A place where treats are truly sweet
The one feature of Wuxi food that distinguishes it from other cuisines in the Yangtze River Delta region is its sweetness.
According to Zhou Guoliang, vice-president of the Wuxi Food and Beverage Industry Association, this unique feature could be due to a variety of reasons, including people's belief that adding sugar helps to enhance the taste of local specialties such as braised pork ribs, deep-fried crispy eel and fried gluten. He notes that as Wuxi sees frequent rainfall, locals also like seeking comfort in a bowl of hot, sweet soup.
"No one knows the exact reason behind this sweetness in our food, but I'm guessing that it is partly because people traditionally view the consumption of sugar as a means to recover energy after a long day of work," says Zhou, who has been working in the culinary industry since 1978.
