Yunnan · dessert
Yunnan Rose Cake
鲜花饼 · Xiānhuā Bǐng
A flaky pastry filled with a sweet preserve of Yunnan edible roses — a fragrant souvenir food of Kunming.
Yunnan rose cakes (xiānhuā bǐng, literally 'fresh flower cakes') use the petals of Rosa chinensis or Rosa damascena cultivars grown around Kunming, where the climate allows year-round flowering. The petals are combined with sugar and sometimes a little osmanthus or honey to create a jam-like filling that is sweet, faintly tart and distinctly floral without being perfumed. This filling is wrapped in a short, laminated pastry similar to a pineapple cake crust, then baked until golden. Each cake is typically palm-sized. They are sold boxed as gifts throughout Yunnan — a common souvenir from Kunming airport and Old Town shops. Fresh versions from bakeries near Dounan Flower Market (the largest fresh-flower trading market in Asia) are more fragrant and softer than packaged versions.
Where to try
Kunming: bakeries near Dounan Flower Market and throughout the city centre. Also sold at tourist sites in Dali and Lijiang. Packaged versions are available at Kunming airport.
Dietary notes
Wheat, sugar, rose petal, egg (in pastry). Vegetarian. Contains gluten.
Other southwest dishes
- Baba Flatbread粑粑
Yunnan's daily flatbread — a thick wheat or rice-flour round cooked on a griddle and eaten plain or stuffed.
- Bang Bang Chicken棒棒鸡
Cold poached chicken shredded by hand, dressed in chilli oil, sesame paste and Sichuan peppercorn.
- Boiled Fish in Chilli Oil水煮鱼
Fish slices submerged in a deep pool of chilli oil and Sichuan peppercorns. Served bubbling.
- Chongqing Hotpot重庆火锅
The original mala hotpot — a simmering cauldron of beef tallow, Pixian doubanjiang and Sichuan peppercorn for communal dipping.