Xuan Ji 萱记 @ Nanjing

I came for the roast goose but it was completely sold out. Luckily their other dishes were alright.

Nanjing cuisine, also known as Jinling cuisine 金陵菜, is a branch of Huaiyang cuisine 淮扬菜 known for its sweet and salty balance, fresh ingredients, and delicate preparation. It is particularly famous for its duck dishes, such as salted duck and duck blood vermicelli soup, but also features a variety of other local specialties like crispy beef potstickers, shrimp cakes, and stinky tofu. The cuisine emphasizes preserving the original flavor of ingredients through methods like stewing, roasting, and simmering.

Jinling Salted Duck 金陵盐水鸭

If you ever go to Nanjing, you’ll see salted ducks sold everywhere: hanging in restaurant windows; vacuum packed for easy transport; gift-boxed for souvenirs. The earliest records of the dish date back over a thousand years ago to the Six Dynasties (AD 222-589), so I had to try it while I was in Nanjing. It was really delicious, and salty. It tasted like steamed chicken in terms of texture but salt baked chicken in terms of flavours. It was so good that I ordered another portion to bring back to enjoy in the comfort of my hotel room while I binge-watched my Netflix.

Huaiyang Sautéed Eel 淮扬软兜

Huaiyang cuisine is, in a word, refined. From ingredient selection to cooking techniques, it is all about emphasizing the ingredients and retaining freshness so the flavors are concentrated but not greasy, light but tasty. Huaiyang chefs are also known for their knife skills. Yellow eels used for ruandou 软兜 are only pencil thick and around 10cm long. Every one of these juvenile eels is careful sliced and deboned. Then, after a quick sautée in highly fired wok, the eels are evenly coated with sweet and umami sauce and served on a bed of chives. Delicious.

Blanched Cantonese Choysum 白灼广东菜心

And I ordered a portion of blanched vegetable to balance the meal.

The only reason I picked this place was the roast goose, but it was sold out – I lost out to the next table for the last portion. Xuanji is located opposite the Nanjing Museum, and the traffic was horrible when I was chased out after closing time in the museum, so I decided to have my dinner before going back to the hotel. Random choice, and I was lucky.

Xuan Ji 萱记烧鹅 南京菜 (南京博物院店)
南京市中山东路532-2号
Tel : +86 (025) 8557 2177

Visited Nov 2025