Unsurprisingly for a port city, Xiamen is known for its fresh fish, and seafood can be found for next to nothing in the back streets of the old quarter or at small, hole-in-the-wall restaurants just up from the dock on Gulang Yu. Lunch will still be swimming or crawling in plastic tubs set out in the street, and is priced by weight. Jukou Jie has very cheap Sichuan and Taiwanese restaurants. Try the basicShuxiang Yuan Chuan Caifor authentic Sichuan, upstairs at no. 63, on the west side near the junction with Siming Xi Lu. It stays open as long as there are shoppers; a meal for two costs about ¥40 ($5). Good Western food is still only available in the bigger hotels (the Pan-Asia expat favorites at both the Marco Polo and Crowne Plaza are excellent), but there are twoMcDonald'sand aKFCin Zhongshan Lu alone. A waterfrontPizza Huton the 24th floor of a tower in Lujiang Dao, visible for miles, has correspondingly excellent views once you get up there.
Vegetariansare well served at theNan Putuo Si.Tickets must first be purchased from the "Vegetable Dishes Booking Office," signposted in English; it's open from noon to 4pm and 5 to 7pm. Individual dishes cost from ¥8 ($1), but three-dish set meals from ¥30 ($3.75) per person make life easier. The surroundings are undistinguished and practical, but the food is prepared with sensitivity to each ingredient's strengths, and is an excellent value. Tryxiang ni cang zhen(vegetables mashed into a paste -- much more attractive than it sounds),luohan zhai(a stew of pine nuts, cabbage, cucumber, corn, mushrooms, and fresh coriander),danggui mianjin tang(Chinese angelica and gluten soup), andlusun doufu tang(asparagus and tofu soup).
Huang Ze He,or peanut soup, from the Huasheng Tang Dian (peanut snack bar) on Zhongshan Lu seems to be the local dish that most tourists seek out, but you will have to battle through crowds of red and white baseball caps to get any. A more relaxing option is to head down to the old harbor where a small eatery turns out equally delicious peanut-based dishes. My favorite was the local-style wonton soup(bia nshi)and the tasty noodles(ban mian)at Miao Xiang Bian Shi located on Daxue Lu 102 (tel.0592/899-1820), open from 6am to 10:30pm.