Lijiang Old Town is full of charm, and one of the best ways to experience it is through their local food! During our 4D3N stay, we explored different places to eat and discovered so many delicious options. If you’re searching for must-try food in Lijiang Old Town, my post will give you a helpful guide based on what we personally ate and loved. From hotpot and dumplings to yak meat and street snacks. All the places we visited were kid-friendly! Honestly, we really wished we had more time to try even more yummy food!
Food In Lijiang Old Town
Mu Wang Yan Yu Restaurant, Lijiang 木王宴语
For our first night, we went with hotpot at Mu Wang Yan Yu 木王宴语, which are popular for mushrooms hotpot, about 11mins walk from our mingsu. At least something warm and comforting, but not too heavy. Perfect for a chilly winter evening!
The menu. Tap the image to expand.
Since Yunnan Lijiang is popular for its mushroom hotpot, we definitely had to try it! We ordered the most comprehensive set, which includes nine varieties of mushrooms and costs about RMB 528 (SGD 98).
We chose the black chicken soup base, and it was just right for the cold winter night. We also ordered two portions of sliced meat, which were placed in a really interesting way, on the left side of the photo. Each portion costs RMB49 ~ S$9.80.
We ordered two bowls of mushroom rice for the kids, RMB88 each, which is about S$17.60. It comes in a metal container and takes some time to cook, so if you’re planning to get it for the kids, make sure to order it early. This is a must-order for me! The rice was so good, fluffy, full of flavour, but not too salty. It even had a nice sweet aftertaste that lingered after eating.
Overall I highly recommed this place for mushroom hotpot!
Mu Wang Yan Yu Restaurant 木王宴语·野生鲜菌火锅(饮玉店)
Address: 五一街饮玉巷16号, No. 16 Yinyu Alley, Lijiang.
Lijiang Naxi Long Street Banquet 云上盛宴 丽江长街宴
On our second night in Lijiang Old Town, we had a really interesting dinner that came with a performance. The location is on the other side of our mingsu, about a 15 minutes walk away. We asked our tour bus to drop us off at the restaurant instead of our mingsu, and after dinner, we took a leisurely walk back. It was actually really nice to stroll through Lijiang Old Town, can enjoy a bit of the local nightlife along the way.
What’s interesting about this dinner experience is that you get to dress up in traditional tribal costumes, for free! It’s all part of the experience while you enjoy the meal and performance. If you want to go all out with accessories, hair, and makeup, there are extra charges, but the basic costume is included.
Another fun part of the experience, the dinner is served at a super long table where everyone sits together. Don’t worry, you won’t be sharing food with strangers! Everyone gets their own set, but it’s nice to enjoy the meal in such a lively and communal setting.
I made the reservation through REDNOTE, also known as Xiao Hong Shu, but I had my tour guide double-check the booking via their official social platform, China Douyin, where they’re more active. If you have China Douyin, you can grab the set meal at a special price! We had 12 people, but only 4 adults, so we needed to order at least 7 sets to secure 12 seats.
You can definitely make a reservation on the spot, but I recommend getting there early to book your table. I’d suggest arriving around 6 pm, so you have time to pick out your outfit and take some fun photos before dinner!
Lijiang Naxi Long Street Banquet 云上盛宴 丽江长街宴
Address: 五一街兴仁上段36号北门里1F
Yuan Kee Dumpling 袁记云饺
This was our breakfast on the third day before heading for our photoshoot, Yuan Kee Dumpling, located right inside Zhong Yi Market. My original plan was to check out some local eateries in the day market, but my husband was craving dumplings, so we went for that instead. Plus, we were drawn in by their wide selection of dumplings!
Watching them wrap the dumplings on the spot not only shows how fresh everything is, it also kept my kids entertained while we waited for our food!
Hubby ordered 4 bowls of dumplings, and their portion is really alot, about 15 pcs in one bowl. We ordered a varities, prawn with meat paste, crab roe with meat paste and corn with meat paste. Hubby also added pan fried dumplings and braised meat.
Yuan Ji Dumpling 袁记云饺(忠义市场新店)
Address: 丽江市大研街道办事处忠义街120号附4号
乡下人丽江菜
This was just a random shop we passed by after our photoshoot while heading back to the hotel. We finished the shoot around 1–2pm, so we just wanted something light to fill our tummies before dinner.
It’s not a bad place for authentic local snacks! We ordered cured pork belly, authentic Naxi pancake, and xiao long bao. Their XLB isn’t the soup filled kind, but still tasty. Both the pork belly and Naxi pancake were really good especially the pork belly, which came with special sauces, both spicy and non-spicy. It wasn’t too salty or oily, which I really liked.
乡下人纳西特色菜
Address: 七一街兴文巷65号
Afeng Hot Pot 阿风理想国
Dinner on our third night was another hotpot meal but this time with yak meat! Yak meat is a staple protein for the people of Yunnan. Yak meat has full of protein and low fat content compared to chicken and beef.
We had a private dinning room for ourselves but it’s an open concept.
We used the China app Meituan to order our food, and everything you see here came up to less than SGD $50. For the soup base, we chose mushroom it was quite light, almost tasteless, but that was actually fine with us since we didn’t want anything too heavy. After all, we were planning to head to the night market for more food later!
Yak meat isn’t as tender as beef, but the texture is still quite nice. In fact, I actually prefer yak meat over beef because it doesn’t have that strong meaty smell that beef has.
One of the side dishes we had was 水性杨花菜, also known as Ottelia acuminata var. crispa. If you understand Chinese, the name might make you laugh! It’s a really nice vegetable. It’s only found in Yunnan because it needs very specific water quality and climate to grow. So if you’re in Lijiang, definitely give it a try!
Before we left, the store manager treated us to a Shanxi delicacy, a type of pancake. They have both sweet and savory versions. The savory one is filled with pickled vegetables and minced meat, while the sweet version contains sugar and sesame seeds. Both is equally good!
Afeng Hotpot 阿凤理想国（丽江古城店）
Address: 丽江古城饮玉巷16号
Boiled Dumpling Aunty 大妈水饺
We were supposed to go to Pigsty Coffee (you can see my intro below) for breakfast on our last dat at Old Town, but their morning selection was quite limited for kids. So, we decided to head to Boiled Dumpling Aunty instead. It’s another dumpling spot, but this one’s a small restaurant serving homemade-style dumplings.
My hubby prefers Yuan Ji dumplings over Aunty’s dumplings because the former has more ingredients and a thinner skin. I agree with him, but this place focuses more on home-style food what we Chinese like to call 有妈妈的味道 (the taste of mom’s cooking). The rest of the side dishes, like braised trotters and century egg tofu, are acceptable.
Boiled Dumpling Aunty 大妈水饺
丽江市古城区五一街崇仁巷73号
Hobbit Castle Over The Bridge Noodle Shop 霍比特城堡旅拍过桥米线
Over-the-bridge noodles are a must-try dish when you visit Yunnan. It’s one of their top 10 local delicacies. There are many shops selling over-the-bridge noodles in Lijiang, but I chose Hobbit Castle because it’s a fantasy-themed eatery with six photo spots, most of which overlook Lijiang Old Town.
But be prepared to climb because there you need to climb lots of stone stairways uphill before you can reach this place. Do wear proper footwear!
They really have the best photo taking area and they some spots even provide camera lights for you to use. They have an in-house photographer, and you can purchase a package that includes photos and a noodles set meal. Skill-wise, reviews are mixed. We didn’t get that so I can’t comment much.
As for the over-the-bridge noodles, I found them decent, delicious, but nothing extraordinary. The main draw is really the Instagrammable spots.
Hobbit Castle Over The Bridge Noodle Shop 霍比特城堡旅拍过桥米线
云南省丽江市古城区黄山上段53号
Zhong Yi Night Market 忠义夜市
If you’re a foodie, you can’t miss the Lijiang Zhong Yi Night Market! There are so many authentic local delicacies in one place and I kind of regretted having a heavy dinner earlier.
Some of their must-try items include grilled milk cheese (烤饵块), grass jelly with chickpeas (鸡豆凉粉), and Naxi rice cake (纳西米糕). I didn’t get the chance to try the last two, so I hope you do!
Here are the foods I’ve tried and highly recommend if you’re visiting the night market! Espcially the grilled oysters and grilled milk cheese.
Zhong Yi Night Market 忠义夜市
Address: 丽江古城南門口
Pigsty Coffee 猪圈咖啡
Although we didn’t get the chance to dine at this pig cafe, I still feel it’s a must-visit. You can go during the day or at night each time offers a different vibe. They serve Western food.
You can choose to sit on the second floor. The overall decor is very modern, yet it has a hint of traditional elements. Plus, from the second floor, you can overlook the streets of Lijiang Old Town.
Since it’s a Pigsty Cafe, the main icon is, of course, a pig! There’s an adorable pig at the entrance, and the kids were super excited that they couldn’t stop petting it.
Pigsty Coffee 猪圈咖啡
古城区 街居委会七一街崇仁巷42号
Summary
There’s so much food in Lijiang Old Town that I felt 4 days and 3 nights weren’t enough to explore it all. The people in Lijiang are also incredibly kind and friendly. I’d definitely love to go back again and discover more!
I’ll be sharing my “Things to Do in Lijiang” post soon—stay tuned!
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