It takes patience to cook water snake soup with chrysanthemum, a traditional Shunde dish.[Photo provided to China Daily]

For instance, while Shunde is well-known for its traditional double-layer steamed milk and fried milk, you can also taste something new at the Bantian Chuxin dessert shop - a custard made from buffalo milk and coconut juice.

Separately, influenced by the West, some high-end Chinese restaurants have now started to pay attention to wine and food pairing. And they present dishes in the sequence of a starter, a main dishes and desserts.

As part of this trend, Hennessy Cognac from France has organized visits to different Chinese cities including Shunde to explore how to match the cognac with traditional Chinese dishes.

Food critic He Weisheng says one can pair Hennessy V.S.O.P with many dishes like sashimi, water snake soup with chrysanthemum and pheasant rolls due to its fruity flavor.

"Hennessy X.O is also a good match for dishes with high fat content, including Song Ji's hotpot and roasted goose. And, Hennessy Paradis with its silky richness is suitable with seafood too," he says.