🍽️ Quzhou Baked Cake

Zhejiang’s spicy baked cake with chili.

Quzhou Baked Cake is a representative street snack of Quzhou, in Zhejiang, a province better known for mild flavors yet home to one of the few regions here that loves chili. Made from leavened dough wrapped around minced pork, preserved mustard greens or scallion, with chili added on request, the cakes are stuck to the wall of a charcoal oven and baked until golden with slightly charred edges. Fresh out of the oven, the crust is crisp, the inside soft, and the savory pork juicy; one bite releases both spicy and meaty aroma at once. Small in size, they are easy to eat on the go, fitting breakfast, afternoon tea or late-night snacks, and stalls baking to order often draw a small queue. For visitors used to mild food, the kick of a Quzhou baked cake is a vivid and satisfying local experience.