TPR Travel Tip – Night food market in Kaifeng, China

Mar 31, 12 • Category: Asia, China • Tags: Asian cuisine, Cantonese, China, Chinese cuisine, Chinese dumplings, Chinese food, dim sum, Dragon Pavilion, food market, Fujian, Iron Pagoda, Kaifeng, night food market, night market, Qingming Riverside Landscape Garden, Shandong, Sichuan pepper, Szechuan, Zhejiang cuisine

If you are into food, and you happen to pass through Henan province, I highly recommend to reserve one evening for Kaifeng city. Kaifeng is a prefecture-level city in east-central Henan province, Central China. More than 5 million people live in the metropolitan area. The city is located along the southern bank of the Yellow River, it borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the west, Xinxiang to the northwest, Shangqiu to the east, Zhoukou to the southeast, Xuchang to the southwest, and the province of Shandong to the northeast.

During a 9-hour stopover between Ping Yao and Nanjing we miraculously missed all the famous historical and cultural landmarks in Kaifeng, like Iron Pagoda, Dragon Pavilion, Qingming Riverside Landscape Garden, Imperial Street of Song Dynasty, Memorial Temple of Lord Bao, etc. We visited only the pedestrian street and a couple of food markets.

We read about this night market in a guide book. What we saw exceeded all my boldest expectations.

The street which becomes the night food market

The market was being built in front of our eyes on side of a street with quite heavy traffic. People brought their stalls and converted them into mini kitchen with gas stoves. Tables, benches and tents were put up around. The latter squeezed the traffic into 1 lane each direction. People were walking in every direction crossing the street and not letting buses & cars to pass.

The whole area empty during the day suddenly was full of people noisily discussing what they are going to eat, placing their orders, looking for empty tables and talking to their companions.

Food to be grilled

Vegetables, mushrooms, chicken or bugs, whatever you may desire will be grilled for you on the spot.

Crabs, cray fish and snails…..

Crabs and snails

……or frogs?

Frogs

Rabbit or maybe cat meat…..i cannot really tell what these grilled animals are.

Rabbit or cat?

Grilled lamb was my choice after I had tried some snails ;-).

Grilled lamb

Muslim people wearing white hats usually have very good meat.

night street market Kaifeng China

Night food market in Kaifeng, China

I really regret that we had to catch up a train, and did not manage to fully enjoy the whole offer of this food market. If i ever return to Kaifeng I will plan properly my dinner on the market.

I recommend you to book a whole evening for gastronomic excursion, and I am sure you will not be sorry.