Street food culture explored in Tianjin

Street food is an indispensable part of Chinese cuisine culture. With the zeal for Chinese baozi and jianbing waxing overseas, street food maintains its long-lasting popularity among people at home.

A vendor stir-fries the lyudoumenzi (green bean jelly). (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)

Last weekend, a group of street vendors in Tianjin was invited into the courtyard of the Ritz-Carlton Tianjin for its first Street Food Festival.

It became a lively fair with peddlers in food carts bringing their signature dishes from street corners or night markets. Most of these businesses are run by local families.

The event featured not only traditional Tianjin snacks, which are famous nationwide, such as jianbingguozi (pancake and fried dough sticks) and shuligao (steamed rice cake with condiments), but also dozens of street snacks popular in Tianjin, including seafood noodle, steamed rice rolls, green bean jelly and fried yogurt, to name just a few.

All the food comes from independent street vendors instead of big restaurant chains. To guarantee hygiene and safety, the hotel made contractual regulations with every participating vendor at the festival.

Jianbingguozi (thin pancake and fried dough sticks). (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)

Maxiao (spicy crayfish). (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)

Ornato Antunes, executive chef of Ritz-Carlton Tianjin, poses a photo with a street vendor selling kaohongshu (baked sweet potato). (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)

Hamatumi (sesame seed cake with red bean filling). (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)

Shuligao (steamed rice cake with condiments). (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)

Two vendors make deep-fried skewers for their customers. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)

A vendor bakes buns on a baking sheet to make roujiamo (Chinese hamburger). (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)