Nanning is a city abundant with tasty food of different styles as well as the traditional local dishes and snacks. It features freshness, tender, light taste and nutrition of the food, and varies with seasons. As Nanning is so close to Vietnam, foods such as soups, noodles and burgers of Vietnamese characteristics are also very popular here. Some of the typical local dishes and snacks are Lemon Duck, Old Friend (Laoyou) Rice Noodle, Rice Rolls and sour pickles, just to name a few.

The Lemon Duck is scrip and tender, neither soft nor oily, but with a special smell of lemon. It is prepared with sour chili, sour ginger, preserved lemon, garlic, sesame oil and many other materials. The flavor being heavy but suitably sour and spicy, it is extremely tasty and appetizing.

Old Friend (Laoyou) Rice Noodle is the most famous snack of Nanning with a history of over a thousand years. It is said that there was a frequent customer who went to a teahouse everyday, but one day he didn't appear. The owner of the teahouse heard that he was suffering with a severe cold. The owner, having known that, sent his customer a bowl of rice noodle cooked with chopped garlic, hot pepper, sour bamboo shoots and minced beef. The customer got much better after eating it; hence the name old friend noodles. The noodle can help get rid of wet in the human body and stimulate appetite, so it is well received by local people for a long time.

Rice rolls are a special snack of Nanning. To make rolled rice noodle, the first step is to evenly Spread the thick syrup made of soaked rice onto a white and hot cloth in a tray and steam it, then put on a salver and scatter the chopped meat and shallot on it; when it is ready, roll the rice paste into the shape of tiny pillar. Rice rolls are mixed with ingredients like wampee sauce and sesame oil. The food tastes soft, fresh and smooth.