Ma Yuxing

In 1853, amid wartime upheaval, the Hui merchant Ma Yongcen returned from Nanjing to Kaifeng carrying a single pot of aged braising stock and resumed his trade, opening the 'Yushengyong' shop on Wenshusi Street; that year is taken as the founding of Ma Yuxing, now more than 150 years old.

Ma Yuxing's barrel chicken is one of Kaifeng's most iconic dishes, repeatedly honored as one of 'China's Ten Great Chickens' and a 'Famous Chinese Snack,' and stands as a hallmark of the city's Hui Muslim food culture.

Plump local hens are shaped into a barrel form and simmered repeatedly in a master stock kept going for generations, yielding golden, richly savory meat that is tender yet firm and crisp, best eaten cold and sliced.

It continues as a registered China Time-Honored Brand, and the barrel-chicken craft is also protected under local intangible-heritage listings.