How is it already just days before Christmas? If you know me, holiday weeks always make me think about food, not just what we eat, but why we eat it. This is the time of year when tables get fuller, schedules get looser, and the fridge becomes a rotating cast of leftovers we swear we’ll deal with tomorrow.
When it comes to food, Chinese culture, and especially everyone I met in Suzhou, our sister city, follows a principle they hold very dearly: 不時不食, “if it is not the right season, do not eat it.” It is not about restriction. It is about paying attention, to the weather, to the land, and to what nature is actually offering, right now.
You probably know where I am going with this, so let me take you back a few months to my October journey in China, where my appreciation for Suzhou’s food culture really came to life. Yes, this is the second installment of my China travel blog. Here we go.
During my 17-day trip, between official visits, meetings, and more banquets than I can count, we had one perfect day to escape downtown Suzhou and head into the countryside around Lake Tai (太湖). This is the ancient source of Suzhou’s famous Taihu rocks, the dramatic limestone formations that also define Lan Su’s landscape. There is a saying that “Suzhou people lean on water.” From the Yangtze River nourishing rice fields to freshwater vegetables and seafood, life here quite literally grows from water.
My husband is at his 3rd attempt on wrapping a zongzi. Spoiler alert, he still didn’t make it
We started the day moving uphill into tea country to pick Biluochun (碧螺春), Suzhou’s iconic green tea, and then visited a quiet tearoom at the 1,400-year-old Purple & Gold Nunnery (紫金庵). An osmanthus arrangement rested on our tea table, while outside the window, fully ribbed tangerine trees bent under their own abundance. Tea in hand, osmanthus in bloom, it felt like the season itself had joined us.
Food followed naturally. With a local B&B owner, we folded wontons filled with fresh shepherd’s purse (薺菜), bright, fragrant, unmistakably autumn. Later came zongzi, leaf-wrapped dumplings stuffed with sticky rice and this season’s sweet dates. I will say this plainly: our group, especially my husband, was not particularly gifted at wrapping zongzi. We really tried. Our instructors were saints. Patient, encouraging saints.
Days later, at a local wet market, autumn announced itself loudly. Piles of lotus root, water chestnuts, arrowhead, fox nuts, the 水八仙, or Eight Immortals of the Water, appeared everywhere. These aquatic vegetables quietly shape Suzhou’s seasonal table. My forever favorite is 雞頭米 (gorgon fruit), chewy and refreshing in stir-fries or gently simmered into a sweet soup with osmanthus.
Speaking of osmanthus, Suzhou in late October smells like it. The city’s flower perfumes the air. Cream-colored and golden petals showed up everywhere, in tea, in desserts, even steamed into rice cakes.
Fresh lotus roots at a wet market in Suzhou
No, these are not lotus seeds. They are fresh gorgon fruit. Fresh gorgon fruit sweet soup is a Suzhou classic
And yes, it was autumn, which meant it was finally time to taste the local mitten crab (大閘蟹). We were treated to this long-awaited meal by our local host and Suzhou artist Shirakawa, who insisted we wait until the very end of the trip. “This summer was too warm,” he said. “The crabs are not ready yet.” So we waited. Even days matter when it comes to serving crabs at the moment when lake water is perfectly cool and the meat is at its best. When they finally arrived, freshly steamed and paired with osmanthus-infused Shaoxing wine, they were indeed perfect. Though I must admit, while I love crab, I am still terrible at getting every last bit out of its many nooks and crannies.
They are ready!” Mr. Shirakawa, our amazing host, brought freshly steamed mitten crabs to the table
Here is a fun fact that always makes people pause: mitten crabs are considered an invasive species in the U.S., but in Suzhou, they are a prized freshwater delicacy, especially those from Yangcheng Lake (陽澄湖), a sub-branch of Lake Tai. If the U.S. ever finds itself with an overpopulation problem, I am fairly certain tens of thousands of Suzhou people would happily book the next flight over to help… eat them.
Suzhou’s principle of 不時不食 is not about rules. It is about harmony. Just as a Chinese garden invites mountains, water, and seasons into a private space, seasonal eating invites nature into your body. Not sooner. Not later.
Now I am hungry.
So I will leave you with a holiday question: what is your 不時不食 on the table this year?
Venus Sun
Senior Director of Experience
Lan Su Chinese Garden
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