Panxi Restaurant (泮溪酒家)

When my friend showed me the magazine article on this restaurant, I am sold.  Look how cute the porcupine dim sum is!  Dim sum is one of my favorite food since it usually comes in small bites and I can order a variety of them.  (Likewise, I love tapas and sushi for similar reasons.)

Weekend Trip - Guangzhou (2)

Next morning, we woke up quite late (and it was another cloudy, gloomy day).  By the time we were ready, it's time for lunch already!

It was so gloomy outside so I just applied a sepia filter.

Bing Sheng (炳勝品味)

My friend has been talking about this place when she was telling me about her plan on this trip.  I can tell how much she misses the black "char siu" (叉燒) just from the way she describes it.  So I wasn't surprised when a line formed in front of the shop when we got there around 20:30.

Bei Yuan Cuisine (北園)

Bei Yuan Cuisine (北園) is known as one of the three garden restaurants in Guangzhou, China.  The other two are Panxi (泮溪酒家) and Nan Yuan (南園).

Founded in 1928 by the then President (Dianbang Zou  鄒殿邦) of the Chamber of Commerce, the restaurant was previously a private villa owned by the President's grandfather.  Since the restaurant is located in the northern suburb next to Yuexiu Mountain (越秀山)  with a flowing stream passing the front of the restaurant, people used to describe it with the phrase "山前食肆，水尾茶寮".  You can read more about this history of the restaurant here.  (Sorry it's Chinese only!)  Over the years, the restaurant has catered diners from all walks of life.  In the 1950s, it's earned the title of "Foreigners' Cafeteria" and in 1998, it was named as one of the Nation's top restaurants.

The Entrances:

Zhu Yuan Farm (竹苑農莊)

My friend took me to a restaurant in China a while ago.  Minus the questionable surroundings, the food is quite good.  Even though the location is secluded, the restaurant is busy!  I was surprised when I spotted a Caucasian couple came and order a take-out!

The restaurant sign to guide diners off the main road to the restaurant.

Old Shanghai Shi Hui Li (老上海食惠里)

I come here a lot but I never knew their name.  I looked it up for this post and realize their name sounds a lot like food poisoning in Cantonese (食惠裡 / 食壞你)... lolz?  Thank goodness I haven't been sick from eating here... yet...  Maybe that's why they are now more commonly known as Shanghai Gold Medal Pan-Fried Dumpling (上海金牌生煎包).

I borrowed this picture from dianping.com
the mainland version of Open Rice.

New Chongqing Restaurant (新重慶酒樓)

This was originally intended to be a lighthearted post on a Sichuan hot pot restaurant in Zhuhai, China that my friend and I loved.  However, as I was writing this post, I am not sure if I am recommending or warning my readers on restaurants in China.  Don't get me wrong, the food tastes good, it is cheap and it looks clean, but I can never be sure when I eat in China, especially these days.

Yuanyang Guo (鴛鴦鍋)The left side is not spicy and the right side is super spicy.
Rule of thumb: meat is better spicy and veggies is better non-spicy.
The authentic dipping sauce for this type of hot pot is sesame oil + minced garlic + hoisin sauce + cilantro.