Stop Bashing West Lake Vinegar Fish. You’ve Never Tasted the Real Thing.
West Lake Vinegar Fish is widely hated as a muddy, fishy tourist trap. But the dish isn’t the problem—the execution is. To make cheap grass carp taste like crab requires sourcing tiny fish, starving them for days, and blanching them at exact temperatures. Most restaurants fail all three, serving you a crime scene instead of a delicacy.