden and crispy. Then, chili, Sichuan peppercorns, salt and other seasonings are added and mixed well. It is a spicy and crispy food stored in a sealed container after cooling.
Mushrooms in sauce can be eaten alone as a snack, and are also very suitable for serving with rice as a dish. The mushrooms with a rich savory aroma are deeply loved by people. This stall sells rice skin vegetable rolls. This snack is a favorite among vegetarians.
Giant Buckwheat Pancake
This stall sells huge pan-grilled buckwheat pancakes.
Yunnan people usually make buckwheat into pancakes to eat. The freshly baked buckwheat pancakes emit a unique aroma, instantly making people feel hungry. The selling price of buckwheat pancakes is 12 yuan/500 grams.
Buckwheat pancakes do not need any seasoning, they taste sweet and have a rich aroma. It is a healthy and filling snack. These huge mangoes are really tempting.
This kind of big mango comes from Hainan Province, China. Thanks to the unique tropical climate of Hainan Province, Chinese people can enjoy delicious and affordable tropical fruits all year round. This mango is so big!
Traditional Green Tea
This stall sells tea. “I want a cup of green tea.” “This is the best tea of the year.” “The first brew of tea should be poured away, only the second brew is for drinking.” Vendor: This green tea can be drunk after steeping for 1 minute. This is the new tea produced this year.
“When drinking green tea, smell it first and then drink it, so that you can feel a richer aroma!” “Delicious!” “The water from the first brew of tea should be poured away.” Traditional Chinese tea has a unique and rich aroma. Be sure to try a cup of traditional Chinese tea when you come to China! In addition to traditional tea leaves, there are also dried flower teas in the ancient city market.
Dried flower tea is believed to have beauty and health benefits, and is very popular among female customers. This fresh honey looks very tempting. The price of honey is 9 yuan/500 grams, which is very affordable. This stall sells grilled milk sheets with jam. Milk sheets are a dairy product made by boiling fresh milk, drying it, and then making it.
Grilled Milk Sheets with Jam
It has a soft and chewy texture with a rich milky aroma. Milk sheets are also known as Chinese cheese. Locals usually spread rose jam on grilled milk sheets and eat them together. This stall sells fruit jam rice cakes.
Me: What kind of jams are these? Vendor: Blueberry jam and osmanthus jam. This pastry has a cool texture and a light fragrance, very delicious! There are many vendors in the ancient city market selling woven clothing, shoes, and hats. This stall sells mushrooms with meat filling.
Meat-Stuffed Mushrooms
This is pork filling. This is shrimp filling. The orange filling is crab roe. Fill the mushrooms with meat filling and pan-fry until cooked. This stall sells various dried mushrooms.
Yunnan is known as the Mushroom Kingdom of China, and the mushroom harvest season is from May to September every year. These are dried morel mushrooms. Morel mushrooms are a rare edible fungus with a unique aroma and rich nutrition. Grilled potatoes are one of the most common street snacks in Yunnan.
Stuffed Flatbreads with Savory Meat
This stall sells baked pancakes with various braised meat fillings. The meat fillings include beef, pork, and venison. Various meats are braised in a rich broth until they are soft and flavorful. The aroma of meat wafts over, making people salivate. This is an ancient city market with a beautiful environment and abundant food.
Welcome to experience its charm in person!
Take a walk with me through the bustling streets of Dali Old Town, a 600-year-old gem nestled in Yunnan, China. Here, a vast and lively food market unfolds before your eyes, where ancient culinary heritage meets the irresistible charm of modern street food.
You’ll encounter sizzling jumbo dumplings, savory scallion meat pies, mushrooms bursting with flavor, and freshly grilled Yunnan milk sheets — not to mention vibrant tropical fruits that fill your hands and senses.
This market is also home to farm-fresh honey, hand-crafted snacks, and countless local specialties that reflect the rich and colorful food culture of Yunnan.
Step into the daily rhythm of this historic town, and savor the tastes, stories, and atmosphere that make traditional Chinese markets so unforgettable.