Classic Snacks
1. Wuzhen Rice Cake
Representative: Lakeside Pastry Shop - Recommendation Rating ★★★★★
Rice cakes shaped like lotus flowers, with a sweet rice aroma after steaming, soft and glutinous without sticking to the teeth. They are a traditional blessing token, implying the good wish of "smooth progress in everything". Enjoying them with warm tea allows you to fully savor the flavor of the water town.
2. Wuzhen Baked Cake
Representative: Baked Cake House - Recommendation Rating ★★★★★
A famous pastry in Wuzhen with a unique flavor of sweet with a hint of salt. The cake is crispy but not crumbly, with rich layers of aroma. Its texture of "oily but not greasy, fragrant and moderately glutinous" makes it one of the most popular souvenirs among tourists.
3. Fried Cakes
Representative: Fried Food Shop - Recommendation Rating ★★★★
Affordable street food costing only CNY 3. The thin and crispy outer layer wraps sweet shreds, and it smells delicious without being greasy after frying. Shops make and fry them on the spot—biting into one while it's hot, you can hear the crispy sound of the outer layer, making it a perfect snack to fill you up while exploring the scenic area.
Specialty Main Dishes
1. Lamb Noodle Soup
Representative: Lamb Restaurant - Recommendation Rating ★★★★★
A warming delicacy must-try in Wuzhen during autumn and winter. Chewy noodles are soaked in milky white lamb soup, absorbing the soup's rich flavor. Adding a spoonful of vinegar helps cut through the greasiness. Having a bowl in cold weather warms your whole body, making it known as the "top food in the water town".
2. Fresh Lake Fish
Representative: Lakeside Restaurant - Recommendation Rating ★★★★
A representative freshwater delicacy of Wuzhen, prepared using traditional Jiangnan techniques. Steamed to retain its original taste, the fish meat is tender and firm—perfect for experiencing the freshness of ingredients from the water town.
3. Zongzi (Glutinous Rice Dumplings)
Representative: Zongzi Shop - Recommendation Rating ★★★★
Fresh meat with a balance of fat and lean is wrapped in glutinous rice. After slow braising for a long time, the sauce fully penetrates the rice grains. The meat is tender without greasiness, and the glutinous rice carries the fragrance of reed leaves and meat. It serves as both a staple for breakfast and a portable snack for on-the-go.
Image Sources
1. QQ Browser (2025) Wuzhen Snacks Image. [online] Available from: https://img1.baidu.com/it/u=4188649750,3992064210&fm=253&fmt=auto&app=138&f=JPEG?w=375&h=500 [Accessed 13 October 2025]
2. QQ Browser (2025) Picture of staple food in Wuzhen. [online] Available from: https://img2.baidu.com/it/u=323496897,4213476966&fm=253&fmt=auto&app=138&f=JPEG?w=500&h=667 [Accessed 13 October 2025]
3. QQ Browser (2025) Picture of Wuzhen Food Street. [online] Available from: https://img1.baidu.com/it/u=1752089962,507214686&fm=253&fmt=auto&app=138&f=JPEG?w=656&h=342 [Accessed 13 October 2025]
4. QQ Browser (2025) Wuzhen Snacks Image. [online] Available from: https://img2.baidu.com/it/u=1454693083,426233749&fm=253&fmt=auto&app=120&f=JPEG?w=500&h=750 [Accessed 13 October 2025]
5. QQ Browser (2025) Wuzhen Snacks Image. [online] Available from: https://img2.baidu.com/it/u=2239920362,115553810&fm=253&fmt=auto&app=138&f=PNG?w=500&h=728 [Accessed 13 October 2025]
6. QQ Browser (2025) Wuzhen Snacks Image. [online] Available from: https://img1.baidu.com/it/u=2176593818,467510324&fm=253&fmt=auto&app=138&f=JPEG?w=514&h=500 [Accessed 13 October 2025]
7. QQ Browser (2025) Picture of staple food in Wuzhen - Wuzhen Lamb Noodle Soup Image. [online] Available from: https://img1.baidu.com/it/u=3441377922,2744769783&fm=253&fmt=auto&app=138&f=JPEG?w=677&h=500 [Accessed 13 October 2025]
8. QQ Browser (2025) Picture of Wuzhen specialty dishes. [online] Available from: https://img1.baidu.com/it/u=3027997543,4020431510&fm=253&fmt=auto&app=138&f=JPEG?w=500&h=723 [Accessed 13 October 2025]
9. QQ Browser (2025) Picture of Wuzhen specialty dishes. [online] Available from: https://img0.baidu.com/it/u=466787131,2117293783&fm=253&fmt=auto&app=120&f=JPEG?w=500&h=750 [Accessed 13 October 2025]