Pride of place and plate

Liu's restaurant uses ham produced by villagers in Yongping county in the Dali Bai autonomous prefecture.

"The ham is carefully handmade and only consumed during weddings or festivals," Liu says.

"It's representative of Yunnan."

It's produced using pigs that weigh over 200 kilograms and are fed only grass and grain. Their legs are marinated with local grain liquor and salt, and pressed by quartzite before they're covered with pine ash to repel bugs, hung on eves and smoked in the shade.

"People say Yunnan's ham looks like a pipa (a Chinese lute) and wears a chestnut-color coat. It's also said that when you insert three ox-bone needles into the ham, the needles will have the aroma of milk."

Liu recalls discovering the ham in a villager's home two years ago. The inside swirls like agate, and thin slices are translucent.

"Villagers boil ham slices with beans or Chinese yams. Or, sometimes, they steam them with rice."

The hams Liu's restaurant uses have been cured for at least three years. The meat is served raw or in stews.