Food is a key part of local life when traveling to Dali. Dali Ancient City’s cuisine, rooted in traditional Bai flavors, blends Yunnan-wide characteristics, with rich variety and affordable prices. From morning pea flour jelly with fried dough sticks to late-night charcoal-roasted milk fan, these foods define the ancient city’s daily life and reflect the locals’ dietary culture directly. This guide sorts out must-try signature dishes, food hubs, budget info and practical notes, helping you save time on screening when planning your trip and eat clearly and at ease in the ancient city.
What Are the Must-Try Signature Dishes in Dali Ancient City
There is a wide variety of delicacies in Dali Ancient City. The following dishes are the most representative local choices and are also highly rated by tourists.
Roasted Milk Fan
Roasted milk fan is the most common street snack in Dali. Milk fan is a local dairy product, made by boiling fresh milk, adding sour water to curdle it, then pulling it into thin slices, winding them on bamboo poles and drying them in the sun. To make roasted milk fan, the chef bakes the milk fan slowly over charcoal fire, brushes a layer of rose sauce on it, and rolls it on a bamboo stick for eating.
- The freshly roasted milk fan has a slightly crispy outer skin and a soft, chewy texture
- The milky fragrance blends with the sweetness of rose sauce
- There are many stalls on Renmin Road and Fuxing Road in the ancient city, priced at about 5 CNY per stick
If you are not used to the strong milky taste, you can ask the chef to bake it until it is dry, and the texture will be more like cheese crackers.
Roasted Milk Fan, a Street Snack in Dali Ancient City
Cold Chicken Rice Noodles
Cold chicken rice noodles is one of the staple foods often eaten by local people in Dali. The rice noodles are handmade with a smooth texture. The marinade is simmered with chicken soup and a variety of spices, served with shredded chicken, crushed peanuts, coriander and a little chili oil.
- The marinade is rich but not greasy
- Every strand of rice noodles is coated with sauce after mixing
- It tastes sour and spicy at first, followed by the fresh sweetness of chicken soup
Zaihuishou on Renmin Road is a time-honored shop specializing in cold chicken rice noodles, which has been in business for many years, priced at 10 CNY a bowl.
Xizhou Baba
Xizhou Baba is a flatbread baked over charcoal fire, available in sweet and salty flavors. The sweet one is added with brown sugar and rose sauce; after baking, the outer skin is crispy, the inside is soft and glutinous, and you can smell the wheat fragrance and caramel flavor when you break it open. The salty one is mixed with minced pork and chopped green onions, with a savory taste.
- The traditional method uses charcoal fire for baking on both sides, ensuring even heating
- Suitable for breakfast or a light bite when tired from walking
- There are time-honored shops on Fuxing Road, priced at 3-5 CNY each
Xizhou Baba tastes the best when just out of the oven, and its quality will decline when it cools down.
Sour and Spicy Fish
Sour and spicy fish is a traditional Bai ethnic dish, made with fish from Erhai Lake, cooked with sour papaya and fermented chili. The fish meat is tender, and the soup is sour and spicy to stimulate the appetite.
- The sour taste of sour papaya is natural and mild
- The spiciness of fermented chili has a mellow fragrance after fermentation
- It is served in local restaurants such as Wase Caixiang Garden and the old shop at Caicun Wharf, priced at about 40 CNY per person
Eating rice with fish soup is a common local way to enjoy it.
Wild Mushroom Hot Pot
Wild mushroom hot pot is a characteristic delicacy of Yunnan, and the best time to taste it is from June to October. Yunnan is rich in various edible fungi, such as termite mushroom, matsutake, boletus, green head mushroom, all of which can be put into the pot, and the boiled soup has a rich fresh flavor.
- Different mushrooms have different textures: matsutake is mellow, termite mushroom is fresh and sweet, green head mushroom is crisp and tender
- Choose regular restaurants to eat wild mushrooms to ensure safety
- You can ask the shopkeeper about the fresh mushrooms available on the day when ordering
Pea Flour Jelly with Fried Dough Sticks
Pea flour jelly is made by grinding peas into pulp and simmering it, with a bright yellow color and a smooth, dense texture. Served with freshly fried dough sticks, it is a common breakfast combination for locals.
- Jiuniang Pea Flour Jelly at North Gate Market is quite famous, priced at 3 CNY a bowl
- Drizzle with chili oil, Chinese prickly ash oil, and sprinkle with chopped green onions and crushed peanuts
- Eat fried dough sticks dipped in pea flour jelly, a combination of crispness and softness
Locals add a small amount of fermented bean curd sauce to the pea flour jelly for a richer flavor.
Main Concentrated Areas for Cuisine in Dali Ancient City
The catering shops in Dali Ancient City are distributed in a certain pattern, and mastering the following areas can save time in searching for food.
Renmin Road
Renmin Road is one of the busiest streets in the ancient city, with a large flow of people from morning to night. There are various local snack shops and creative cuisine restaurants during the day, as well as many coffee shops. At night, many barbecue stalls and snack stalls are set up on the street, where you can find roasted milk fan, stinky tofu in Sichuan style, roasted rice cake and so on.
- A variety of shop choices
- Suitable for walking and eating
Fuxing Road
Fuxing Road is the main road of the ancient city, with many time-honored snack shops that have been in business for many years on both sides. These shops may have inconspicuous facades, but they are often closer to traditional flavors.
- Cold chicken rice noodles, pea flour jelly, traditional Bai ethnic dishes can be found in this area
- Small shops with a lot of people during meal times usually guarantee good quality
North Gate Market
North Gate Market is located at the intersection of Boai Road and Pingdeng Road in the ancient city, a place where locals buy vegetables and eat, with lower prices than tourist areas. It is the busiest from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m.
- Pea flour jelly, crisp layered Baba, freshly squeezed corn juice and so on can all be found here
- After visiting the morning market, you can go to the straw weaving shop next to it, and straw weaving bags are priced at 30-40 CNY each
Budget Reference for Dining in Dali Ancient City
The cost of dining in Dali Ancient City mainly depends on the type of restaurant and dishes you choose. The following prices are based on field surveys for reference.
Street Snacks
- Roasted milk fan: about 5 CNY per stick
- Cold chicken rice noodles: 10-15 CNY a bowl
- Xizhou Baba: 3-5 CNY each
- Rice cake: 3-8 CNY each
- Pea flour jelly with fried dough sticks: 5-6 CNY
If you have one or two meals with snacks every day, the cost is about 50-80 CNY a day. The prices at North Gate Market are lower than those on the main streets.
Formal Meals
- Ordinary Bai ethnic restaurants (such as Cang’er Spring, Wase Caixiang Garden): ordering two or three dishes, 40-80 CNY per person
- Characteristic restaurants or wild mushroom hot pot: 100-150 CNY per person
- It is more cost-effective to share the cost when dining with a group of people
Restaurants down the alleys instead of on the main streets are usually cheaper.
Coffee Shops and Desserts
- Ordinary American coffee: 25-35 CNY
- Pour-over coffee: higher price, but Yunnan local coffee beans are worth trying
- Cakes and desserts: 30-50 CNY
Some coffee shops are located in alleys, with a good environment and lower prices.
Dali Xizhou Baba
Practical Tips for Finding Cuisine in Dali Ancient City
The following tips can help you find suitable food in the ancient city more efficiently.
Grasp the Dining Time
Street snack stalls usually start business in the evening, with the most complete variety after 7 or 8 p.m. Traditional breakfast shops such as pea flour jelly and rice noodle shops may sell out and close around 11 a.m., so you need to go as early as possible. North Gate Market is the busiest from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m., and snack stalls at South Gate Market are all open after 3 p.m.
Observe Local People’s Choices
If you see many locals sitting at the entrance of a small shop, or the shop assistants communicating in dialect, the taste of such shops is usually guaranteed. You can directly ask the shopkeeper to recommend dishes, or refer to the food on other customers’ tables.
Prepare a Small Amount of Cash
Mobile payment is popular in the ancient city, but some small stalls at North Gate Market and South Gate Market only accept cash, so it is recommended to carry a few tens of CNY in change with you.
Arrange the Itinerary Flexibly
There is no need to arrange food-seeking spots too densely. Occasionally turning into an alley, you may find a family restaurant without a signboard, and such shops often bring unexpected surprises.
Transportation to Dali
There are two main ways to get to Dali from other places: by plane and by train.
By Plane
Dali Fengyi Airport has opened many flight routes.
- International routes: Direct flights to Kuala Lumpur, Hanoi, Singapore, Bangkok and Hong Kong have been opened at present, with fixed flights every week. It takes about 3-4 hours to fly from Kuala Lumpur to Dali, and about 2.5 hours from Hong Kong to Dali. Most of these routes are operated in the form of travel agency charter flights, and you can consult travel agencies or relevant platforms for ticket purchase
- Domestic routes in China: There are direct flights to Dali from major cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Chongqing and Kunming, with a flight time of 1-3 hours. Booking tickets 2-3 weeks in advance is more cost-effective
By Train
There are bullet trains and high-speed trains at Dali Railway Station, connecting Kunming, Lijiang and other cities.
- From Kunming: The bullet train takes about 2-2.5 hours, the second-class seat is priced at about 145 CNY, with frequent departures
- From Lijiang: The bullet train takes about 1.5-2 hours
- Ordinary trains are cheaper but take longer
Suggestions for International Tourists
- If there is a direct flight to Dali from your city, you can choose to take it
- You can also fly to Kunming Changshui International Airport first, then take a bullet train or a plane from Kunming to Dali, and there are many bullet train departures from Kunming to Dali
Finding Snacks in Local Markets of Dali
Markets are places to experience local life and also a good place to find authentic snacks.
North Gate Market
Located at the intersection of Boai Road and Pingdeng Road in the ancient city, it is the busiest from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. Recommended tries:
- Jiuniang Pea Flour Jelly: 3 CNY a bowl, served with fried dough sticks
- Yangji Crisp Layered Baba: 5 CNY each, in sweet and salty flavors
- Uncle Corn’s Freshly Squeezed Corn Juice: 5 CNY a bottle
- Weishan Braised Pork Rice Noodles: The pork is stewed until soft and rotten, with a rich soup base
The local produce area has local farmers selling fresh fruits and vegetables, which you can buy for eating on the way.
South Gate Market
Located at No. 111 Lvyu Road, it is open from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m., and all snack stalls are open after 3 p.m. Recommended tries:
- Yang’s No.1 Rice Roll: 10 CNY for rice roll with meat
- Xiao Yang’s Chicken Feet: 45 CNY a catty, can be mixed with garlic flavor
- Dali Traditional Bread: 10 CNY for three pieces
- Secret Chinese Prickly Ash Chicken: The chicken meat is soft and rotten, with a strong Chinese prickly ash flavor
There are fruit stalls in the market, and fresh fruits such as blueberries and strawberries are priced relatively affordably.
Quiet Food Streets with Few People in the Ancient City
Renmin Road and Fuxing Road are crowded with tourists. The following streets have a small flow of people, suitable for eating in a quiet environment.
Guangwu Road
Turn into the middle section of Renmin Road, with a small flow of people. Recommended shops:
- Yingfeng Fresh Milk Shop: Original yogurt, cold brew yogurt
- Roasted Rice Cake at the Entrance of Daydream Hotel: Baked over charcoal fire, open from 6 a.m. to 12 p.m.
- Flying to the Moon: Durian pancake, French shirred eggs
Yincang Road
This street retains the living atmosphere of the ancient city with few tourists. Recommended shops:
- Pine Breeze Coffee Shop: Pour-over coffee, quiet environment
- Sweet Tofu Pudding at the Intersection of Yincang Road and Fuxing Road: A stall with many years of business, open from 6 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Pingdeng Road
One of the quietest streets in the ancient city, with very few shops and people. There are family-style small restaurants with fair prices.
Notes for Cuisine in Dali Ancient City
The following notes can help you avoid common problems.
Milk Fan Purchase: Packaged milk fan on the main streets of the ancient city is priced higher and may be mixed with starch. If you need to buy fresh milk fan, you can go directly to the workshops in Zhoucheng Village.
Raw Pork Skin Eating: Raw pork skin is a characteristic Bai ethnic dish, which requires fresh ingredients and is recommended to be eaten in the morning. Eat it with dipping sauce, and plum vinegar can cut through the greasiness. If you are not used to raw meat, you can only taste the roasted pork skin part.
Carved Plums Purchase: Bulk carved plums may be old stock, so it is recommended to choose glass jar-packed ones. You can watch the production process at the old workshops in March Street Market.
Electric Scooter Rental Check: Test-ride the electric scooter before renting, check the brakes and power, as the battery life of some vehicles is limited.
Accommodation Location: Accommodations marked as “by Erhai Lake”may be far from Erhai Lake, so you need to confirm the actual location with a map before booking.
Key Points for Experiencing Cuisine in Dali Ancient City
The cuisine of Dali Ancient City is based on traditional Bai ethnic flavors, with a rich variety and affordable prices. From street snacks to family-style restaurants, these foods reflect the daily life of the ancient city. The process of exploring food is also a way to understand the local culture, and the ingredient sources and cooking methods of each dish are closely related to the local natural environment and living habits. When planning a food tour in Dali Ancient City, it is recommended to grasp the dining time, pay attention to the shops often visited by locals, prepare a small amount of cash, and keep the itinerary flexible. There is no need to try all the dishes at once; you can allocate them reasonably according to your stay time and try a few each day. This can not only avoid overeating but also keep the expectation for fresh flavors. When you walk on the bluestone roads, taste the freshly roasted milk fan, or eat a bowl of cold chicken rice noodles in a small restaurant, you are already experiencing the lifestyle of Dali. The taste of these foods will stay in your memory and become specific and real fragments of the trip.
