At the Manchu court, the emperor did not dine like commoners: at each meal, the imperial kitchens (御膳房) laid out dozens of dishes on long tables, classified not by starter-main-dessert but by rank and function — roast meats inherited from Manchu hunts, comforting soups and porridges, festive sweets and pastries, teas and infusions. The sovereign tasted a few dishes and left the rest. This structure blends Manchu warrior rusticity with Han refinement, as in the famous "Manchu-Han" banquet (满汉全席).

Two pillars of Qing imperial taste: fermented soybean paste (jiàng) providing the savory-umami base for meats and broths, and rock sugar (bīngtáng), brown sugar crystallized into large translucent chunks, which perfumes sweets and infusions without making them heavy.