Yuloudong

Yuloudong was established in 1904 in the late Qing dynasty, first named Yulouchun after a line from Bai Juyi's poem "Song of Everlasting Sorrow," before settling on its present name; it is among the oldest Hunan-cuisine restaurants in Changsha.

For more than a century Yuloudong has anchored itself in authentic banquet-style Hunan cooking; signature dishes such as spicy diced chicken and Dong'an chicken have been handed down through generations, and old scholars who dined here left rhymes praising its kitchen.

Its Hunan cooking prizes rich oil, deep colour and bold heat, balancing knife work with precise heat control; the spicy diced chicken uses young birds freshly cut and quick-fried for a crisp, fragrant tenderness that exemplifies Xiang technique.