Jinan cuisine, also known as Lixia cuisine, is one of the four schools of Shandong cuisine, the other three of which are Jiaodong cuisine, Kongfu cuisine and herbal cuisine. It dates back to the Spring and Autumn period (770-476 BC).

Located north of Mount Tai and the lower reaches of the Yellow River, Jinan is rich in food materials. Jinan cuisine usually uses deep frying, roasting, boiling and stir frying.

It excels at sweet dishes, like Chinese yam in hot toffee and honey barbecued hand-carved chicken, as well as soups. Besides, the other four flavors of dishes – sour, salty, bitter and spicy – can also be found in Jinan cuisine.