Meizhou, Capital of the Hakka World

Appears in
top 1000The Hakka Cookbook
The Hakka Cookbook

By Linda Anusasananan

Published 2012

  • About

As we ride the bus to the city of Meizhou in northeast Guangdong Province, our local guide, Sister Liu, fills in the facts. Meizhou is the name of the district and a prefecture-level city. It is part of the mountainous area where Jiangxi, Guangdong, and Fujian provinces meet, often referred to the Hakka heartland. Almost everyone in the cities of Meizhou (in Guangdong) and Yongding (in Fujian) is Hakka.

After a long journey, we arrive at Wen Cho Low, a restaurant located in a picturesque eighty-year-old building owned by a Hakka woman from Taiwan. The sprawling compound also houses exhibits of Hakka history and rents four guest rooms. With one head chef and twenty-seven sous chefs, the restaurant offers a wide range of hearty soul food.