Autumn brings seasonal delights for the palate

Every season has its delicious offerings and with autumn comes osmanthus-flavored rice wine and rice cakes, water caltrops, chestnuts, candied lotus roots, hairy crabs and mooncakes. Shanghai Daily picks four seasonal treats that are popular among people in Hangzhou at this time of the year.

Water caltrop

Water caltrop or horned water chestnut is a floating aquatic plant that grows in slow-moving water. It bears ornately shaped fruits, each containing a single very large starchy seed. It has been cultivated in China for at least 3,000 years. Water caltrop is harvested in autumn and is sold as raw fruit that tastes crunchy with a bit of sweetness or as vegetable.

There are many ways to cook water caltrops, such as boiling them with pork chops or dip them in starch for frying. Since Hangzhou natives like mild dishes, they prefer cooking water caltrops with lettuce and gingko nuts with a bit of oil. The dish has a yummy, crisp taste.

Where to eat:

• Jiang Village Restaurant

Address: At the corner of Wen'er and Hezhu roads

Tel: (0571) 8896-0573

• Mint Yard Restaurant

Address: 50 Dajing Lane

Tel: (0571) 8789-6657

Hairy crab

When the autumn wind blows, hairy crabs begin to crawl toward the sea. October and November are the season to eat fresh-water crabs in the Yangtze River Delta region. The mere mention of this delicacy makes some people start to drool.

Archaeological findings indicate that people around Hangzhou began to eat hairy crabs more than 5,000 years ago. There are crab shells among Neolithic ruins found in Liangzhu in Yuhang District.

Orange-hued crab roe is the best part of a hairy crab and makes up nearly a third of a crab's weight. It has a rich, creamy and butter-like taste. Chefs sometimes spoon out the roe and cook it with tofu. The two ingredients are complementary to each other and taste delicious.

Where to eat:

• Love In December Restaurant

Address: 48 Qingchun Rd

Tel: (0571) 8106-5111

• Dou Lao Fang Restaurant

Address: 258 Yan'an Rd

Tel: (0571) 8587-0555

Mooncake stuffed with pork and preserved vegetables

Though the Mid-Autumn Festival passed, mooncakes stuffed with minced pork and preserved vegetables are still sold in the market. Oven-fresh flaky mooncakes are the all-time favorite of some foodies.

Priced at about 3 yuan (49 US cents) each, the mooncake is best enjoyed when it is still hot with the aroma of pork and preserved veggies which go well together. Since both ingredients yield no soup, the mooncake can stay flaky for hours. Several restaurants serve high-quality pork-filled mooncakes, such as Caizhizhai.

When weather turns cold, they will stop baking mooncakes because they taste less desirable if eating them cold. Therefore, autumn is the best time to have a bite of this snack.

Where to eat:

• September Life

Address: 30 Fengqi Rd

Tel: (0571) 8528-1257

• Caizhizhai

Address: 217 Yan'an Rd

Tel: (0571) 8791-3400

Osmanthus-flavored rice wine

Hangzhou's air is tinged with the sweet scent of osmanthus flowers which are in full bloom this month. Osmanthus trees can be found everywhere in the city and their yellow millet-sized flowers are collected for osmanthus syrup or to add flavor to wine tea and cakes.

Osmanthus rice wine has been popular in Hangzhou since the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279). People believe the wine can bring longevity and good fortune. Due to the perishable nature of the flower, osmanthus wine is available for only a couple of weeks a year.

Dried osmanthus flowers are often sprinkled on a dessert or mixed with flour and sugar to make sweet cakes. Osmanthus cakes can be found at roadside stalls or big restaurants.

Where to eat:

• Luji Restaurant

Address: 252 Nanshan Rd

Tel: (0571) 8716-3929

• Guiyu Shanfang Restaurant

Address: 2-1 Manjuelong Rd

Tel: (0571)8797-7677