It was the last morning we had in GuangZhou. How could we leave GuangZhou without savouring the famous Cantonese dim sum?
So, we walked to Tao Tao Ju(陶陶居), one of the dim sum legend at Shang Xia Jiu.
promotion for lunch
swimming seafood, for lunch also.
The restaurant was full to brim even before 8am. It was the Cantonese culture to share table in a restaurant. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Therefore, we shared a table with other customers too. :)
the menu
The restaurant still used the nostalgic dim sum carts.
some of the dim sum that we had
Cantonese porridge
Generally the dim sum was above average. But since we had tried better dim sum later in this trip, therefore we could not say this was the best dim sum. The dim sum was not expensive for 6, We only spent RMB159 for a very heavy dim sum breakfast.
While we were walking back to our hotel, we bumped into the long queue at Huang Shang Huang(皇上皇). Later we found out they were queuing for the limited preserved meat promotion.
the preserved meat（腊味)
We did not join the queue, but we bought some of their mini bakkwa aka Chinese BBQ meat.
There were 7 types of mini bakkwa, all at the same price. So we could mix all different flavours and pay according to the weight.
Then, we checked out our hotel and took MTR to GuangZhou East Railway Station(广州东站).
From there, we took high speed Harmony train(和谐号）to ShenZhen. The first class ticket was sold at RMB95 and the second class we took was sold at RMB75.
I would also like to share an incident happened at Guang Zhou railway station. There was a gentleman-looking guy approached us when we were searching for the harmony train counter. He was wearing a tag so we thought he was the officer in this railway station. Once we told him that we wanted to take harmony train to Shen Zhen, he told us that the ticket was selling fast today. He immediately guided us to the ticket counter and helped us to get the tickets. He was so helpful that he also sent us to the entrance. Before we could say thank you and bid good bye to him, he asked for a Malaysia note as a "souvenior". My dad opened his wallet and wanted to give him a small note. He asked very politely at the very right timing," Can I have two red notes?" It was so fast that we could not react and my dad gave him what he wanted. We discussed in the train and concluded that he was the permanent "officer" in the station waiting for tourists like us. From then on, we never talk to any stranger in a foreign bus station or railway station and we were safe. But we noticed similar "officers" in many stations.
the high speed Harmony train
The second class cabin was 3+2 seat, while the first class cabin was 2+2 seat.
the train cafeteria menu
Tao Tao Ju Restaurant 陶陶居酒家
22, Dishipu Road, Guang Zhou 荔湾区第十甫路20号
Huang Shang Huang Preserved Meat 皇上皇腊味店
3, Xia Jiu Road, Guang Zhou 荔湾区下九路3号
Another busy day started with a visit to the Chen Clan Academy(陈家祠). This well preserved architecture building could be reached via MTR. The MTR station shared the same name with the academy. We passed through a leisure park before Clen Clan Academy.
A group of people practicing Tai Chi.
Which is real and which is fake?
the ticket at RMB10
the majestic building
It was built in 1894 by the Chen families, the Chen juniors stayed here for provincial examination preparation.
red lantern
gorgeously decorated door
one corner
Fabulous art pieces were everywhere in the academy.
After that, we went to Shang Xia Jiu Pedestrian Street(上下九步行街). And this Jue Wei Duck Neck(绝味鸭脖) had caught our attention.
It was a take away franchise shop, selling duck snacks. We tried their tantalizing snack, spicy duck neck(辣味鸭脖) at RMB15/pack. Even though we were given disposable gloves, we could still tell that the duck neck was finger lickin' good. :)
a dish not to be missed - Yi Xin Chicken(壹心鸡) with the ginger dipping sauce
Lunch was at Wen Ji Yi Xin Ji(文记壹心鸡). I think I forgot to take a picture of the shop. The shop was not at the main road. Look for Shun Ji Bing Shi(顺记冰室), Wen Ji(文记) was in the alley opposite Shun Ji.
This red date ribs(红枣骨) with sweet potatoes base was a surprise. The sauce went very well with the white rice. Wonderful dish!
It was a usual practise to order a plate of vegetables(鸡油生炒菜心). We ordered 3 dishes as we wanted to keep some space for other food. The bill for 6 came to a total of RMB122.
Shang Xia Jiu street view
Everyone from Guang Zhou would know Nan Xin Niu Nai(南信牛奶).
The most famous dish was in the biggest font, double-layer steamed milk(双皮奶). I had tried Yee Shun double-layer steamed milk in Macau before. But since I was now very close to the origin of this dessert, Guang Dong Shun De(广东顺德), I would not want to miss out this dessert.
the menu
double-layer steamed milk, RMB8
It was half the price of Yee Shun. I was telling them to eat more now as we had no plan to visit Yee Shun when we were in Macau.
Black sesame paste with red bean paste topping
The pedestrian street was packed with shoppers.
We spotted a big crowd in front of Lin Lin Beef Offal House(林林牛杂屋)．
It was selling the famous Cantonese street snack, carrot beef offal(萝卜牛杂).
Out of curiosity, we ordered one bowl of carrot beef ofal at RMB5. It was not bad, but I still prefer Wing Kei.
This unique cock was selling an old time Guang Zhou snack, 飞机榄. Sorry, no translation for the snack, but you click here for a picture of it.
the kitchen
We also tried Bao Hua Noodle Shop(宝华面店). Basically, there was only one type of noodle, but with different toppings.
pork hock noodle(猪手面) RMB12, the hock was very tender and aromatic.
Wantan noodle(云吞面) RMB13, with 4 huge wantans.
Our last stop at Shang Xia Jiu was Shun Ji Bing Shi(顺记冰室).
Shun Ji was famous for their home made ice-cream and it was highlighted in their menu.
We ordered durian, mango and coconut ice-cream for sharing. Bill was RMB21.50.
It touched my heart when I saw this old couples at Shang Xia Jiu.
the huge book outside GZ book center
Then it was time to go for Chime Long International Circus Show(长隆国际马戏), a world class circus. On the way, we checked out the biggest book store in Guang Zhou, Guang Zhou Book Center(广州购书中心), which was located next to MTR interchange station, Tiyu Xilu(体育西).
the book centerAfter that, we proceed to Hanxi Changlong MTR Station(长隆汉溪站) and enjoyed an amazing circus show . The show started at 7.30pm(daily) and lasted for 1.5 hours. Thanks to LX3, enjoy below photos captured during the show.
Jue Wei Duck Neck 绝味鸭脖
Visit website
Wen Ji Yi Xin Ji 文记壹心鸡
10, Xuanyuan Qiao Alley, Baohua Road, GuangZhou
荔湾区宝华路旋源桥10号(顺记冰室斜对面小巷内)
Nan Xin Milk Company 南信牛奶
47, Dishipu Road, GuangZhou
荔湾区第十甫路47号
Bao Hua Noodle Shop 宝华面店
117, Baohua Road, GuangZhou
荔湾区宝华路117号
Shun Ji Bing Shi 顺记冰室
85, Baohua Road, GuangZhou
荔湾区宝华路85号
Chime Long International Circus 長隆國際大馬戲
Visit website
Guang Zhou Book Center 广州购书中心
Visit website
