Places to eat in Guangzhou

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I have eaten at Paulaners firstly in Shanghai, then in Nanjing. They make mouth watering food that makes you visit time and time again and in China they are carving (hum!) out quite a niche with Bavarian food and beer brewed in house.

There are some great Chinese beers and after a little research I found out that the wonderful Tsingtao was an Anglo-German with China collaboration. So the Chinese know what a good lager is. Blonde, Wheat, Pilsner or Stouts, the Paulaner drinks list alone can cater for the most homesick of tastes (in half litre or full litre jugs). There's a happy hour too, something like 5-7 in the afternoon-evening!

A free bread basket is custom throughout these chains and after a day trekking round cities and sightseeing, climbing or shopping can really be a just reward. 'Specially if like me, you'll have skipped the odd meal or spent the lunch hour getting lost and having to make up for time. The Guangzhou bread basket seemed to have been updated from my last visit (Nanjing, early 2011) with different varieties of breads, including pretzels with two dips including a rather nice pate. In a country without butter, you really get a full on experience in these restaurants and that is why I go back.

I ordered the lamb knuckle which (as pictured) was a wonderfully presented, large serving of well cooked, healthy food. It didn't leave me wanting and was a fine cap to a pleasant day, taking in a view that is very synonymous with Guangzhou.

The restaurant is a little hard to find if you are not familiar with the new shopping mall craze that is sweeping through China's urban areas. Food is always located on the 'top' floor (coffee, ice cream and fast food always lower down) and I was at fault for not taking the address literally enough ... afterall the street address lists this Bavarian banquet as being in the TaiKoo Hui Shopping Centre, 383 Tianhe Road. Therefore, firstly you must find the Taikoo Hui Shopping Centre [see my Guangzhou Shopping Guide] and then find the maps on each floor, depending on where you have come in from and head towards the mysteriously posted Area L307?! It'll be worth it, and the rooftop style terrace where it's impossible to figure out what floor you are actually dining on due to the rise and fall of the levels that surround you is a haven and an escape from the marauding masses below and is even tranquil amongst the skyscrapers.

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Its typical chinese restaurant where you can see in the drama series , you will need to queue and they will give you a number and wait for your turn . If the restaurant its very pack you will need to share table with others , I shared it with 3 different people on the same table . Its a very good experience , you wouldn't expect that such early in the morning the restaurant it full of people .

Favorite Dish: The portion is real huge , if you are a small eater then you should not order too many dishes as it will be a waste .

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All seafood are fresh from the aquarium , you may just pick and ask them to cook for you , make sure you know what seafood you order .

Favorite Dish: The best its the abalone that is cheap , just tell them or maybe can ask them to suggest you how you want it to be done .

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Prepare yourself for garish decor, shouted conversations of fellow diners, and a menu full of weird animal parts. Tao Tao Ju (which, roughly translated, means "house of happiness") is one of the most revered traditional Cantonese restaurants in the city. Soups are a favorite, and the menu (available in English) has many that you're unlikely to find elsewhere. The kudzu and snakehead soup is delicious, and they have more than 200 varieties of dim sum. They're also open from 6:30 AM to midnight.

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This cozy restaurant serves up the best American food in Guangzhou, as far as I'm concerned. They have great Southern dishes, like Jambalaya, Fried Chicken, Pulled Pork, and Gumbo. They also do good appetizers and desserts.

Favorite Dish: I'd probably go with the Southern Fried Chicken. It's huge and crispy, and the gravy is delicious.

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This restaurant is truly rare and special. I think it must be the biggest Indian restaurant in China. It offers five separate dining areas that are based on the five elements, Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Space. The Air dining area is fine-dining beyond your imagination. Every detail has been carefully selected to offer an incredible dining experience. The Earth dining area is more casual and authentically Indian. Dishes are served in bronze bowls while you watch the Chef's put fresh dough into the Tandoor to make hot Naan's. The Fire dining area is for private dining, including two rooms with a projector for corporate presentations. The Water area is the bar, very cleverly named. The last dining area, Space, or Aakash, is the outdoor dining area. This is my favorite, as you can be served fresh, hot Indian food while enjoying a candle lit dinner next to dancing water fountains. It's an unbelievable experience dining at Vaastu. You will never get bored of the restaurant, as they are 5 dining areas!

Favorite Dish: My favorite dish is Chicken Tikka Masala. The spices in this dish are imported from India, and it is prepared by master Indian chef's. The Chicken is nice and tender, just the way I like it. The taste is hard to describe, since it does not taste like anything I've ever eaten before. You must try, if you love meat! Another thing, this is the only place in Guangzhou, where you will find Erdinger Draft Beer. Some consider it to be the best Draft Beer in the world. A personal favorite.

Latin Grillhouse in Guangzhou is multiple location buffet and Latin style restaurant whose main draw is a team of staff members wearing cowboy hats and bandannas walking around the restaurant with huge skewers of various grilled meats, corn, and other delectables. They also feature live music and a Brazilian themed decor with lots of plants and toucans and bamboo. Being a local resident, it's easy to appreciate that this is probably the best place in GZ for tasty barbequed meat, of a quality which is otherwise difficult to find around here. However, on my last visit they missed the mark considerably.
I took a friend to the Jianshe Liu Ma Lu location (near Garden Hotel) for her birthday dinner and we arrived a bit early. The place was mostly empty, and we sat down at a window table overlooking the street. The host was insistent on trying to lead us into the middle of the restaurant to sit at a long, impersonal cafeteria style table. No thanks, we prefer the window. But he was determined, and I watched as the dialogue between my friend and the host became more and more terse. She explained to me that he wanted us to sit in the middle of the restaurant because maybe they will need our 4 person table for a larger party later. I looked around the empty restaurant and surveyed dozens of other 4 person tables which were readily available. What I didn't notice however, was a crowded waiting area full of hungry parties-of-four queued up impatiently at the entrance. The fact that the host was so insistent on getting us away from our preferred table was a huge turn off, because he made it seem like such a hugely important and personal point. That is not service, let alone service to "western standards" which this restaurant is supposed to uphold. I smiled politely and said we'd go somewhere else. The staff and hosts watched us walk out the front door and didn't even attempt to rectify the situation and keep our business. They were perfectly happy to see their money walk back out onto the street, and they seem to have thought they did a good job. "There ain't no way a party of two is sitting at a 4 person table in THIS restaurant. No sir, not on MY watch!" As an after-thought, I must apologize for this, but it's difficult to take seriously a Chinese boy in a cowboy hat and red bandanna who is arguing with you in the utmost tones of authority over such a mundane matter as this was. Good luck lassoin' yerself some more business, pardners.

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The restaurant claims to be the largest Indian restaurant in China. The concept behind the name is really cool. There are five separate "experience" areas - fine, causal, private, outdoor dining and the bar. Each of these areas represents a natural element like wind, water, fire, earth and sky. These elements are based on the restaurants name, Vaastu, which means Feng Shui in Chinese - a complete harmony of all the elements. One thing that really got my attention was the massive traditional Indian swing in the bar area that seats three people!

Favorite Dish: The Paneer Tikka Masala at Vaastu was out of this world. I spoke to the owner, and he said the Chef's have been hired from the top hotels and restaurants in India.