Harbin Restaurants

3 more images

Eclectic best describes this place. The walls are covered in pictures and Americana, It's hard to imagine how all this junk ended up in Harbin.

There are pictures on the wall of a local Chinese guy in various military uniforms. He is the owner. I especially like the one with him and a hot Russian girl who is wearing a naval uniform.

Favorite Dish: The coffee is so good when you are freezing from your walk down to the river.

Want to test some russian food in Harbin ? See the numerous tourist shops along Zhongyang pedestrian street bearing, some of theme bearing a "Russian products" sign. Russian products inside : kind of airport duty free stuff, but 10 times the price you would pay in Lenin's country... Russian food at Russia Cafe ? How to express it ?...
The messy room is crowded with chinese tourists. The kind of folks who want to thrill themselves with the ultimate dining experience in Harbin. The food itself looks like those served in russian hotels before the Perestroïka times... Maybe not good enough to fill up the tigers at Harbin zoological park, so they have created this fake russian cafe as an extension of the zoo. The staff also will indulge the customer with post-revolution care and warmness. Dirty green tableclothes (maybe so many customers are vomitting their dinner that they do not hvae time enough to clean it) are the perfect match to stomach pain this Russian Cafe will leave to your memory !

Favorite Dish: Try the special Bortsh : a kind of soup made with the garbage of the week, the unique smell reminds us a mix of putrid onions and durian. For the adventurers, have a bite in the russian sausage ; they get it twice a month from a siberian kolkhoze. What a delight, is'nt it ?
If you have late dinner at Russian Cafe, be sure that your hotel has a proper room service : the best meal you will get would probably be that one !

It looks a bit Japanese from the outside, but it's not. A bit cramped, the interior decor is interesting, but it's the same old Chinese food- way too salty, way too much MSG, way too much grease. I nearly threw up after eating the "spicy stir-fried shrimp" or whatever it was called. About 12 shrimp placed in a circle around a bed of who knows what- deep fried salt/MSG, probably. Anyway, the noodle dish wasn't too bad, but I can't say I recommend the place. They do, however, serve Dim Sum-style things, which might have been much better, so I'll reserve judgement for now.

Many cities in China and around the world are made even better by easy access to all sorts of good, unhealthy street fare. Vendors behind questionably clean carts are just not as common in Harbin, which doesn't help the already dull culinary beat of this northern city. There are a few places, the vendors who gather outside the Carrefour on Heping Lu, and there are a few who sell you a hot sweet potato and popcorn, cotton candy or corn... maybe it's just too cold here, though the fruit and random item vendors still remain.

In any case, Harbin isn't the most inspiring city when it comes to food. And I maintain that in part that is due to a lack of vendors lining the center street, offering something unnecessary-yet-essential to the traveler and local alike.

The restaurant has been chosen one of the top 50 restaurants is HeiLongJiang Province. Here you can taste real north-east China food. And this restaurant is also quite well-kwon in Harbin, you can simply tell the taxi driver the name of it.

Favorite Dish: Of course the pork bone. Using a straw to suck the juice inside the bone. Yammy!! Originally I tought it might be fleshy, but it really is a nice dish.
There is one little incident before I had my supper -- I arrived at the restaurant a quarter earilier than my companies. So I ask what to eat at this restaurant?! The waitress answered immediately," pork bone."

Well, I don't know what's California or U.S.A. about this place. There are lots of these restaurants all around the city. The food is simple, cheap and greasy.

One of the dished we had was a sweet red sauce (in oil) on red meat and fat and a white sauce on chicken and fat (in oil) with onions. Aside from the health issues, it was good.

We also ordered the soup that seemed to be standard there, which was plain with not much to recommend it, and only a little bit of meat with the noodles.

Still, I'd recommend the place just for the experience of eating at a place called, "California Beef Noodle King U.S.A.

2 more images

Russia Coffee and Food is a cozy Russian tea house and restaurant along the pedestrian street in the city center that is quite good although it seems to be run by local Chinese. They are very hospitable and do a good job cooking, except that I believe the real Russian food would be a lot greasier. I have no complaints!

It's well worth a stop by this place, if not for lunch or dinner, than simply for a bit of tea on a cold day. It's right around the corner from the KFC.

The decor could be called kitschy, depending on where you look. In the front window, there are old and odd items that seem somewhat out of place and bizzare anywhere you find them. The other parts of the restaurant have photographs, old cameras and more interesting items. It's a bit of a trip back in history.

Favorite Dish: The second time we ate here, we had a good curry. The pepper mashed potatos are good on a cold day. The staff is friendly, which always helps make for a good experience, and I highly recommend the place.

2 more images

Mayonnaise on an Italian Sausage pizza? At Portman's they serve many "western" style dishes. Some have extensive artistic license taken, but they end up being quite good. Maybe it's the Russian influence. We had coffee at Portman's one night, the house blend, served in an unique test-tube-holder-like-device.

They have what seems like a fairly full bar, though I don't know what drinks the bartenders know.

They have an extensive menu, but here are some items with prices if I remember them...
Black caviar, 168 RMB
Red caviar, 48 RMB
Yellow salad... crumbled egg yolk and mayonnaise over cold meat strips.
Russian red soup
Russian bread
Butter (you pay extra for the butter... 3 RMB)
French bread
Various pizzas
American-style roast pork ribs(?)
Other western-style meats

Overall, it's a nice place with live entertainment on some nights (or at least earlier in the evenings). Just don't try to take photos of the performers.

Favorite Dish: The pizza wasn't a western pizza. I'd say it was more of a white pizza, but it doesn't fit that mold either. They're somewhat unique.

The other dishes, as I said above, seem to take their own interpretation of western dishes. It makes the food interesting. Not bad, just interesting.