On the second floor of the Four Seasons Hotel Shanghai, we took our seats before to the obligatory fish tank offering calming Asian aesthetics alongside a healthy dose of Feng Shui and immediately began to admire the unique cutlery and table settings of Si Ji Xuan Chinese Restaurant. Resembling a royal place mat, before each of us was a square jade plate. The spoon’s base matched the plate’s attractive stone as well as a traditional Chinese carp carved from jade, it’s pale green back a rest for our chopsticks.
So many Cantonese restaurants around the world have the same familiar ideas at heart: crowded, noisy, and just the place to fill the stomach with Chinese food. Having dinner at China Spice is like enjoying authentic Cantonese cuisine while enjoying million dollar view looking down the most flourishing part of Guangdong Province. The combination of landscape and gastronomy become the new fashion in Chinese cuisine.
If you play the face game or you just like to eat, holidays of any kind in Mainland China are an especially good time to get your act on. From solid classics such as the mid-autumn festival and its moon cake sets to foreign favourites such as Easter and even nationality-specific events like Oktoberfest and Thanksgiving, any established name in hospitality here knows that it’s a good time to strut one’s stuff when these events roll around, and when it comes to the western holidays, in terms of scale of execution in Beijing, Christmas is definitely number one.
Dining at various Hyatt properties in Shanghai, I have always been impressed by their corporate style efficiency and sophisticated decorum. Their restaurants tend to retain signature elements for regular diners. Xindalu China Kitchen at Hyatt on the Bund is no exception and made its imprint as Shanghai’s first choice for wood-fire roasted Peking Duck.
The BFIC team was privileged to experience Jin Sha Chinese Restaurant at Four Seasons Hotel Hangzhou at West Lake right at the start of the crab season. We were not only treated to a vast array of wonderful dishes, but also to a preview of the new crab season menu.
The BFIC team was privileged to experience Jin Sha Chinese Restaurant at Four Seasons Hotel Hangzhou at West Lake right at the start of the crab season. We were not only treated to a vast array of wonderful dishes, but also to a preview of the new crab season menu.
The Qi–Chinese restaurant at the Ritz-Carlton Financial is offering exquisite Cantonese cuisines as well as the legendary Hairy Crab. One of Beijing’s favorite autumnal delicacies, Qi has on offer a truly superb and outstanding catch of certified YangCheng Lake crabs. The crab is a famous delicacy and is prized for the female crab roe. The crab meat is believed by the Chinese to have a "cooling" (yin) effect on the body, and is served with complimentary spicy Ginger tea to counterbalance with a “heating” (yang) effect.
An American hotel brand featuring traditional Chinese dishes in “American” portion sizes.
Located far from downtown Shanghai but conveniently amidst Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, Tongji University and Fudan University, the Howard Johnson Caida Plaza Hotel offers five-star accommodation and luxurious dining. The Long & Lasting Restaurant on the first floor of the hotel showcases traditional Cantonese dishes and Hunanese delights. In addition, everything served was "American" portion sizes: HUGE!
A contemporary Chinese restaurant in Luwan that is local yet a world away.
Located in the quiet grounds near the 2010 World Expo Site, the Shanghai Marriott Hotel Luwan sits in a brand new neighborhood among unopened office buildings and shopping centers. Its calm surroundings make you feel as if you are a long distance away from the bustling People's Square, the Bund, and Lujiazui areas. The reality is that the hotel is in the central Luwan district, close to all attractions, and yet a world away.
A good primer for Beijing’s best fine-dining Chinese restaurants.
China World Hotel’s Summer Palace is an ideal companion for those looking for a testament to Chinese culinary.
The interior is opulent, with a 1920s Shanghainese design of elegant gold and white that gives an Old Oriental glamour long lost nowadays. The up and coming locals also seem to flock to Summer Place, and the floors are filled by early evening with the loud chatter and clatter of the diners.