Guangzhou - Food Haven!

I would say Guangzhou's more a place for daily living, or for trade, rather than for tourists. There aren't that many cultural or 'must-see-before-you-die' spots in Guangzhou... But one thing's for sure --- the food rocks! It's true what the Chinese say: 食在广州 – All good food can be found in Guangzhou.  

Cantonese Food

I have never been a big fan of eating the innards of animals, and when my friend took me to a famous Cantonese restaurant, ordered stir-fried duck intestines and pig's heart soup... My heart wept... I was afraid I'd be rude by not finishing my food. Anyhow, I always still try what's on the table.  I have eaten duck intestines at hot-pot sessions in Beijing before, though it never quite appealed to me, as there was always that lingering taste of whatever the duck has eaten... That in mind, I held my breath, hardened my taste buds and tossed the shortest chopped-up duck intestine into my mouth...... It didn't taste bad at all, surprisingly..... In fact, it tasted so good that I found myself munching on it casually during our conversations, as though it were popcorn in front of me. 

The stir-fried duck intestines in this Cantonese restaurant in Guangzhou was done so well I never thought I would describe it as - Delicious! It was the outstanding gravy which masked the true taste of duck intestines and made a world of difference to my eating experience.  The texture of the intestines was crunchy and chewy... As the Chinese would say: 很爽口... I can't find an English equivalent to that word, but I'd say the closest would be 'Palatable'... Though the word 'Palatable' only refers to the pleasant Taste, with no reference to the Texture of the food in the mouth... The word 爽口 'shuang2 kou3' -- Refers to how the food 'makes the palate happy' :)

Apologies for I have no picture of the stir-fried duck intestines since it did not appeal to me at first.  Though I do recommend this restaurant that we went to -- Bing Sheng Restaurant -- if you want a taste of good Cantonese food. The branch which we dined at was right opposite Guangzhou's Mandarin Oriental in Tianhe district: 

Bing Sheng Restaurant Group 炳胜饮食集团

Tianhe East Road 168, Shipai Hotel 1-2 Floor, Guangzhou, China.

Here are the addresses of the many branches of 'Bing Sheng Restaurant Group':

Then there was the soup made of Pig's tongue and heart... Sounds horrible I know, but I gobbled up the soup. It was tasty!

And the highlight of Bing Sheng Restaurant has got to be its 叉烧 Charsiew (BBQ Pork) and 烧肉 Siewyok (Roast Pork)...

These two dishes were simply divine that we decided to order another plate.... Such a bad idea.... For I'm sure our arteries were screaming: "E-N-O-U-G-H !"

The pork was so good that I took a photo just so that I can remember every bit of it!
My mouth waters just looking at it.... The crispy skin -- Glistening...... O my lord....

Another restaurant worth trying is Hoi Fan Restaurant 开饭餐厅 which serves traditional Cantonese cuisine and many types of drinks and desserts. Every dish we ordered tasted great! 

What stood out was their Iced milk tea - served in a specially made 'ice glass' to keep the glass of milk tea cool without diluting the tea with ice. As time passed, the 'ice glass' melts into the bowl. Interesting way to serve milk tea, and the milk tea certainly tasted good! Cool and Silky... Not too sweet... Just right!

Hoi Fan Restaurant 开饭餐厅:

3rd Floor, G.T.Land Plaza

No. 11-13 Zhujiang East Road, Tianhe District, Guangzhou, China.

International Dining

While in Guangzhou, I had the opportunity to interview the chef of 'Saint Germain', a French restaurant at Party Pier for a short programme featuring chefs in Guangzhou. Chef Christian showed me how he prepared Foiegras, and it was so delicious... Decadent!

I did not get the chance to snap a picture since we were filming the entire time. But if you're in Guangzhou and would like to try something other than Cantonese food, do give Saint Germain a try. It is located right at the end of Party Pier.


Of course I believe there are many other great places for international dining, but my stay in Guangzhou is always short hence I can only recommend the few I've tried which are good.

Drinks

A bar I would highly recommend in Guangzhou is The Loft at Mandarin Oriental. They have the largest selection of whiskeys in Guangdong, with limited editions too. This sophisticated bar has an intimate setting with dark wood furnishings, leather seats and drinks served in crystal glassware. A great, cosy space for catching up with friends!

Maple Old-Fashioned

A sweet twist to the classic Old-Fashioned.

Taikoo Mojito 

Another nice twist to the ever-so-refreshing Mojito, where they use brown sugar instead, and aged rum.

Apple Martini

All the drinks we had were excellent, and so were the snacks served. 
I enjoyed every bit of it!

For my ladies out there - You'd be pleased with the next piece of information... The Loft creates bespoke cocktails... Only for ladies ;)

The Loft @ Mandarin Oriental

389 Tianhe Road, Tianhe District, Guangzhou, China

(Adjacent to Taikoo shopping mall)

My next experience was quite interesting.
A friend and I were having dinner at a Japanese restaurant one night and we decided to order a bottle of Japanese sake to go with our food. We asked the waitress for a few recommendations for sake and we simply decided on one of them.

We enjoyed the clear sake with our food, and towards the end of our meal, as we both picked up our cups to take a sip of our sake, gold specs caught my eye and I immediately screeched 'STOP' as I reached my other free hand out towards my friend who was about to drink her sake..... I said: "Don't drink it... Look what's in our cups..."

At first, I thought those were chips of paint from our lacquered cups, but the interior of the cup was plain black, besides, they aren't lacquer ware... Then I thought it had to be from inside the sake bottle! Probably some impurities which they did not filter...!

I looked inside the sake bottle and found an abundance of those 'impurities' lying at the bottom of the bottle... But it just didn't make sense. 

I scanned the label written in Japanese and managed to recognise the Chinese character 金, which means 'Gold'...?! We called the waitress over just so we can verify if those were actually gold flakes. "Yes" she said.  What I thought to be 'impurities' turned out to be Gold flakes!! 
By golly, I gobbled down the entire bottle at once!...... Nah, I kid.  I started to wonder if having gold flakes in our system was actually a good idea. Yes, I know it is G O L D, and that it is expensive, but having that much in my system at once? I'm not sure.

My friend and I decided not to think too much, and finished the bottle anyway =)

Video - Tips

If ever you find yourself in Guangzhou for business, or in-transit to another city, or even a short visit from Hong Kong, you could view this video on Guangzhou which I filmed with Insider TV - for tips on where to visit, dine, shop, party etc ;)

In case you're unable to view the video above, you can follow this link.

One tip that's good to note: 
Since August 1st of 2013, foreign nationals from *51 countries who are in transit in Guangzhou Baiyun Airport, may stay in Guangdong for up to 72 hours without an entry visa to China. Hassle-free!! More reasons to hang out in Guangzhou and sample its awesome food ;)

Here's how you can occupy your 72 hours in Guangzhou:

If video doesn't appear above, click here.

*Information updated as of July 16, 2014. Do check this link for the updated qualified countries for the 72-hour visa-free transit in the few cities in China.

And here's a Travelers Tip for American Express card members:

You can click here if the video doesn't appear above.

Behind-the-scenes

Some behind-the-scenes work shots while filming in Guangzhou:

Team Hong Kong and Team Guangzhou working together outside the Guangzhou Opera House.

Presenting at the foot of Canton Tower.

Canton Tower - Guangzhou's most famous landmark and the tallest tower in China, with the world's highest outdoor observation deck.

I love the shape of the tower... Very shapely and feminine. The asymmetrical design also makes it look like there's movement, as though She is playfully showing off her figure! The Canton Tower has therefore earned her nickname as 小蛮腰 'Xiao Man Yao', which means 'young girl with tight waist' ;)

Here's a short video introduction which we filmed for Canton Tower:

Just click here if the video doesn't appear above

Beautiful skyline of Guangzhou not too far away from Party Pier.
From left: Canton Tower, Liede Bridge and the IFC.

That's me clinging on to the railings while standing on a glass floor panel at the 107th floor of the Canton Tower. My team challenged me to deliver one of the introductions for the show while walking across the glass floor panel. Yes, it's definitely safe. I enquired beforehand - the glass floor can handle about 20 people at once... "What's one tiny person..?" I asked myself.

Despite knowing the facts, my legs were still tensed and terribly stiff by the end of it. The night view was pretty worth it from up there.

Cameraman giving direction; Soundman getting reception; Presenter going off-tangent. 
Life's a circus!


My stay in Guangzhou always only last a few days. Each time I'm there, I do try to catch up with as much eating as I can, and I must say it is an exciting place for food!  I'm sure there are TONS of other awesome eateries out there waiting to be discovered. If you have more to recommend, please do share them with me here!