Best Food In China

Location

A meal so good you may want to spend the night.
In the great universe of fine dining too many people overlook the hotel restaurant assuming it must be overpriced and sub-par. Hotel Nikko’s Tao Li Chinese restaurant is trying to change the way people think about hotel food, one diner at a time.

For those unfamiliar with Tianjin, Hotel Nikko is a high-end hotel located strategically adjacent to Binjiang Dao, the city’s central business district. Tao Li is conveniently located on the sixth floor of Hotel Nikko Tianjin. Tao Li, like the whole hotel at large, is beautifully designed by a renowned interior designer firm from Singapore. The restaurant’s walls are elegantly decorated by crafted wood and the extravagant chandelier making the contemporary interior almost incomparable. Apart from an elegant 60 seats dining hall, the restaurant also has 9 elegant private dining rooms making Tao Li an absolute place to suit every dining occasion.

Specialized in Cantonese cuisine, the top and finest in Chinese cuisine category, the back of the house of Tao Li is in-charged by Chef Huang who is renowned as an Cantonese cuisine expert. We are so fortunate to have him prepared all dishes for our lunch. The meal started with an Assorted Barbecue Meat platter (68rmb) deliciously paired with sour plum sauce follow by the signature dim sum of Tao Li – The Spinach Dumplings (18rmb) which were beautifully shaped like lively fish and topped with caviar. Although our table greatly favored the deliciously sweet sautéed prawns with butter sauce (118rmb), as an American the dish was too recognizable as a Chinese fast food standard to justify the price. The real star of the day was Baked Bean Curd with Goose Liver (58rmb) served in a sizzling hot pan. The sauce was made of spicy black pepper kernels, mushrooms and ground goose liver. The pepper really gave the whole dish a special bite and neutralized the stronger flavor of the goose liver. After eating more than my fair share I can understand why this particular dish is a favorite among Tao Li’s patrons. We finished the afternoon with a Sweet Mango and Grapefruit Dessert Soup presented alongside a plate of finely arranged fruit (30rmb).

I would highly recommend Tao Li as a little oasis of calm and luxury in the heart of Tianjin’s bustling shopping center. Whether to get away, or merely rejuvenate, Tao Li’s cuisine and ambiance will surely surprise you and last with an unforgettable dining expereince

--By Eva Goodyear

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