 Regional differences in culture brought about different types of foods , while in certain areas the cooking traditions of regional cultures blended together ; such was the case of the Southern Song capital at Hangzhou . After the mass exodus from the north , people brought Henan @-@ style cooking and foods ( popular in the previous Northern Song capital at Kaifeng ) to Hangzhou , which was blended with the cooking traditions of Zhejiang . However , records indicate that already in the Northern Song period , the first capital at Kaifeng sported restaurants that served southern Chinese cuisine . This catered to capital officials whose native provinces were in the southeast , and would have found northern cuisine lacking in sufficient seasoning for their tastes . In fact , texts from the Song era provide the first use of the phrases nanshi , beishi , and chuanfan to refer specifically to northern , southern , and Sichuan cooking , respectively . Many restaurants were known for their specialties ; for example , there was one restaurant in Hangzhou that served only iced foods , while some restaurants catered to those who wanted either hot , warm , room temperature , or cold foods . Descendants of those from Kaifeng owned most of the restaurants found in Hangzhou , but many other regional varieties in foodstuffs and cooking were sponsored by restaurants . This included restaurants catering Sichuan cuisine that emphasized use of pepper , dishes and beverages from Hebei and Shandong , and coastal foods of shrimp and saltwater fish . The memory and patience of waiters had to be keen ; in the larger restaurants , serving dinner parties that required twenty or so dishes became a hassle if even a slight error occurred . If a guest reported the mistake of a waiter to the head of the restaurant , the waiter could be verbally reprimanded , have his salary docked , or in extreme cases , kicked out of the establishment for good . 
