Kunming Restaurants

Located near the Yunnan Normal University, in my opinion it is one of the nicer restaurants on a street lined with restaurants and cafes. The first thing you’ll notice is the cleanliness, and polite service. The food is decant and reasonable prices. Of course all the food is Korean. My favorite is the Bibimpap (pictured) A good deal it 10RMB ($1.20), the spicy pork and rice is also good at 15RMB. All meals come with 3 side of what ever they make that day. Always includes Kimchee, other sides include, fried lotus root, sweet potatoes ,bean spout and some other side that I don’t know the name of. There is seating down stairs, and plant of seats located up stairs. Ordering is very easy, the have large picture munu, so you can order (if you don’t speak Chinese or Korean) by the grunt and point method Service is always good, and the food is good. And no surprise there is always Korean student from the local university there

Favorite Dish: Bibimbap

One of my favorite places to eat. On the 2nd floor of the Aged Bar building near the kunming bird and flower market. Besides being an restaurant is seem also to be ha place for people to hang out, drink tea, and play cards. In the winter there several small op fire pits where people sit around on small stool to play card. A very enjoyable place. Plus the food is great too. I enjoy the yu xiang rou si (translated to: fish smells pork strips, but is basically strips of fried pork and veggies) the also have a good "Mini" hot pot.
The inside is set up more like a western style restaurant, large tables and not to cramped.
I nice place for lunch for dinner, or just to hang out to have tea or a bottle of beer.

Favorite Dish: There Pork strippes that smell like fish (funny name, but taste good

Short menu but good cheap food, in a sympathic atmosphere.
It is on the roof of en other restaurant, people come here to have a drink, or play cards.
You can have lunch or diner there. Large windows room or tables outside, confortable anyway...
Less than 1 Euro/dish

Favorite Dish: Egg and tomato soup, dumplings...

The Japanese restaurant at the Bank Hotel is small, comfortable and beautifully furnished. Staff is very friendly and speak a little English. As in most Japanese restaurants, the food is served in a very decorative manner that you nearly don't dare to touch it at all! I would have liked to take a picture of it, but Sven did not let me saying it would be too embarrassing!

Favorite Dish: I had beef Teriyaki which was fine, Sven had some kind of Tempura. Most exotic, though, was the jellyfish in vinegar that was served as a complimentary appetizer. It was a bit strange to try it, but fortunately it tasted more like vinegar than anything else!

Walk into any local restaurant, and try to order this.

This is pork sliced very thinly, then cooked with preserved Chillies. It's salty spicy. Goes very well with rice.

It's not expensive, about RMB 8 per plate.

I notice only the locals know about this secret beauty. It's unassuming from the outside, but inside, it is actually an old residence of a Qing Dynasty's academic, reburbished to its today's splendor.

This house is double-story, and is divided into 3 sections, ie 3 courtyards with buildings surrinding it to walk through. You may pick a dining room if you have 10 people to sit at such a large table, otherwise sitting in the "hallway" ie by the courtyard is also a good experience.

The food - authentic Yunnannese. The selection - vast. Bring someone who reads Chinese menu. Selection - vast. Clean. Fine dinnerware. Excellent service.

The ambience - Ancient Chinese. But nice surroundings and old pictures that show the state of the house before reburbishment, and its previous owner.

Favorite Dish: Qi Guo Ji (Steamed Chicken Soup). It's an original Yunnannese dish.

Reservation is ESSENTIAL.

The Yunnanese have dinner at 6:30 to 7pm. So if you want a less crowded place, and less waiting time for your order, then pick 7:30pm.

Yunnan is famous for its wild mushrooms. This restaurant serves exactly that.

Chinese modern classic deco restaurant, with bamboo curtains. A gas stove pit in the middle of each table, because you are expected to use it to cook the mushrooms.

The waitress likes to pour chicken fat into the soup once in a while, so if you don't like it too fattenning, stop her.

Menu in chinese.

Favorite Dish: Just pick any mushrooms on the menu, or rely on the recommendation of the captain, or have a look at the real samples and decide which fancies you most. You can pick a few of course.

Steamboat style. The stock is hot chicken soup.

Some of the mushrooms are poisounous until fully cooked. So while it is cooking, don't pour the soup into the condiment dish. The condiment is made up of certain local herbs, when mixed with the soup, it serves as a dip for the mushrooms.

You can also order beef, and have a beef shabu-shabu.

This is by the Greenlake, with many "ushers" standing outside the restaurant to give you the warmest welcome.

You can pick a good seat, facing an artificial "waterfall" ie water flowing on a huge piece of glass.

The waitress we had did not do well in explaining what's in the dish. It was a good laugh though. Eg "What's this "jiachang doufu" ? "It's not a big serving (fullstop)." Yeh right. "Could we have iced beer"" "We don't have that, you want some icecubes" ?

Although the service is only so-so, which is typical in Kunming restaurants, the food is Yunnanese enough. And the place is very clean.

Favorite Dish: Recommended if you are a westerner and vegetarian, I recommend:

1) simply stir-fry asparagus (qingchao lusun)
2) pan-fried potatoe slices (zha tudou)
3) deep-fried tofu in tomato sauce (cuipi doufu)
4) egg fried rice (dan chao fan)

IF you are into trying unique vege of Kunming (li(2) hao(1)), can always replace the asparagus with lihao.