Category: Travel in Beijing, Hangzhou, Zhuhai

Coming to food, Hangzhou won’t disappoint you. In fact, Hangzhou cuisine is currently one of the most popular and fashionable styles of cooking throughout China. Many “Hangzhou” inspired restaurants have been opening up throughout the country and the cuisine from this city is considered to be of a superior status. The master poet Su Dongpo of the Song dynasty once wrote in praise that “there are no better banquets in the world than those in Hangzhou.”

Recipes here usually contain a great deal of seafood including fish, shrimp, crab and oyster. Its famous dishes are Beggar’s chicken (an entire chicken wrapped and slowly cooked in a ball of mud), West Lake fish (vinegar coated fish from the lake), Dong Po Pork (braised pork) and stewed shelled shrimp cooked in Dragon Well tea, the famous tea from Hangzhou area.

The great thing about eating in Hangzhou is the city has retained quite a few traditional restaurants serving authentic Hangzhou dishes. The dining experience in these places is fun and exotic. Here’s one:

“Zhi Wei Guan” is a very old and famous restaurant in Hangzhou of 100 year history. It specializes in the local dishes and snacks, ranging from Won Ton soup and Xiaolongbao (small steamed pastries with rice), to noodles and desserts. The food is delicious and cheap, averaging about RMB5 to RMB10 for one dish. Xiaolongbao and Won Ton soup are among the most popular dishes.

How you order the food and pay for it is fun experience here. First of all, you will have to buy some tickets, with each ticket worth RMB1 (or RMB2 now with inflation?), and then exchange your tickets for any food you order at the counter. Behind the counter the staff is busy making all sorts of food, and at the same time serving customers the food they order.

There is constant movement in the restaurant, either in the kitchen area, which everybody can see, right behind the counter, or in the dining area where the crowd comes and goes. You can always sit and enjoy the food while watching the flow.

The eating ritual is not over yet. Before you go, you have to do one more thing. You return the unused tickets to the cashier in exchange for cash of equivalent value. Then you can walk away contentedly.

Add: 83, Ren He Road, West Lake

You probably do not know what osmanthus tree is. It doesn’t matter. But I can tell you it smells so wonderful when the tree is in blossom, producing a light, fresh and pleasing fragrance with its small yellow flowers. 

To experience this very delightful smell, you must visit Hangzhou in September. For osmanthus is the city flower of Hangzhou, which is one of China’s five osmanthus producing areas. The Manjuelong Village to the south west of the West Lake is the spot for smelling the tree flowers. There, more than 7000 ostmanthus trees are planted, with some 200 years old.

“Manjue” means complete enlightenment, a very beautiful name, hinting at the area’s historic link with Buddhism and temples.

The Osmanthus Festival is held in the area every autumn, where some colorful tents are set to serve tea and cakes made from ostmanthus flowers, with some game (like mahjong) tools provided for entertainment.

Because of the increasing popularity of the area, a big park called Manlong Osmanthus Rain has stood there since 2000.

There is public transport to the area of Manjuelong. Bus No 308, 324 and 508 reach the area.

If you don’t want to travel a bit far, then look no further than the city itself. You can smell it at many corners of the city, or just walk along the West Lake.

If you plan to travel to Hangzhou and from where explore some sightseeing places, there is a good place you can start – the govenment sponsored tourist service centre near Yellow Dragon Sports Centre.

Day tours depart from the Centre every day to surrounding scenic spots, such as the water towns ZhouZhuang and Wuzhen, or the historic and cultural city Shaoxing, or the thousand-island lake. Tour price ranges from 200-300 RMB (inclusive of entrance ticket, transport fee and guidance fee).

They also organize 3-day tours to Yellow Mountain. The tour also departs every day. Price, inclusive of main entrance ticket, transport fee, guidance fee and hotel accommodation, ranges from 540-900 RMB, depending on the kind of accommodation you choose.

Be prepared that the tour groups accommodate mostly local Chinese. If you can’t speak Chinese, it is hard for you to mingle with them. But if you want to make use of the opportunity to observe the local custom or interact with the local Chinese, it may well be worth it. In particular, if you come to China to learn Chinese, it will be a good opportunity for you to practice Chinese and listen to lots of Chinese, as the tour guide will speak in Chinese only.

Also take note that the staff manning the information counter or ticket office can hardly speak English. Be prepared for a tough time if you can’t speak Mandarin.

I think the English name of the restaurant is called Chate. Well, that is the name I recall whenever I think of the restaurant anyway. In Chinese its name is literally “one tea one seat”. It has a few branches across Hangzhou, with one ideally located at the West Lake. The outdoor seating is shaded by trees, and overlooks the lake. If you look for a nice place to chill out near the West Lake, this is the one.

The restaurant has a menu of delicious drinks, including cold tea drink and ice shake. Look out for the mango ice shake – a real treat in the sweltering hot of summer.

The restaurant’s boss is taiwaness, so no wonder that the food and drink offered are quite taiwanese flavored. I must say all the food I have tried taste delicious, especially the taiwanese dish “rice with minced pork”.

The snacks, coming in a wide variety, such as fried yam, dumplings, etc are also wonderful.

Besides West Lake, there is a branch restaurant near Dragon Sports Centre. I was once a frequent customer there, as my office was around. I had a horrible time doing business in China, and that horrible time was associated with this restaurant – whenever I was stressed, I would go out for dinner, here in this restaurant.