Canton or Guangzhou, Fujian and Xiamen (Amoy) and Hong Kong.

Cantonese or southern Chinese cooking is perhaps the best known of all. The style can be described as concentrating on texture. Natural flavours are not altered and preparation is kept to a minimum. What is aimed for is the control of crispiness and subtlety and the most distinctive aspect is its savoury quality.
Seafood flavours are often incorporated into meat cookery - such as oyster sauce or shrimp sauce. Salted black beans are used to impart a highly savoury taste, ginger is used to counteract fishiness, garlic is used to perfume and absolute freshness is vital. Soy sauces are used in artful ways to bring out the flavours of meat and poultry, married with aromatics like leeks, ginger and onions. Barbecue roasting is a highly developed art of producing a plethora of duck, chicken and pork dishes that are ambrosial. Fruit is often incorporated in Cantonese cooking, namely lemon, plum, tangerine and orange, which are evident in the tangy, sweet and sour sauces. Dim sum is traditionally Cantonese - a culinary art dating back to the 10th century, though today there are other regional versions. Under this school comes the Fujian or Amoy style of cooking which is light on the tongue, with highly refined broths, congees and soups with only the barest hints of ginger, scallions and sesame oil. Seafood cooking is particularly excellent with the clever use of soy, sesame oil, pepper, garlic as unguents.
The Hong Kong school is one which evolved on the back of this former British colony's propensity to be much more pushy than most! As a dynamic commercial centre, the island is a magnet for the world's travellers.

The demand for superb food and competitive spirit has provoked chefs to go one better by being more inventive, more professional with a cutting edge to their culinary endeavours. Today, many Chinese restaurants take pride in promoting dishes as being Hong Kong style which is really saying Cantonese with an innovative twist.