Eat your way across the plains

Twenty-four courses served in sequence, most of them soup.

Old town restaurants near Lijing Gate

Thin-skinned, filled with broth: lift by the topknot or lose the soup.

Drum Tower night market

Wide hand-pulled noodles in a lamb broth, served in a bowl the size of your head.

Neighbourhood shops citywide

Breakfast noodles with greens and chilli oil, eaten standing at the stall.

Morning stalls near the old city

Freshwater fish and greens cooked light, with local tea at every table.

Family restaurants around Shilihe

Thick, peppery breakfast soup with beef and gluten, scooped from a vast pot.

Xiaoyao town breakfast street

Slow-braised chicken, eaten cold, sold by weight and packed for the train.

Daokou town, Hua County

Steamed, candied or in soup: the local tuber that shows up on every menu.

Wen County farm restaurants

Clear beef broth, chilli oil on request, flatbread torn in by hand.

Breakfast shops citywide

Starch cake seared on a griddle, dressed with garlic and sesame paste.

Old street snack stalls

Hundreds of stalls after dusk: skewers, almond tea, fried bean-curd skin.

Drum Tower square

Dough pressed between hot pebbles; crisp outside, soft inside, costs almost nothing.

Lingbao old town