Hot Tables
We’ve heard good things about the new Shifu Court in the Holiday Inn Shifu Guangzhou. So we stopped by and had some kick-ass Cantonese in a venue with eight private dining rooms and great daily specials featuring the freshest catch of the day for both lunch and dinner. For an early breakfast, also check out the new Oasis Café. 188 Di Shu Fu Rd., Liwan District, 510140, +86-20-8138-0088.
Also new-ish is the dessert retreat called Odelis (G/F, Unit 1, 8 Xincheng Nan Jie, Tianhe Dong Lu, +86-20-3886-0725), which opened in June right in time for the sweltering summer. Fruit-flavored ice creams such as coconut and sour passion fruit come topped with a healthy scoop of fresh fruit starting at ¥19 or try a takeaway box for ¥70/liter.
Wild Rides
Camel meat and fish heads are on the menu at Yongya Shanfang hotpot restaurant, along with plenty of Chinese medicine-based dishes. Alfresco dining is available; imagine yourself stranded in the Mongolian desert, forced to make the hard decision about whether your trusty camel is going to have to become dinner. In this week’s scorching sun, it’s not that hard to imagine really, and boy does he taste good. North Gate, Yuexiu Park Huanshi Rd. East, Yuexiu District, +86-20-8666-6626.
Early Risers
While it puzzles us why you would enjoy waking up from a pleasant slumber to rush to an international buffet, there are plenty who differ and enjoy Café Cascade’s all-day breakfast from 6am with a mix of Asian and Western fare. If you fancy a la carte, the crew is ready to fix you up with the house specials of the day until midnight. 28 Guangming Rd., Huanshi Dong, 510095, +86-20-6128-6868.
Old-skool at daybreak under the banyan tree: If you like a little company while dining out, try the Guangzhou Restaurant where you can take in Cantonese specialties this month such as the wen chang chicken and shawan milk cakes with 1,500 other hungry customers surrounding a century-old banyan tree still growing in the central courtyard from 7am – and it takes credit cards. The claim to fame here is that it serves over 10,000 people a day. 2 Wen Chang Nan Rd., +86-20-8138-0388.
From 6:30am-midnight, one of the best-known traditional restaurants in the city serves up more than 200 varieties of dim sum and over 20 kinds of soup at Tao Tao Ju, 20 Dishipu Lu, Liwan District. Some unusual offerings this month are the durian short bread and snakehead soup. We recommend the Chinese garden on the third floor – bring your camera as both the interior and exterior are classic Canton.
Wine And Dine Like Mr. Kim
During his tour of Guangzhou this year, the North Korean “Dear Leader” crashed at the White Swan Hotel and kicked everybody else out to have the whole place to himself, so who knows, maybe you’ll be sharing his very same chair at the majestic River Garden Barbecue by the riverside. Soft music, evening buffet dinner and a breeze from the water get the cognac flowing, allowing you to live the high life of a despot or just enjoy the natural surroundings and consider a private river cruise at 1 Southern St., Samian Island, Guangzhou, +86 20-8188-6968.
