Kunshan cuisine: the best bites of autumn

The shell comes off easily, leaving a sweet and delicious chestnut.

Sugar roasted chestnut (Chinese: 糖炒栗子)

In season: from mid-September to early October

There is no snack more popular with Kunshan residents during this season than a humble bag of freshly roasted chestnuts with sugar.

A chestnut vendor can be found on almost every street corner in downtown Kunshan, usually surrounded by a distinctive chestnut aroma. Accompanied by the sound of shoveling, the vendors cook the chestnuts in woks filled with black sand, oil and malt sugar. The chestnuts are then roasted with brown sugar and oil.