Sandwiches, burgers, and milk and cereals are all available in Taicang. But the locals' favorites for a decent, fulfilling breakfast are still the traditional ones.

Now let's take a look at the local-style breakfast in Taicang.

Huitouke (回头客点心铺)

Having been open for nearly 20 years, Huitouke sells soybean milk, bean curd jelly, fried dough sticks, pancakes, glutinous rice rolls and fried dumplings with leek stuffing.

A cup of soybean milk costs merely 1.5 yuan ($0.24) and a bowl of homemade bean curd jelly costs 2 yuan. Other things are all priced at 1 yuan.

The bestseller is the bean curd jelly, with daily sales of 300 to 400 bowls. Their bean curd jelly is served with coriander, small shrimp, pickled leaf mustard, sesame oil and a soup made of soysauce and salt.

Opening time: 5:00 am to 10:00 am

Location: Xiangyang Road

 

Wangshi Linji (王氏林记烧饼店)

This Wangshi Linji belongs to a Suzhou-based catering chain that sells sesame seed cakes.

The sesame seed cakes have two flavors – salty and sweet. The savory ones, made of lard, are round, and the sweet ones, are made of sesame seed and in an oval shape. The crust for both is always crispy.

The store also sells aluminium-free fried dough sticks, which have a golden color, and are chewy and tasty. The fried sticks are thought to be healthier because they are made without alum, which is sometimes used as a leavening agent in the traditional process.

The sesame seed cakes cost 2 yuan each. Fried sticks cost 1.5 yuan each. Sweet or plain bean milk cost 2 yuan each, and a bowl of bean curd jelly costs 3.5 yuan.

Opening time: 5:30 am to 11:30 am, 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm

Location: West of the intersection of West Xinhua Road and Beikou Street

 

Grandma Li's Hearty Fried Stick (湖南李阿婆放心油条)

The owner of the store is Li Shuanglian, who is almost 60 years old.

Grandma Li retired from a company's in-house canteen and started her own breakfast business in 2012.

To maintain quality, she uses only fresh soybean oil to fry the dough sticks, which are also aluminium-free.

Another material she avoids is soda, which is normally added to neutralize the sour flavor of fermented dough, as many food suppliers use soda for it can cover the rancid taste of spoiled food.

Grandma Li said they sell most fried sticks during the weekends. Sometimes they can sell 700 to 800 in one morning.

The store also sells bean curd jelly, sesame seed cakes, glutinous rice rolls and fried glutinous rice balls.

The price for fried stick, glutinous rice roll, sesame seed cake and fried glutinous rice ball is 1.5 yuan each. The price for a bowl of bean curd jelly is 2 yuan.

Opening time: 5:00 am to 10:30 am

Location: West of the north entrance Daqing Jinxiu Xincheng community

 

Chaoxiang Chenshi (朝祥陈氏烧饼)

There are three eateries called Chaoxiang Chenshi in Taicang, all owned by Chen Jianxiang, from Zhejiang.

The stores are located in three towns - Shaxi, Liuhe and Huangjing. They sell sesame seed cakes with unique flavors, which according to Chen, originated in Xianju county, Taizhou city of Zhejiang province.

The salty sesame seed cakes are made of leaf lard and chives. The sweet ones are made of black sesame powder and white sugar. There are also cakes made of preserved vegetables called meigancai.

Chen said they use the best flour, condiments, and sesame seeds to produce the best flavors.

The stores also sell aluminium-free fried sticks, soymilk and bean curd jelly. Their food has gained fans from nearby cities - Suzhou and Kunshan.

Sweet and salty sesame seed cakes cost 2 yuan each. The meigancai flavored cakes cost 3 yuan each. A fried stick or a cup of soymilk costs 1.5 yuan. A bowl of bean curd jelly costs 2.5 yuan.

Hours: 5:00 am to 11:00 am, 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm (the store at Huangjing town does not open in the afternoon)

Location: North of Zhuhe Bridge, Baiyun Road, Shaxi town; 11 North Yingfu Road, Liuhe town; 34 Yuanlin Road, Huangjing town

 

By Liu Sitong and edited by Andrew Ancheta