Wyndham Garden Hotel Jinjiang International Airport Quanzhou

Since 2018, Antstory has been running this historic three-storey red brick villa. The young local chef reinterprets traditional Fujian recipes with modern techniques, home-made sauces and condiments. First-timers can pick from ‘10 classics’, like Shima five-spice pork roll and braised yellow croaker with scallion. The chef’s vinegar pork is a new take on the Quanzhou classic – pork marinated in apple cider vinegar, deep fried and served with wafer and macadamia nuts.

Away from the city centre, this joint serving home-style Fujian cooking has earned acclaim from locals for over two decades. Like its numerous counterparts, there isn’t a menu – just pick your seafood and meat from the fish tank and chiller, then ask the server for the best way to prepare them. With tender meat and rich aromas, ginger duck stew is a best-seller. Fried green lobster in peppered salt stands out with bouncy meat and crisp flavours.

The incredible range of quality live seafood on offer, prepared meticulously with exquisite technique, is the main draw here. There is no menu – diners choose from the three-tier fish tanks at the entrance themselves, then specify how they would like their pick to be cooked. Enjoy the soft roe and firm, flavourful meat of the chilled swimmer crab, or try the silky and aromatic swamp eel braised with tea seed oil and basil.

The founder was a hawker who sold fish ball soup over 150 years ago, during the Qing Dynasty. Now run by the fourth-generation owner, the brand has grown into a restaurant chain, but its speciality remains the same. Catch of the day is deboned, puréed, hand-beaten and hand-squeezed into flavoursome globes served in a pork bone broth. The mock chicken roll, made with water chestnut, minced pork and fish, is another must-try.

For over 40 years, this noodle shop has prided itself on its lor mee, or Fujian-style noodles in thick starchy gravy. In his 70s, the owner still helms the kitchen himself and cooks each order of lor mee in individual portions. You may have to wait for your order, but you won’t be disappointed. For toppings, choose from beef, pork liver, oysters or shrimp. Peanuts and garlic make the gravy nutty and aromatic. Made to order vinegar pork and fish roll are also worth trying.

Founded in 1999 under a different name, it has ever been popular with local ginger duck fans. On the right side of the entrance, row upon row of claypots make quite a spectacle. Muscovy duck is slow-cooked in rice wine with ginger and other herbs for two hours to build irresistible aromas. The duck is tender and falls off the bone and the broth is gingery, but not spicy. The soft, chewy pork blood sticky rice cake is also recommended.

A veteran chef hailing from Quanzhou opened this rustic noodle shop in 2022 selling only Hokkien hae mee, or Fujian-style prawn noodles. Bouncy noodles of medium thickness served in a broth simmered for seven hours with complex depth and flavours. Though the signature hae mee is a must, you can add your own personal touch with incredibly fresh and umami-laden seafood toppings such as baby lobster, prawn, crabmeat, squid or razor clams.