Here are some must-try local dishes in Sanya:
Sweet Treats
- Ching Bo Leung: A traditional Hainanese herbal tea, perfect for hot weather. It features a rich mix of ingredients like herbal powder, cactus, coconut milk, red and green beans, lotus seeds, and fresh fruits. The sweetness of coconut milk blends with the smoothness of cold noodles and the softness of the beans, offering a refreshing and cooling experience.
Noodle Dishes
- Baoluo rice noodles: A famous local snack in Hainan, known for its unique flavor and rich ingredients. It consists of rice vermicelli paired with beef, pork, chicken, or seafood, along with sides like bean sprouts, scallions, and cilantro. The soup is sweet and fresh, and the rice vermicelli is smooth and tender.
- Gangmen Rice Noodles: An authentic traditional snack in Sanya, featuring silky rice vermicelli, cool cold noodles, and soft water cake as the base, accompanied by crispy fried peanuts, golden fried shrimp, and many other toppings. The thick and aromatic soup base combined with rich toppings provides a richly layered texture and a hot and sour appetizer.
- Yazhou Sour Noodles: A famous traditional food in the Yazhou area, known for its unique sour soup and rich ingredients. The sour soup is sweet and sour, cool and delicious, with a variety of ingredients such as mellow white buns, smooth handmade vermicelli, and groundnut vermicelli, resulting in a richly layered taste.
Seafood Delights
- Dregs vinegar Seafood hot-pot: A unique Sanya specialty where the sour flavor of dregs of vinegar blends with the freshness of seafood. The seafood cooked in the soup base of dregs of vinegar becomes more tender and smooth.
- Hainan Hot Pot: A Sanya version of hot pot that stands out due to its abundant seafood. It typically includes squid, crabs, clams, and prawns, along with some veggies. The use of numbingly spicy Sichuan pepper adds heat, but the pot is usually divided between spicy and non-spicy sections to cater to different preferences.
Rice-Based Dishes
- Coconut Rice: A traditional Hainanese food made from fresh coconuts. Glutinous rice, diced coconut meat, chicken, mushrooms, and other ingredients are steamed inside the coconut with coconut milk. The fresh aroma of coconut fully integrates with the rice, making it glutinous and nutritious.
- Bamboo rice: A must-try traditional local dish in Sanya. The rice, along with meat, vegetables, and other ingredients, is cooked in a bamboo tube, infusing the dish with a unique bamboo flavor.
Poultry Specialties
- Wenchang Chicken: One of the four famous Hainanese dishes, known for its tender meat and delicious flavor. The chickens are raised mainly on a diet of grains and coconut meat in the natural environment of the Wenchang area. The chicken is cooked with crispy skin and tender meat, served with a special dipping sauce made of garlic, soy sauce, peanut oil, and lime juice.
Seafood Specialties
- Hele Crab: One of Hainan’s four famous dishes, produced in Hele Town, Ledong County, Hainan Province. It is known for its delicious meat and rich crab yolk. Steamed Hele Crab retains its original flavor, with white and full crab meat and golden and attractive crab yolk. It is typically dipped in a sauce of ginger and vinegar.
- Tengqiao pork ribs: A specialty of Fujiqiao Township on the outskirts of Sanya City, popular for its tender and juicy taste. After marinating and frying, the ribs have a crispy outer skin and tender, juicy interior with a rich flavor.
These dishes not only represent the food culture of Sanya but are also excellent choices for tourists to experience the local flavor and taste authentic cuisine.