Cost of living in Liuzhou

Cost of living in Liuzhou - Part 5: Lunch

In Chinese culture, lunch is when you eat big and Liuzhou very much abides by this mantra. We're going to focus primarily on the local staples of various 米粉 rice noodle dishes in this post, part five of our guide to the cost of living in Liuzhou...

If you spend any time at all in this city, the locals are going to ask you your opinion of the local speciality dish: 螺蛳粉. The name of this dish definitely suffers in translation and the most common I've seen is "river snail rice noodles". I know this doesn't sound great but it really is a delicious meal. Snails are not normally included as standard, although you can add them if you wish. The spicy and sour soup is made from snails (hence the name), pork bones and other seasonings.

As standard, your soup will come with 米粉 rice noodles and 青菜 green vegetables but the real joy is in the 配菜, which are various bits and pieces you can add to your dish. Among these are 腐竹 dried bean curd rolls, 花生 peanuts, 木耳 black fungus, 酸笋 sour bamboo shoots, 酸豆角 sour green beans and 辣椒 chilli. You can also add various extras, such as 卤蛋 braised egg, 豆腐条 tofu stick or the local favourite, 鸭脚 duck foot. Expect to pay around 8元 (93p) for a standard bowl.

There are plenty of other varieties of rice noodles available for lunch and each shop will have it's own specialities. 羊肉粉 lamb or mutton rice noodles, in particular, are delicious and have a whole different set of accompaniments; a bowl of these will set you back around 7元 (82p). There are also other favourites from around Guangxi, including 桂林米粉 Guilin rice noodles and 老友粉／面 'Old Friend Noodles' from nearby Nanning (pictured below).

As an alternative to noodles, locals sometimes choose to have something with rice. There are set meals for one, containing rice, meat and vegetables or a stir fried dish, as well as a bowl of soup and these cost anything between 13元 (£1.45) and 23元 (£2.57) depending on what option you choose. Additionally, if there are two or more of you, you can get a wider variety of dishes to share. The spread in the picture below, which also included soup, came to 42元 (£4.70) and was more than enough for two people.

This being China, you will never be short of cheap, delicious food options so get out here and try some!

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