The people of Suzhou have a flair for taking simple dishes and preparing them perfectly. Shen Fu’s “Chapters of a Floating Life” describes how his wife, Yun, “Makes cooking seem effortless. Whether preparing fruit, vegetable, fish or shrimp, everything she cooks tastes delicious.” The preparation of Suzhou cuisine is all about timing. For example, the dough used in green dumplings can only be prepared with juice from mugwort picked after the annual Qingming Festival. Another prime example is that of crabs harvested from Yangcheng Lake. Female crabs may be eaten during the 9th month of the lunar year, but male crabs are preferred during the 10th month.

The people of Suzhou always like to add a little of sugar to whatever they eat. The most famous dish of Suzhou cuisine is Sweet and Sour Mandarin Fish. The simple preparation just involves pouring a sweet sauce over fried fish! Suzhou is a paradise for the health conscious because fresh vegetables are available at the market in any time of the year. Suzhou people are crazy about the eight vegetables that grow on water, which they call “the eight treasures of the water”. The Buddhist temples on the edge of the city are known for their excellent vegetarian cuisine.