Sweet-Osmanthus Viewing & Delicacies in Hangzhou {Scented Paths & Fragrant Addresses} {Fragrant Recipes & Taste Notes}

The city of Hangzhou in the Zhejiang province in Eastern China holds a month-long festival each year in October which is dedicated to the iconic flower, Osmanthus Fragrans. It is one of the most delicate and costly floral scents to be had in perfumery. Here are several suggestions for viewing the flowers and tasting the specialties inspired by them.

"The Hangzhou Children's Park, more often known as the Hangzhou Meilong Guiyu Park has the largest number of sweet osmanthus trees in the city. More than 4000 sweet osmanthus trees make the Children's Park the most crowded place in Hangzhou to view the flowers in autumn. However, what makes the park special is not the large quantity of sweet osmanthus trees but the delicacies that are made from the sweet-scented flowers. There are an increasing number of family restaurants emerging in nearby areas that specialize in sweet osmanthus food such as sweet osmanthus porridge, sweet osmanthus cake and drinks distilled from sweet osmanthus."....

What's Up in Hangzhou also offers mouth-watering descriptions of local specialties using osmanthus,

"On the Moon Festival, people eat moon cakes, a kind of cookie with fillings. Sweet fillings are made of sugar, Walnuts, sesame, osmanthus flowers, rose petals, sweetened tangerine peel, bean paste, or jujube paste. The surface of the food is patterned with clouds, the moon, the rabbit. Some cakes will be sent to absent ones or saved at home for them.

The dried flowers are also used in other sweet dishes such as sauces, lotus seed soup and steamed pears."

Read more in CRIEnglish and In Hangzhou

Picture: The Botanical Garden in Hangzhou