Meng Fanhua makes noodles at her restaurant in Canberra, Australia, Feb. 9, 2024.(Photo by Chu Chen/Xinhua)

Meng Fanhua, a lady in her 30s from Northeast China, running two Chinese restaurants here in the Australian capital, have always proudly introduced her hometown feature foods to guests.

Meng was glad that her hometown, China's northeastern Heilongjiang Province, has gained prominence since the beginning of this year as a top winter destination in China, despite the outdoor temperature there falls to below minus 20 degrees Celsius in winter.

"After the pandemic, tourism and restaurant businesses are getting better in our hometown," Meng told Xinhua.

The growing appeal of the provincial capital Harbin has made headlines, with Harbin receiving more than 3 million tourists and achieving total tourism income of 5.9 billion yuan (824.5 million U.S. dollars) during the three-day New Year holiday, both representing record highs.

Heilongjiang's ice-and-snow tourism-based economy has come into the spotlight recently. It has been listed among key sectors to further promote a new breakthrough in the full revitalization of the old industrial base.

"The regained popularity of Northeast China has made us overseas northeasterners very proud, and I would like to take this opportunity to introduce more of Northeast China's food and culture to Australians," said Meng.

Through food, Australians can understand Chinese people and culture, Meng said, adding that she has been enthusiastic promoting Northeast China's best foods to residents in Canberra.

In Meng's restaurant, local residents like to order crispy sweet and sour pork (Guo Bao Rou), pickled cabbage and pork dumplings and chive dumplings.

"The local Australians like to order these, and I just think of making these things look better and taste better," Meng said, adding, "Not salty, not spicy, everyone can eat, everyone loves to eat."

Chinese cuisine has a wide range of styles and higher adaptability, which copes well with Australia's multicultural society, said Meng, who also owns a Xinjiang restaurant featuring Northwest China's foods, which are popular among people with ancestries in northwestern China, the Middle East and North Africa.

In 2017, thanks to her cooking skills, Meng earned an opportunity to work in Australia. She came all the way from her hometown, Heilongjiang's Suihua City, to Melbourne.

Meng was initially a pastry chef of Western cuisine, but gradually she "wanted to do something of our own here" and started her restaurant in Canberra.

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