Huangtianyuan

Huangtianyuan was founded in 1821 during the Daoguang reign on Guanqian Street. Begun by the Huang family as a simple cake stall, it grew into one of Suzhou's best-known makers of sticky-rice cakes.

It is famed for seasonal cakes that follow the calendar: green herb dumplings in spring, mint cakes in summer, osmanthus cakes in autumn and sweet New Year cakes in winter, making it the emblematic rice-cake brand of the city.

Suzhou sticky-rice cakes are built on glutinous rice flour, prized for being soft yet not gummy, and filled or dressed with red-bean paste, rose, osmanthus and lard, yielding delicate colours and a gentle sweetness.