🍽️ Seafood

Coastal city famous for sea cucumber, abalone, shrimp and crab.

Seafood is the culinary calling card of Dalian, a coastal city in Liaoning where the Yellow and Bohai seas meet. Cold, slow-growing waters yield firm sea cucumbers, abalone, scallops, sea urchins, prawns, swimming crabs and a wide range of fish. Locals prize freshness above all, preferring steaming, blanching, grilling and light stewing over heavy sauces, using only ginger vinegar or garlic to lift the natural taste. Steamed egg with sea urchin, scallion-braised sea cucumber, grilled scallops and boiled mantis shrimp are common restaurant favorites. Following the seasons, rich crabs in autumn and winter and sea urchin in summer, Dalian diners choose what is freshest; visitors often buy from seafood markets and have it cooked on the spot with beer for the city's most indulgent meal.