This time, I visited Anchang Ancient Town in Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province, to see just how much the people of Shaoxing know how to enjoy "stinky" foods.

From Anchang's signature preserved meats and rice cakes, to chicken bone cakes in old teahouses, and the Renchang Sauce Factory with its more than two thousand sauce vats, many flavors in this ancient town rely on time and fermentation.

Here, you can not only find ice cream with soy sauce, but even mulberry leaves are fried. Finally, I challenged myself to try a very representative Shaoxing dish—steamed "Three Stinky Things": amaranth stems, stinky tofu, and fermented bean curd sheets, all steamed together.

It smells so bad, but what does it actually taste like?

If Wuzhen represents many people's imagined Jiangnan region, then Anchang is more like a Jiangnan ancient town imbued with the aroma of soy sauce, the warmth of everyday life, and authentic local flavor.

This time, I’m exploring Anchang Ancient Town in Shaoxing, Zhejiang, a place where fermentation plays a huge role in the local food culture.
From traditional cakes and cured meats to soy sauce ice cream and crispy fried mulberry leaves, Anchang is full of unusual flavors. But the highlight is Shaoxing’s famous “Three Stinky Delicacies” — fermented amaranth stems, stinky tofu, and fermented tofu skin, all steamed together.
It smells incredibly strong… but what does it actually taste like?
Join me as I eat my way through one of China’s most fascinating ancient food towns.

Chapters Chapters
00:00 The smelliest food in China? | China’s Stinky Food Challenge
03:21 A Traditional Chinese Tea House in an Ancient Town
05:35 Soy Sauce Brewery & Ice Cream
11:55 Shaoxing Adviser Museum
14:46 Trying Shaoxing’s Three Stinky Delicacies
18:07 Local Shaoxing Food & Final Thoughts Summary