Although I had eagerly anticipated the food, visiting a new place each morning had me happily looking for more diamonds in the rough. Pingyao surprised me, not with its already famous cold beef dishes, but with lesser-known creations such as the affectionately named "cat ear soup". This slightly savory broth containing pursed medallions of cut noodles was infused by wafting sprigs of cilantro, and freshened even more by plump cubes of tomato.

Hunyuan county's noodle soup was another exemplary benchmark of Shanxi. Thick, supple crystalline noodles swam in a sparkling black vinegar broth, balanced with deep fried soy beans, beefy tofu and the smoky wedges of a single tea egg. The bowl's robust flavors were paradoxically cooling to the body, but no less welcome.

However, it is Wutai county's specialties that remain uppermost in my mind. Local mushrooms from Wutai Mountain, stir-fried tenderly with a light soy sauce that only enlivened the fungus' pine quality left a natural earthiness lingering on the tongue akin to the buzzing of ginseng. The superb dish was worth the trip alone, I thought. Accompanying that was another natural treasure — roasted rabbit with a dry rub of flavorful cumin and warming chilli, perfectly suited to the summer rains that were the soundtrack to my meals on the mountain.

Shanxi's history is a rich one. From China's first banks to its tofu barons, it offers a mass of cultural spectacle; but its cuisine runs as deep as its mines, unearthing gastronomic gems for even the most precious of palates.

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