Editor’s Note
The Black Pearl Restaurant Guide, a prestigious dining selection, is expanding its scope for 2026 to include Shijiazhuang, marking a significant step in highlighting Hebei’s culinary scene. This move aims to elevate the city’s gastronomic profile and showcase its unique local flavors.
According to information obtained by reporters from Meituan, the selection for the 2026 Black Pearl Restaurant Guide has expanded to include Shijiazhuang in Hebei, Nantong in Jiangsu, Qingdao in Shandong, and Shenyang in Liaoning. Among these, Shijiazhuang will become the starting city for the “Black Pearl list” to explore landmark Hebei cuisine and representative restaurants.
To enhance the brand image of Shijiazhuang’s food culture, make local restaurants an important window showcasing the city’s culinary culture, promote city publicity, cultivate and stimulate innovation vitality among catering enterprises, improve market competitiveness, and drive the high-quality development of the local catering industry, Shijiazhuang is actively introducing the internationally influential “Black Pearl Restaurant Guide” food evaluation system.
According to comments from judges of the Black Pearl Restaurant Guide, Shijiazhuang’s culinary scene is eclectic and inclusive. It features local Hebei cuisine flavors while also gaining attention and recognition for various external cuisines brought by travelers from north and south.
Since its inaugural list in 2018, the Black Pearl Restaurant Guide has consistently advocated for selecting “China’s own food guide” based on “Chinese palate” standards, embodying the deep understanding of Chinese food culture towards cuisine. Today, “Black Pearl” not only provides decision-making references for high-quality consumers but also drives foot traffic with its “tip of the tongue” recommendations, becoming an important bridge for inter-city exchange and the integration of quality consumption.
Regarding the specific selection process, “anonymous judges conducting undercover visits throughout the year” is a crucial principle upheld by Black Pearl. Some judges who have participated in the selection stated that judge anonymity means not revealing any information related to the Black Pearl selection or the judge’s identity, acting entirely as an ordinary diner for dining experiences and observations to ensure objective and fair results.
Currently, Black Pearl judges are primarily gourmands, accounting for over 77% of the panel. The judges are rotated annually at a rate of 30%, with each term not exceeding five years. For the 2026 Black Pearl list selection, based on nominations from the judging committee, AI technology has been added, driving the process through a combination of professional and intelligent collaboration to make outstanding restaurants worldwide more easily discoverable.