Fengtian Restaurant 奉天小馆 @ Shenyang

I was looking for a nice Dongbei restaurant that could be representative of the cuisine, this seemed to be it.

I have to profess that this branch of Chinese cooking is not familiar to me. Dongbei cuisine, aka 东北菜, is a collective term for food from the three provinces in Northeastern China, which are Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang. They are known to be heavy and strong tasting and usually in large portions. However in Shenyang (as well as other NE cities), the F&B landscape has been overtaken by Szechuan, Korean, fast food and BBQ.

Fengtian 奉天 is the former name of Liaoning Province. Historically a gateway between China proper and Manchuria, the cuisine is an eclectic mix of Chinese and pastoral (Xinjiang, Tibetan, Manchurian) influences, and is meat and carbs heavy. The hotel concierge recommended this restaurant that specialises in modern Dongbei cuisine and is more upmarket catering to outsiders like us.

We placed order for only a couple of dishes, knowing that portions are huge. The waitress didn’t seem impressed as other customers had order twice as much as us.

Dinner started with a complimentary Hawthorne gummy to whet the appetite. It has a pleasant tangy taste from the Hawthorne juice balanced out with sweetness from cane sugar. Gelatine powder was added to solidify them into these gummies.

Drunken River Crab 醉盘锦河蟹

First appetiser was not something from Dongbei but drew its inspiration from Jiangsu. Using local river crab, they are boiled and then soaked in yellow wine. The drunken river crabs tasted like their brethren from Jiangsu, sweet with a strong flavour of the yellow wine.

The crab is not exactly Chinese mitten crab, so it didn’t have the same amount of crab roe despite it was the right season for crabs. They were properly fatten to mate and get ready for hibernation. It was a nice appetiser, but not the typical Dongbei choice.

Spinach with Surf Clam Salad 小菠菜拌北极贝

We started with an appetiser that is not Dongbei in origin, although the surrounding Bohai Gulf does produce surf clams. It’s a cold dish with blanched spinach sprouts dressed with clam juice and vinegar. Could not see much surge clam though.

Sautéed Penis Fish with Chives 蒜香海肠炒韭菜

No fish’s private part was sacrificed for this dish. Penis fish (Urechis unicinctus) is a spoon worm species found in Bohai Gulf of China and off the Korean and Hokkaido coasts. The dried version of this sea worm is used as a flavour enhancement for its rich umami taste.

Once you overcome the “yucks” factor, what you get is a crunchy texture with great flavours that goes perfectly with the small pita pockets.

Double-boiled Ginseng Chicken Soup 林下参炖老母鸡

Ginseng is a special medicinal root that can be found commonly in Dongbei, and it is used mainly in soups. Because of its bitter taste, it is often boiled with chicken which miraculously gives the soup a slightly sweet, umami taste. And here in Dongbei, you can eat the ginseng that comes with the soup as this fresh ginseng is forest-cultivated and harvest within three years of growth.

Special Casserole from Dongbei 小館過年菜

This casserole is locally referred to as 杀猪菜 (lit. “Kill the pig” dish), and uses everything from the pig boiled with pickled cabbage. This is a must-have every Chinese new year, hence it is also called 過年菜 (lit. “New Year dish”), when the family gather around for a reunion feast. In the past, they would slaughter a pig and cooked everything, the offals and all. The blood is made into blood jelly, the bones boiled to form the stock, and pickled cabbage was used as it was difficult to get fresh vegetable during Dongbei winter. This was my first foray into the cuisine 20 years ago, and the taste memory has remained since.

Red Bean “Snowball” with Dandong Strawberry 丹东草莓雪绵豆沙

Bean paste snowball 雪绵豆沙 is a classic Dongbei dessert comprises of a meringue like crust filled with red bean paste. Dandong strawberries are a highly-regarded fruit from Dandong in Liaoning, known for their sweet taste and high quality due to unique geographical advantages. The region’s seaside location, humid climate, and large day-night temperature difference create ideal growing conditions, leading to the production of many popular varieties like the Dandong 99. Combining the two together, the humble snowball dessert is upgraded into a Western style dessert, where it is tangy and sweet with a variety of texture at the same time.

Frozen Pear 冻梨

Frozen pear 冻梨 is another ingenuity from the Dongbei area, where the harsh winters meant that fresh fruits are difficult to hard to come by. But when the pears come into season, Dongbei folks found a way to extend their shelf life to the winter season. Ripe pears are preserved by freezing them, thawing, freezing again, and thawing again. The skin will turn dark brown or black and the pear will be juicier and sweeter. It was offered to us as a complimentary drink, but since we ordered watermelon juice, they gave it to us as a dessert since I have not tried it before.

And the free stuff kept coming. The waitress gave up a plate of fruits to round up the dinner which we have only ordered four courses.

Fengtian Restaurant serves as a good introduction to Dongbei cuisine, although the purist would say that it is not the food they grow up with. For all of us not familiar with this style of cooking, Fengtian offers a nice environment, wonderful service and delectable food that is not found in other Dongbei restaurants.

Fengtian Restaurant 奉天小馆
Room B7, No.18, Wenan Road, Shenyang, Liaoning 110000 文安路18号B7

Visited Oct 2025