The City of Rams – A Haven of Good Food
Bread is the staff of life.
If you are able to, you may have 6 meals a day in Guangzhou and you wouldn’t run out of options. On any given street of Guangzhou there are endless restaurants that will satisfy your palate, from a typical bowl of Cantonese wonton noodles to a hearty serving of dumplings made in the northeastern style.
I did not have six meals a day in Guangzhou, for simply I am not able to eat that much, even for small servings, snacks or desserts. But I did seek out different kinds of cuisines in Guangzhou. Being from Hong Kong, I grew up eating Cantonese food, and so naturally the food to be had in Guangzhou would be Cantonese food. That is where the food that I grew up with originates. But the city is very cosmopolitan. I think a survey of different cuisines in Guangzhou would give me a good idea of the dining standards and preferences of the locals.
Chan Tim Kee (Chen Tianji)
I have discussed Chan Tim Kee in a previous entry. It was my first meal in Guangzhou and so I will post the pictures of the blanched fish skin in soy sauce and the boneless trotter again. The total for this order was 56 yuan.
The address of Chan Tim Kee is No. 3, 3rd Alley, 15 Fu, Baohua Lu, Liwan District. 荔灣區寶華路十五甫三巷 2 號之 3.
Dongbei Jiaozi Fang (Northeastern Dumpling House)
In the first evening in Guangzhou, I opted for Dongbei dumplings (the dumplings of northeastern China). There is a significant difference between the dumplings of southern China and that of northern China. People of southern China tend to like paper-thin dumpling wrappings. The dumplings of northern China come with somewhat thicker and chewier skin. Although I grew up with southern dumplings, I came to appreciate the northern style when I lived in Beijing. To this day I still prefer the northern dumplings over the southern rendition.
My difficulty is, in Hong Kong, no matter how much of authenticity people claim in making northeastern styled dumplings, they simply do not taste like what I had in Beijing. And therefore whenever I go to China, I always find the opportunity to sit down with northeastern Chinese cuisine, and dumplings are my go-to comfort food.
I therefore searched specifically for Dongbei dumplings in the area and came across this small shop, named Dongbei Jiaozi Fang (Northeastern Dumpling House). The restaurant was small, clean, homey, with a wonderful selection of dumplings and other northeastern meats and noodles. I ordered a cold shredded potato appetizer (a little spicy) and a serving of dumplings, half with cabbage and pork and half with leek and egg. The flavors were just what I remembered them to be. The total for this meal was a jaw-dropping 26 yuan only.
The address for Dongbei Jiaozi Fang is No. 7, Liwan Lu, Liwan District. It is on the street level.
Tong Kee (Tongji Chicken Congee and Noodles)
Tong Kee Chicken Congee and Noodles was one of the two Michelin Guide restaurants that I sought out in Guangzhou. It prides a long history of 40 years in business.
I finally made my way to the restaurant. It is somewhat tucked away in an alleyway, but there were signs on the street to which you should pay attention and you will find it. The ordering is done first, when you reach the doorway. The chicken comes in a sixth, a quarter and a full chicken. If you order a sixth, then you surely will get the chicken wing. If you order a quarter, you will surely get the leg portion. I decided to go for the quarter. Make sure you tell them that you do not want the head and the bottom, otherwise these parts will be served. I also ordered a plate of fried beef and flat noodles.
After ordering, the staff will give you a little wooden tag to display on the table. Enter into the restaurant and you may sit freely.
To be honest, I was slightly skeptical how good this restaurant could be up till the time I put the food into my mouth. On the surface, steamed chicken and fried beef with flat noodles are the most run-of-the-mill menu items in southern China. I would say I have this type of food every other day in Hong Kong.
But once I tasted the first mouthful of the chicken, I knew immediately that this was no ordinary steamed chicken. In Cantonese we say that good chicken is where “the skin is crisp and the flesh is young.” And this steamed chicken at Tong Kee really measures up. The chicken was smooth, tender and exceedingly yummy.
The two small dishes of dipping sauce also did wonders. The yellow dipping sauce is a Chinese mustard, the owner told me that they grind the mustard themselves. Although I argued with him (why would I do that) that it contains turmeric, he insists that it was only mustard. The onion in oil dip was also different from the usual dip for steamed chicken, in that there was no ginger in it.
Finally, even the most ordinary fried beef with flat noodles tasted different from what I am accustomed to in Hong Kong restaurants. I think the difference came from the soy sauce that they used. The savory flavor is distinctly lighter, but it maintained the expected taste of the noodle.
I must say, Tong Kee was the best meal that I had in Guangzhou. Maybe I should be looking out specifically for Michelin Guide restaurants. This meal cost 55 yuan in total.
The address for Tong Kee Chicken Congee and Noodles is No. 3, Fuguang Li, Changshou Donglu, Liwan, Guangzhou. 荔湾区长寿东路福广里3号
Da Tou Xia (Tiger Prawn Vietnamese Restaurant)
The Tiger Prawn Vietnamese Restaurant is namely the most happening Vietnamese restaurant in Guangzhou. Despite standing at one of Guangzhou’s most popular food and dining district in Yuexiu, the restaurant is full-house almost at all servicing hours of the day. I arrived for dinner at 5:20 and there was a crowd waiting at its doors.
I was dining solo, so the wait was very reasonable. After sitting down, I studied the menu. And yes, for a menu offering that many different dishes, I did have to study it.
At a first glance at the menu, I felt a little disappointed. I thought Tiger Prawn is a Vietnamese restaurant, but its menu suggested that it caters to all things Southeast Asian. There were even Chinese dishes on the menu. I care a lot about authenticity, and this suggests that it is not wholly Vietnamese. However, it does make sense in China. Restaurants of any cuisine may feel somewhat inclined to provide “Chinese-looking” dishes irrespective of its marketing position.
So I told myself to simply pick the clearly Vietnamese dishes from the menu. Here’s what I ordered:
Appetizer: Fried Vietnamese Egg Rolls
When this dish was served, I was very disappointed. The rolls were over-fried. It seemed to me that the spring roll wrapping was almost burnt. I did not want to bother returning it, as it would be a waste, so I ate it with all the condiments that came with. I must say that my view changed when I wrapped the rolls in the generous serving of lettuce and herbs. The perilla and mint leaves really distracted me from the taste of the slightly burnt rolls. They gave the rolls a distinctive freshness and it really worked. The dipping sauce also tasted good.
Main: Wok-fried Eel in Lemongrass
This dish was delightful. Tangy, good eel came with a kick of heat and an abundance of lemongrass. It would have been perfect to go with a bowl of rice, but I could hardly finish what I ordered.
Veggies: Wok-friend Morning Glory with Garlic
This dish was also wonderful. I did finish all the veggies, and then packed the eel to go.
If you plan on going to Tiger Prawn, be sure to go at non-rush hours. There are literally thousands of dining establishments in this area, so feel free to explore other options there as well. This meal cost 175 yuan total.
The address for Tiger Prawn Vietnamese Restaurant is No. 548, Huifu Donglu, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou. 越秀区惠福东路548号
Tasty Steak (Xiti Steak)
Tasty Steak originated from Taiwan. It serves up good steak that is supposedly cooked in wholly western ways. I was craving for steak and the restaurant’s location was what suited me the most, so I went there for my steak lunch.
I ordered a steak with black truffles. The steak came with a very generous amount of black truffles, and it was well-seasoned. I ordered a medium rare and it turned out as I wanted. However, I found the meal to be a little pricey. The steak came only with a sesame roll, and I had to order a serving of French fries on the side. I decided that I would grab coffee at a proper coffee house in the same mall, so my meal was a bread roll, steak and French fries. Suffice to say, the French fries were also very good.
This meal cost a total of 200 yuan. The address of Tasty Steak is L1-S01a, Lefeng Guangchang, 106-108 Gongye Dadao Bei, Haizhu District. 海珠区工业大道北106-108号 乐峰广场一层L1-S01a
M Stand Coffee
Downstairs from Tasty Steak, M Stand offers outdoor seating with cover at the Lefeng Mall. I decided to have my lunch coffee there. There was a bit of overcast that day and it seemed to me that a thunderstorm was afoot any minute, but I managed to write on my journal in the outdoor seating. I had a very relaxing time there.
Panxi Restaurant
Perhaps a foodie exploration of Guangzhou would not complete without having dim sum. I will discuss Panxi Restaurant in an upcoming entry as that was part of my touring in the Liwan Museum and Liwan Lake Park. For a preview, these are the dim sums that I ordered. Panxi is also a Michelin Guide restaurant.
This meal cost 126 yuan. The address of Panxi Restaurant is N0. 151, Longjin Xilu, Liwan District. 荔湾区龙津西路151号
Home of Yuenyeung (Yuanyang Wang Shijia)
My final meal in Guangzhou was a little Hong Kong-styled snack at a snack shop in a large swanky mall close to the guesthouse. I just wanted to grab something light before I headed back to Hong Kong. So I had an egglet (egg puffs) with Hong Kong-styled milk tea there before it was time to take the Metro to the train station.
This meal cost 22 yuan. The shop is located in the basement food court level of the Hengbao Mall on No. 133 Baoyuan Lu.
When I planned the trip, I did intend to seek out the good food of Guangzhou and there were many pleasant surprises along the way. But there are more that I want to try, and those will be for the next visit.