The weather is getting hotter, and I feel I have no appetite for anything.

Today, I would like to recommend some appetizers with Chongming characteristics to relieve your summer anorexia.

01 Braised Edamame Bean in Brine

Appearance: ★★★★★

Taste: ★★★★★

Cost Performance: ★★★★★

Recommended: ★★★★★

This snack calls the childhood memories of countless people. In the days when there was no air conditioner, everyone prefers to sit outside the house to have dinner, drink the self-made glutinous rice wine, and taste a few braised edamame beans. From time to time, neighbors will come for a long chat, with braised edamame beans in their hands.

Besides the braised edamame beans, the crisp pickled melons are also very delicious. What seasonal food in this sweaty summer!

02 Cold Mixed Shredded Golden Melon

Appearance: ★★★★★

Taste: ★★★★★

Cost Performance: ★★★★★

Recommended: ★★★★★

When it comes to summer appetizers, you can't ignore the shredded golden melon. The crispy, tender, delicious, and refreshing taste of the shredded golden melon in cold sauce wins the heart of everyone. Given its appearance, color, and taste, Chongming shredded golden melon is the king among cold dishes!

03 Stewed Eggplant

Appearance: ★★★★

Taste: ★★★★★

Cost Performance: ★★★★★

Recommended: ★★★★★

Chongming people grow up having this dish, which is made of authentic Chongming green eggplants. In the past when Chongming people still used the old-style traditional kitchen range to cook, they would place a steaming frame above the rice to stew the eggplant and pour the mixed seasoning on it.

04 Braised Crab Claws in Soy Sauce

Appearance: ★★★★

Taste: ★★★★

Cost Performance: ★★★★★

Recommended: ★★★★★

When I was a child, there was a river beside every household. Standing on the water bridge, I could see brackish-water crabs crawling. Whether you grab it with your bare hands or cast a net in a river, you can surely catch a small bucket of crabs in a day. Only the big claws of the crabs are left to cook. Often, they are braised in soy sauce, and sometimes with some extra distillers’ solubles, which makes them more palatable.

05 Cold MixedMesembryanthemum Crystallinum with Sesame Sauce

Appearance: ★★★★★

Taste: ★★★★★

Cost Performance: ★★★★

Recommended: ★★★★★

Mesembryanthemum Crystallinum looks cool, and the taste is also very special. It is suitable for cold dressing and hot frying. It is crisp, with a sour taste similar to that of apples or a natural salt. When chewing, the "ice beads" on its leaves will gently explode in your mouth, and a slightly viscous juice flows out. It is very addictive!

06 Toothed Burclover with Salt Powder

Appearance: ★★★

Taste: ★★★★

Cost Performance: ★★★★★

Recommended: ★★★★★

In April and May, Chongming people like eating liquor-flavored toothed burclover. In case of a big harvest, they will cut and wash them, drain them, put them into a small jar or bottle, and then use a special stick to spread a layer of salt powder, sprinkle a layer of the mixture of salt, pepper, fennel, and other spices, and then use the stick to press them down. In the past, every family in Chongming had such a special stick.

Two months later, the jar will be opened, and the toothed burclovers will be covered with golden salt powder, with a slightly sour aroma. Wash away the salt on the surface, then add oil and sugar, and steam the toothed burclovers in a pot before eating. It is so refreshing that your mouth will be watering. When your appetite is not good in summer, it is still easy to have two bowls of rice with boiled water as long as you have pickled-toothed burclovers.

07 Tomato Slices with Sugar

Appearance: ★★★★★

Taste: ★★★★★

Cost Performance: ★★★★★

Recommended: ★★★★★

In summer, tomato slices with sugar are a seasonal cold dish common on the table of the Chongming people. Tomatoes just picked from the private plot in front of the house are washed, cut into pieces, and sprinkled with sugar. The cold dish is as sweet and refreshing as the organic vegetable salad you order in a high-end western restaurant.

08 Cold Cucumber

Appearance: ★★★★★

Taste: ★★★★★

Cost Performance: ★★★★★

Recommended: ★★★★★

In hot summer, cold cucumbers are a good choice. The cucumbers in Chongming are so delicious that tourists all like them, claiming that they are completely different from the ones they have in their hometown, which are less tasty and refreshing.

Come to Chongming for these special appetizers to surprise your taste buds and activate your summer appetite!