Notable venues include Song He Lou Restaurant, a traditional restaurant with more than 200 years of history and reputed to be one of the oldest restaurants in China, offering two locations, one on historic Shanlang Street and one just off busy Guanqian Jie Street. Mandarin fish and braised bean curd with crabmeat and shelled fresh shrimps are two of the most popular choices. At De Yue Lou Restaurant, also on Guanqian Jie Street, dishes are made exclusively with ingredients from the nearby Taihu Lake region, including de-shelled shrimps fried with green tea leaves, steamed pork slices with glutinous rice flour and jujube paste drawn cakes.

China's medieval economic revolution is well known but, in Song times, it remained a regional phenomenon. Its persistence and its spread to other parts of China in the late imperial era were contingent on its reconstitution after the fall of the Mongols. Given the burdens and opportunities it faced in the early Ming, Suzhou was compelled to specialize in its areas of comparative advantage were it to survive, much less thrive.

This 2000-year-old Songhelou Restaurant in Taijian Alley has long been known for its authentic Suzhou dishes. Prepared with the freshest of seasonal ingredients, Songhelou's most popular dishes are freshwater fish and shrimps, including sweet and sour mandarin fish, fried snails with shrimps, and braised eel. The sweet mandarin fish was a favorite of Qing Emperor Qianlong, who dined here every time he visited Suzhou.

It is said that the late Qing Emperor Qianlong loved the ‘Sweet and Sour’ Mandarin Fish and had it every time he visited Suzhou at Song He Lou Restaurant, which is now a local institution with its 200-year history. The fish was good, but I wasn’t too impressed with the service. So if you want to dine like the emperor, there are still many other hundred-year-old restaurants in Suzhou to try his favorite dish.

Songhelou is one of Suzhou's oldest and most famous restaurants, specialising in Huaiyang cuisine. Established in 1930, it is renowned for its exquisite dishes such as Songhelou Squirrel-Shaped Mandarin Fish, a local delicacy, making it a must-try on the list of Suzhou things to do. Address: No. 72 Taijian Lane, Pingjiang District, Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, China.

If dining at the 400-year-old DeYueLou Restaurant is too modern for your clients, send them to Songhelou Restaurant (72, Taijian Lane, Pingjiang District). The 2,000-year-old establishment in Taijian Alley serves up authentic Suzhou dishes. Make sure clients order squirrel fish, a local favorite of fried fish dressed with a sweet and sour sauce.

Long known for it’s fine preparation of local dishes, their emphasis is on freshness and seasonal ingredients. Their most popular dishes are the shrimp and freshwater dishes, as well as fried snails and the braised eel. An Qing dynasty emperor called Qianlong visited this restaurant every time he came to Suzhou.

The Suzhou style is actually sweet food and plenty of sea food (the local delicacy is hairy crab, a very seasonal dish). Signature dishes include Songshu Guiyu (fried sweet and sour mandarin fish), Xiefen Tofu (braised tofu with crab meat) and Xiaren (shelled fresh shrimps).

many of the restaurants here, such as Deyuelou Restaurant and Songhelou Restaurant, come with history of over 100 years and offer the most authentic Suzhou cuisine. After exciting shopping at Guanqian Street, entertaining your stomach at Taijian Lane is a brilliant option.

You can bump into many famous stores like Lu Changxing Noodle Shop, Huang Tianyuan Rice-cake House, Cai Yaozhai, Luyang Wonton, Songhelou Restaurant and Zhu Hongxing, to enjoy a gourmet feast.