Hangzhou Cuisine

With the nickname "A treasure from a man and his sister-in-law", West Lake Vinegar Fish is one of the Must Eats in Hangzhou. 

A story goes like this: Long time ago, two brothers named Song lived at West Lake on fishing. There also lived a rascal named Zhao. Once, rascal Zhao was traveling along West Lake and saw a beautiful woman washing clothes near the lake who was Elder Song's wife. Later he played an intrigue and killed Elder Song. Younger Song and Elder Song's wife sued to the local official, but in fact the official had been in collaboration with the rascal. 

To avoid retaliation by the rascal Zhao, Elder Song’s wife suggested her brother-in-law to run away and she cooked a special dish with sugar and vinegar in fish for him and told him that life was like the cooked fish both full of sweetness and sourness. The young man understood his sister-in-law’s meaning and finally he got his position as an official and punished Zhao who killed his elder brother. Then that’s why West Lake Vinegar Fish comes.