Guangzhou is the most underrated food city in China and I will die on this hill

Kurokun

I've been to Chengdu. I've been to Chongqing. I've eaten my way through Xi'an.

But my friend from Singapore visited Guangzhou last month and sent me food photos that made me genuinely angry I wasn't there.

Why Guangzhou doesn't get the hype:
• It's not "exotic" enough — it's just... good food, everywhere, all the time
• No single iconic dish like Peking duck or Sichuan hot pot
• It's a business city, not a tourism city
• People go there for Canton Fair, not food tours

What they miss:

Dim sum breakfast:
Not the tourist version. The real thing. Har gow with skin so thin it's translucent. Char siu bao that's fluffy, not doughy. Egg tarts that ruin all other egg tarts.

Late-night street BBQ:
Every alley has a grill at 10 PM. Oysters with garlic. Lamb skewers. Eggplant with minced pork. ¥30 for a feast.

Seafood restaurants:
Pick your fish from the tank. They cook it 15 minutes later. It doesn't get fresher.

糖水 (tong sui) — dessert soup:
Red bean, taro, ginger milk curd. Sweet but not overwhelming. The perfect end to a spicy meal.

Beef noodles for breakfast:
Rich broth, hand-pulled noodles, eaten at 7 AM while standing on a street corner.

The price:

About half what you'd pay in Shanghai for the same quality. A full dim sum brunch for two: ¥120–150. The equivalent in London? £60+.

My Singaporean friend said: "I came for Canton Fair. I stayed for the food. I gained 3kg in 5 days."

If you're planning a food-focused China trip and skipping Guangzhou, you're making a mistake.

What's your most underrated food city in China?