Originally Posted by SEAJ
This talk about the new super club n SWL got me thinking about all the places that’s come and gone in CP; seems like businesses sprouts…and then close just as rapidly here. One of the few things I’ve never understood is how come with all you Singaporean/Malaysian guys coming here, Sing/Ma restaurants never seem to do well in CP; the Singapore Restaurant on Zhenhua 10 Rd has closed down, the Baikut tea place behind the Sun Kong is long gone and that little restaurant in front of the Legend café on SWL road is also history. Are they all that inadequate according to you guys from Singapore/Malaysia?
Anyway… I’ve just had a series of friends come to Chang Ping and different guys brought me/I brought them to different places to eat. Now, I figure that since we all need to eat (and in fact, it seems like that’s all I do when I’m not out screwing when I’m in CP!), perhaps I could outline a few places I personally find GREAT. Not only just good value for money, but more importantly, food I personally find good in this little hamlet. Hope you guys find it useful and also, I very much hope that you will contribute your own favorite places so that I/we all can benefit from your sharing of the information..
Dim Sum – the old favorites used to be the Miraton and Hui Hua, but I find that nowadays it’s really not value for money (Tea charge PLUS 10%?? In CP?) plus I do think their standards have slipped somewhat. Especially at the Miraton when I have TWICE caught the waiter VERBALLY adding 40 or 50 RMB to what the actual bill was when I checked. Both times I complained to the captain and whilst they did apologize for their staff’s carelessness etc, I do think that these captains are probably part of the scheme to fleece us guys who do NOT normally check the bill, especially when fighting for it etc.
Then there’s the new places like The Old restaurant (on the 3rd floor of the Lucky), the one on the top floor of the new LCC mall (what does LCC stand for? Lousy Chinese Crap?? LOL!!). But these places are also very pricey IMHO…and prices there seem to have already risen even though still so relatively new. MY current favorite for Dim Sum is the Yihao where my friend pointed out the drastic difference between the lowest priced Dim Sum (RMB 4.80) and their highest priced ones (I think RMB 18.80 if I’m not wrong). And here I WAS assuming all along, whenever I go to Dim sum, that price difference between one dim sum dish to another should not be that much! Yihao do NOT charge any 10% plus if you stay away from their pricey Teas, you can get away with a real small bill whilst having a real fill. And if they get to know you like they know my friend, they “compliment” him with the pricey teas too. The only drawback to the Yihao is that they stop the kitchen at 1:30 PM – WHAT??!!
Goose and Duck – CP is long famous for its roast goose/duck from days gone by when this area was rural and this fame has carried on and there are still 3 great goose places on Zhenhua #10 road (the street where the Triangular park between the Hui Mei and The Virgin is at.) I like the last one AWAY from the Hui Mei, but all of them have GREAT Goose on all sorts of noodles (RMB 13) or rice (RMB 18). Don’t bother to order most of the other items on the menu as IMHO, they’re a bit overpriced for the place/ambience and I can pretty well guarantee you that you will be stuffed when ordering just one Bowl/plate rice. Great deal for a fast, tasty treat.
On that same street is the old time foreign visitor’s favorite, again from days long gone when there was NOT that many places serving decent coffee AND menus in English – Mito’s restaurant where we love to go after 2 PM. It used to be better when there were a lot of seats looking outside to the “Sea of Pussy” of gals going to get their hair done, have lunch, go back to their KTV job etc. And oh, why after 2 PM? Because that is the time when they start serving their Tea set which is a GREAT deal.
And talk about great deals – how about RMB 50 for a WHOLE duck?? There’s a new place in between the Rainbow Shopping mall and the 6000 restaurant that serves you a whole duck for that price (and you can order unlimited rice for RMB 2 and bowls of noodles for RMB 4) which is more than enough even for 4 pax. The 4 of us were there last night and my gal has today made yummy duck congee from the big doggie bag of left-over duck she insisted on taking back last night!
And the 6000 restaurant – yeah, a chain restaurant but IMHO an ideal place combining very good food, reasonable prices AND an acceptable ambience/facilty. I particularly love their Chilled Kai Lan served on a bed of crushed ice, accompanied with Wasabi and soya sauce!! Best Greens in town!
But if you want to impress, I guess Lo’s on the same street as Mito’s is the place all the KTV gals drag us suckers to for après KTV suppers. Yeah, the food is good but what can you expect for the price you have to pay. Nah…this place had gone off my radar a long time ago and if I need to bring guests/girls to a nicer place, I’d rather bring them to the Capital Club at the other end of the building housing the Sing party KTV (the ex PP KTV). Great ambience, a bit pricey but well worth it IMHO and they DO have a good selection of wines and a decent particular favorite of mine - foie gras.
And the various Boton restaurants in town – especially the one next to the Cultural Centre - are very reasonably priced, offering nice surroundings and live music. NICE! And the Boton Steak house, OK what can you expect in a place like CP – but surprisingly, their steaks are acceptable and their Moccha and coffee Icee (blended ice – forgot what they call it exactly) is like ambrosia especially during the hot Summer months!
The Hong Kong style Cha Chaan Teng’s are OK for quick, reasonably priced meals, but they really are getting a bit pricey for what you get. Tsui wah on ZhongYuan street and the Legend café on SWL I favor over the others - like the used to be ubiquitous Kam Ho restaurants (many have closed down – deservedly – as they were really dirty places!) or the one across the street from the Pozolim which have REALLY raised their prices of late.
Then there is the slew of restaurants in the #8 mall – two which I sort of like
1)Saizeria – a Taiwanese owned, Japanese style Italian restaurant chain (yeah, a helluva combination) for its VERY CHEAP meals where I could take Western friends to and where they can complain about the crap Pizza, steaks and pastas! LOL! But cheap it is and IMHO quite a good deal for acceptable meals, especially the fresh salad which I just cannot get anywhere else in CP and their free flow drinks for RMB 6!!
2) A Ping Er Fong (??) which is cafeteria style place serving great tasting food for a very reasonable price (a whole steamed fish for RMB 12, various small plate full of veggies for RMB 4 etc). I also like the place as I’ve often seen the owner taking pride in his place and ALWAYS cleaning up here, there, everywhere; there’s a branch of this restaurant in the building next to the Rainbow across the street from Starbucks.
Hairy Crab – the best and tastiest deal IMHO. Go to the Yalan wholesale plaza and get your own live Hairy crabs for RMB 40 – 60/lb for real good sized ones. Take them to the nearby Chiu Chow congee places to steam for you (last time they charged me RMB 50 for 20 crabs) and top it all off with the restaurant’s famous Chiu Chow congee! Perfect for cold winter nights!
And Cold winter nights are great for Hot Pots – no, not the Little Lamb hot pot or the newish RMB 48/68 all you can eat one on top of the Pozolim (they charge extra @pax for the soup base!! LOL!) but at the Pig’s intestine chicken on the 2/f across the street from the Postal Savings bank/Gome appliance store on top of the recently closed Breeze Cloud cha chaan teng. Great big steaming bowl of fresh soup with chunks of chicken and intestine which after you’ve finished eating, serves as the soup for various items you order as hot pot. And the highlight here? Their fried peanuts they serve as appetizer!! They’re the best darn peanuts I’ve had, all nice and crunchy and flavored just right! Most times I gorge on these and get full even before the steam boat rrives!!
OK, enough of my rambling/this is getting to darn long – hope you guys find it of some use and that you WILL also contribute to the knowledge – with mucho thanks beforehand!!
|