Across the Bridge Noodles
The trademark Yunnan noodle dish, Across the Bridge Rice Noodles, is eaten usually for breakfast. The noodles are immersed in chicken broth together with thinly sliced fresh pork, chicken and fish, thin sheets of bean curd, Chinese chives, pea tips, coriander and scallions.
An ancient legend goes that a man was studying for an imperial exam in Beijing on an island in Lake Nanhu. His wife had to cross a long bridge to reach this island to deliver his meals. Due to the length of the bridge, hot meals arriving on the island were usually very cold. The woman tried many ways to preserve the food's heat in vain. One day, she cooked a fat chicken and found the chicken soup still bitingly hot after a long while. She then realized that chicken fat could preserve heat. She then put the fish and chicken meat into the soup along with the rice noodles, and the taste was quite delicious! From that day on, she carried over the rice noodles in boiled chicken soup. The recipe then spread to others and was added to the local menu. Even today, there is a statue showing the young couple on the island, a man with a book in hand, and a woman carrying a container.
Steamed Chicken
The chicken is sealed in a pot and steamed for several hours. The resulting meat is tender and emits a mouthwatering smell. Sometimes, special medicinal herbs are added to help the gourmets reach a perfect balance of yin and yang.
Dali Stewed Fish in Casserole
Stewed Fish in Casserole consists of fresh fish with dried mushrooms and bamboo, slices of chicken and pork, bean curd sheets, and vegetables cooked over a slow fire. The dish originated in the Dali prefecture and has become an inevitable dish at all wedding banquets.
Milk Fan
Milk Fan is a kind of dairy product molded in the shape of a fan, and usually in two colors: milky white and milky yellow. It is made by boiling milk and then adding a special acid. After the milk consolidates, it is cut into slices fashioned like a fan and dried. The slices are eaten raw, or after being fried in oil.
Three-course Tea
The tea ceremony is usually part of the ethnic Bai's routine of treating guests. For the first course, the tea is served after being boiled in a specially crafted dish. White sugar, walnut meal and sesame powder are added for the second course. Then some dairy products, red sugar, or honey are added, along with some wild peppercorns, to complete the third course.