A gastronomic journey through Guangzhoucache.krop.com/profile/pages/54e5df92... · 2015. 2. 19. ·...
Transcript of A gastronomic journey through Guangzhoucache.krop.com/profile/pages/54e5df92... · 2015. 2. 19. ·...
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weekend escape
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weekend escape
Guangzhou is a giant chaotic puzzle
that seems to fit in its own bewildering
way. There are 14 million people living
in Guangzhou, making it the third
largest Chinese city after Beijing and
Shanghai. It's a city that's fueled on
creating products for the world and
its economy is exploding, drawing
to it immigrants from China, and
increasingly, from other parts of the
world. It's flooded with hardworking
people hungry for a slice of the cake,
so to speak, and the bustling soot-
lined streets are almost choking with
people, cars, rickshaws, motorcycles,
peddlers, and buses. An entirely new
city, Zhujiang New Town, was built off
the backs of this hard work. In a little
over a decade, smog-filled skylines
were erected, glitzy restaurants and
bars set up shop, and prices rose. Of
course, all of this, plus the fact that
this city is the heart of Cantonese
cuisine, makes a trip to Guangzhou all
the more interesting.
FRIDAYGuangzhou's 72-hour visa-free visit
makes it a breeze to visit over a
long weekend. Upon landing at the
Guangzhou Baiyun International
Airport just before dusk on a winter
day, we hail a cab and head straight to
our home for the next two nights, Four Points by Sheraton Dongpu (5 Guihua
Road, Dongpu, 86/20-3211-0888). The
hotel neighbours Guangzhou Science
City and it takes just under an hour to
arrive. The hotel is sleek, plush, and
comfortable, with spacious rooms
and floor-to-ceiling windows which
A peek into Southern China's most interesting mega metropolis proves to be filled with sensational Cantonese fare and unanswered questions
Words Marisse Gabrielle reyes PhotograPhs 123rf & Marisse Gabrielle reyes illustration yOyO ZHOU
A gastronomic journey through
Guangzhou
Fresh vegetables for hot pot at The Eatery
weekend escape
overlook the outskirts of the city.
We're advised that there's a traditional
winter hot pot buffet at the hotel's
all-day-dining, The Eatery (1st floor,
Four Points by Sheraton, 5 Guihua
Road, Dongpu, 86/0755-8358-8655).
All the traveling and the cold has
worked up our appetites, so we book
a pot. The buffet includes a spread of
international favourites like sushi,
sashimi, chilled seafood, cheese,
and a few mains which change daily.
Make sure to try their signature items:
Baiyun pig's trotter (which is tender
and slow cooked with hard-boiled eggs
in a dark and slightly sticky sauce)
and the claypot rice (which is topped
with delicious morsels of locally cured
ham and sausage). Pining to see more
of the city, we hop in a cab and head
over to the central business district,
Zhujiang New Town, for a walk around Hongcheng Park to view the famous
600 metre-high Canton Tower from
below. Instead of paying the CNY 150
to head up to the tower, we put our
money towards our wine fund for
a drink on top of the Four Seasons
Hotel's picturesque drinking hole,
Tian Bar (IFC Building, 99th floor, 5
Zhujiang West Road, 86/20-8883-3888).
The bar is perched 99 stories above the
ground, offering spectacular views of
the city and the snaking Pearl River, as
well as a different perspective of the
chaos from above.
Clay pot rice
Roasted pigeon from China Spice
weekend escape
82 83
Manohara Hotel Borobodur
Waffles for breakfast at Sheraton's Androwino Bistro
Prambanan temples
GuangzhouShamian Island
Kui Garden Gallery
Garment District
SAtuRDAYLate to rise, we hop down to the
hotel's Cantonese restaurant, China Spice (4th floor, Four Points by
Sheraton, 5 Guihua Road, Dongpu,
86/0755-8358-8655), for a spot of
traditional Cantonese weekend
brunch. The tables are occupied
with regulars from around the
neighborhood and there are at least
three generations of family members
seated at each table. Our meal starts
with har gao, but this is no regular
dumpling. China Spice's version is
stuffed with three large succulent
prawns – amazing! The siew mai is
also an XXL delight and is filled with
mixed seafood and topped with lots
of tobiko. The coconut tart also comes
highly recommended - its sweet,
flaky, and buttery crust gives way to a
runny custard of coconut cream and
chunks of coconut flesh. Also try the
fish soup with noodles and vegetables.
The broth is made from pulverised fish
meat, making the stock thick, milky,
and so full of flavour. Following our
heavy brunch, we decide to go for a
walk around Shamian Island to take in
the historical 19th century French and
British architecture. In between these
buildings are tree-lined pedestrian
pathways which are filled with locals
in the dozens posing for photographs.
There are limited cafés and shops
here so we head over to the popular
Panxi Restaurant (151 Longjin West
Road, Liwan, 85/20-8172-1328) for a
stroll around their man-made lake-
filled gardens before dinner. Hungry,
we settle into the restaurant and
place our order for a selection of their
specialties: egg yolk dumplings (which
come in the shape of small birds), eel
rice cooked in bamboo, and mixed top-
grade vegetables (dinghu shangsu).
The food at Panxi is a great example
of good Cantonese cuisine: mild and
balanced flavours, fresh ingredients
and restrained seasoning. We hear
that Guangzhou's cocktail scene is
heating up, so we head to Revolucion Cocktail (9 Xing Sheng Road, Liede
District, 86/186-0212-0685) on the
other side of the city for a night cap.
This Chinese cocktail chain has added
a dash of Western flair to Guangzhou's
nightlife scene with its top pours and
mixes. There are classic cocktails like
martinis and long drinks to be had,
but make sure to try their house-
special, Revolucion Cocktail, which is
a mix of rum, passionfruit, rosemary,
and apple.
SunDAYWe arise on our last day with a
craving for chaos and a taste of
Guangzhou's modern trade culture,
so we decide to check out the city's
bustling Garment District, a square
kilometre of wholesale fashion stores
near Guangzhou Railway Station.
It's a concrete jungle of multi-storey
malls built around a busy highway.
The pulsating place bustles with
merchants (many from Africa),
delivery men burdened with scores
of boxes, and eager shoppers. Come
hungry as it's a great place to try
local street food. There are BBQ stalls
with lovely grilled squid, sausages,
and chicken wings on sticks; fruit
vendors selling longan, grapes, and
wedges of watermelon; and push carts
filled with steamed sweet potatoes
and corn. After our dizzying dance
around the shops and street food
stalls, we visit the contrasting Kui
Garden Gallery (9 Xu Guyuan Road,
Yuexiu District, 86/020-8765-9746) for
a calming and quiet cuppa before our
flight back home. Kui is housed in a
beautiful colonial house in the quaint
residential district, Yuexiu. Although
it's a tad hard to find, it's worth the
search. The ground floor of the house
is an art gallery, while the second
floor and its balconies make up the
chicly decorated cafe. It's a relaxing
spot and a much needed respite from
the bedlam of the streets. Kui is best
for drinks only, as they have a good
selection of organic coffee, wonderful
western teas, and, oddly enough, a
collection of various absinthe.
Although we make our way to the
airport with happy stomachs, I can't
help but feel unsettled. It's wasn't the
food. Guangzhou's food and drinks
exceeded our expectations. But there
are many questions left unanswered.
Will the old Guangzhou be forgotten
as development moves faster
and more furious? How will the
immigrants in Guangzhou shape its
new identity? How will this change
the city's food culture? And, is this
all happening too fast? Questions,
perhaps, for our next trip. ◆
View from Tian Bar
Plump har gaos from China Spice
Panxi Restaurant
Mixed top-grade vegetables from Panxi Restaurant
Revolucion Cocktail
China Spice's XXL siew mai
Street vendors at the Garment District