香酥鸡 xiāngsūjī pressed chicken

A specialty of Dongbei. I have no idea how they really prepare it or smash it. I've read that the chicken is braised, and then fried to a crispy, golden brown. It's a favorite of mine.

火爆大头菜 huǒbào dàtóucài hot cabbage

This dish is really good unless the kitchen overcooks it. If you're ordering it at a Hunan restaurant, it will be called 黑盘白菜 hēipán báicài black plate cabbabe, and usually comes out on a sizzling griddle à la fajitas.

蛋挞 dàntǎ egg tart

Egg tarts are commonly seen at dim sum restaurants, but they are popular all over China. Even KFC sells them. They originally came from Portugal. When the Portuguese colonized Macau, a city in Guangdong that is akin to the Las Vegas of China, they brought their egg tart along with them. My feeling is the Portuguese one is better because it's sweeter. The Chinese are not big fans of dessert that is too sweet, so their egg tart is much more mild. Both egg tarts that are browned on the top and not browned are available.

地三鲜 dìsānxiān three flavors of the earth

Dìsānxiān literally means "earth three fresh," but I think it means the three flavors of the earth. It's a mixture of bell peppers, potatoes, and eggplant, and it is excellent!

饺子 jiǎozi dumplings

Originally, dumplings came from Dōngběi, but now they are widespread throughout China. It's lucky to eat them around Chinese New Year because they resemble the shape of yuánbǎo, which was China's currency during the Ming Dynasty. Eating them during Chinese New Year is supposed to bring prosperity and wealth. They are usually eaten with Zhenjiang vinegar, a dark brown vinegar, and sometimes chili sauce.

鍋包肉 guōbāoròu sweet and sour pork

Guō bāo ròu literally means "pot wrapped meat," but it tastes close to American-Chinese food's sweet and sour pork. 肉Ròu means meat. In China when you see the character 肉ròu by itself in a dish, it automatically means pork. Pork is the default meat in China, since it is so widely used in Chinese food. If the character 肉ròu is preceded by 鸡jī, it means chicken. If 肉ròu is preceded by 牛niú, it means beef. Pork can also be denoted by 猪肉zhūròu, literally "pig meat." 
Therefore, 鸡肉jīròu = chicken, 牛肉niúròu = beef, and 猪肉zhūròu or just 肉ròu = pork.

烘豆花生冰沙 hōngdòu huāshēng bīngshā red bean and peanut ice sand

Bīngshā comes with many different toppings. This one is the deluxe version: boiled peanuts, red bean, pineapple, mango, boba, mochi, and sweetened condensed milk. Below is a mountain of finely pureed ice. We got this one at a restaurant chain in Shanghai called Bellagio, but many restaurants have their own versions of this snow cone-like dessert.

小笼包 xiǎolóngbāo soup dumpling

Xiǎolóngbāo literally means "small steamer basket dumpling." It's a specialty of Shanghai. There is actually soup inside the dumpling! Only a civilization that has been around for 4000 years can achieve that type of culinary feat. And here, we Americans are making deep-fried Krispy Kreme hamburgers. Challenge!
Now, how do they get the soup in the dumpling? The Chinese make a concoction of meat and broth and then let the broth gelatinize. They then place the mixture into dumpling wrappers. When the dumplings are steamed, the gelatin melts back into soup. Voila!