🍽️ Seafood Menzi

Fried starch jelly with shrimp and crab, Bohai snack.

Seafood menzi is a local snack of Qinhuangdao on Hebei's Bohai Bay, built on the region's fresh coastal catch. Starch is cooked into a firm jelly, cubed, then pan-fried until crisp and golden on the outside yet soft and springy within. It is topped with small seafood such as shrimp, crab meat or scallops and dressed with sesame paste and garlic sauce. Each bite offers the seared crust, the slippery tender jelly and the briny sweetness of the sea, tied together by nutty sesame. A popular late-night street snack with beer, it is also a must-try for visitors to Beidaihe and Shanhaiguan, carrying the casual harbor spirit of the Bohai coast.