INNOVATIVE CONCEPT If you’ve ever suffered from buffet anxiety – having to pay for things you don’t really want to eat – City Bistro has an innovative new concept. You can either choose the full buffet with access to all stations – and there are several – or you can opt for only one choice: the California salad and soup bar, Asian noodle station, slow-roasted herb rubbed beef station or the dessert buffet. Non-buffet fans can choose from set menus or order dishes à la carte. Breakfast options range from Continental, Chinese and Japanese to gourmet and healthy fare, where you can indulge in eggs benedict or French toast. For those concerned about health and fitness, there are low-fat, low-cholesterol and highprotein options. Selections for lunch and dinner range from appetisers and salads to soups, pastas and pizzas, Asian favourites and burgers and sandwiches. You can even create your own sandwich with a choice of breads, fillings and cheeses. This stylish eatery is right off the lobby of one of Guangzhou’s newest and most luxurious five-star hotels. Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Michael Taylor CITY BISTRO 5/F, GUANGZHOU MARRIOTT HOTEL TIANHE 228 TIANHE ROAD TIANHE DISTRICT GUANGZHOU (86 20) 6108 8888 WWW.MARRIOTT.COM SIGNATURE DISHES Cantonese cuisine is the top draw, but other parts of China, especially Sichuan and Zhejiang, are also represented on the menu, which features a distinctive East-meets-West focus. Take the goose liver steeped in light wine with bamboo shoots and papaya, for example. The liver, which is rich and succulent, is cooked in the classic French style, but the other ingredients are undeniably Asian. The signature dishes are Dong Fang shi xi chicken and Buddha's Pot Dong Fang style. The shi xi chicken, which translates roughly as "local teacher's chicken", has been improved upon for decades with the use of Longman chickens. The Chinese name of Buddha's Pot - Buddha Jumps Over the Wall - is far more poetic than the English. Chicken is steeped in a broth of wine, abalone, shark's fin, sea cucumber and fish maw. According to legend, the aroma was so tempting that even monks at a nearby temple would jump over a wall in order to eat it. Michael Taylor NAN GUO YAN YUE RESTAURANT DONG FANG HOTEL 120 LIU HUA ROAD YUEXIU DISTRICT GUANGZHOU (86 20) 8666 9900 WWW.DONGFANGHOTEL.ORG
