Guangzhou - Day 2 (Canton Fair Complex - Beijing Road)

I woke up early in the morning with a swollen leg, but luckily it is still not that painful when I walk. I couldn't go back to sleep since there's a mosquito that keeps buzzing in my ear. It seems that the pesky insect didn't bother my partner as much as it did me. Anyway, we left our hotel around 10am to look for food. Whenever we travel, I will prepare a list of food itineraries. However, I do not have a complete list this time since I am unable to read Chinese characters. There is very limited information available online in English.

There are a few famous restaurants on my list, but I'm not sure if the addresses are correct. So, we asked the hotel front desk about the nearest Guangzhou Restaurant. She is quite helpful in assisting us with the web searches. Basically, the nearest Guangzhou Restaurant is just one station away from our hotel. So we took the metro from Guangzhou East Railway Station to Tianhe Sports Center (¥ 2 per person) exit A to Tiyu Donglu. Since Google Maps doesn't work in China, we have no idea which way to go after leaving the metro station. So we asked around and finally found the restaurant on the third level of a building.

They do not have an English menu, so we had to use Google translate to understand the Chinese menu. We ordered shrimp in rice rolls, prawn dumplings, pork dumpling with shrimp and fried prawn rolls. Their shrimp in rice roll comes with cabbage and is best eaten with their chili sauce. The prawn dumplings skin is rather thick but the prawns are fresh. I felt that the pork dumpling with shrimp here tasted better than the ones in Hong Kong. My partner likes the fried prawn rolls, which are very crispy on the outside and filled with fresh prawns on the inside. Besides, that, I like how they put a tea candle beneath the teapot to keep the tea hot at all times.

(Total bill - ¥ 159)

Guangzhou Restaurant

Restaurant ambience

Chinese tea

Chili sauce

Shrimp in rice rolls - ¥ 48

Prawn dumplings (3pcs) - ¥ 38

Pork dumpling with shrimp (4pcs) - ¥ 38

Fried prawn rolls - ¥ 35

Guangzhou Restaurant located on the third and forth floor of this building

Address:

Guangzhou Restaurant

No. 112 Tiyu E Rd,

Tianhe District,

Guangzhou, Guangdong Province

After we finished our brunch, it started to rain. I almost slipped and fell again due to the mall's damp flooring. We didn't bring an umbrella and since the rain isn't too heavy, we decided to walk to the metro station under the drizzle. We took the metro from Tianhe Sports Center to Xingangdong Station (¥ 4 per person). My partner's friends were already at the Canton Fair Complex when we arrived at 12.20pm.

We had our late lunch around 2.30pm. Both of us shared KFC meal B, which came with a glass of Pepsi Cola, a New Orleans roasted burger and roasted wings. They ran out of the fried chicken and Zinger burger because of the huge crowds at the Canton Fair. Overall, the food doesn't taste good to me.

(Total bill - ¥ 47)

Walking to the Canton Fair Complex

Canton Fair Complex

Canton Fair Complex

Canton Fair Complex

KFC

Pepsi Cola

New Orleans roasted wings

New Orleans roasted burger

Electric car

Electric car

Electric car

Canton Fair Complex

Canton Fair Complex

We left the exhibition hall around 5.30pm. Four of us took Didi to this claypot-baked rice shop located near Beijing Road. Luckily, my partner's buddy knows how to read Chinese characters and assisted in booking Didi, a ride-hailing app in China (Fare - ¥ 33). However, when we arrived at our location, our friend was having problems paying using the app. The driver doesn't accept cash and it took him some time to resolve the situation.

The claypot-baked rice shop is not busy at all and there's plenty of seating available. An elderly uncle sits in front of the shop, and you order and pay on the spot. They will give you a display number and serve you the meal when it's ready. We ordered beef claypot rice and frog claypot rice, both with eggs. The taste is average, there is nothing really special about it. After dinner, my partner was looking for a restroom, but this shop doesn't have one! Basically, he has to hold it in until we find a place.

(Total bill - ¥ 55)

Waiting for Didi (a ride-hailing app in China)

Yuexiu District

Wan Xing Xiao Shi

Chili

Beef claypot rice with egg

Frog claypot rice with egg

Address:

Wan Xing Xiao Shi

No.289, Wan Fu Road,

Yuexiu District,

Guangzhou, Guangdong Province

We walked to Beijing Road, one of the famous pedestrian streets in Yuexiu district. There are shopping malls, shops and restaurants. As soon as we noticed McD, we headed directly to the toilet. While strolling along Beijing Road, Jlo saw a beef noodle store and decided to try it. He ordered a bowl of noodles with white radish, while his wife ordered a bowl of beef internal parts. My partner on the other hand, ordered a bowl of beef brisket, radish and omasum. All of them enjoy the beef noodle soup very much. It has a rich and flavourful broth.

(Total bill - ¥ 72)

Beijing Road

Beijing Road

Beijing Road

Beijing Road

Beef noodle shop in Beijing Road

Beef noodles

Beef internal parts

Beef brisket, white radish and omasum

Condiments

Beijing Road

Next, we walked to Baihua Dessert Shop, but it's closed for renovation. Then we spotted a dessert shop across the street and decided to try it. We ordered mango pancakes, milk pudding, red bean soup with glutinous balls and glutinous balls in sweet ginger soup. One of the must-try desserts in Guangzhou is the milk pudding. It's a silky smooth milk custard and has a strong taste of milk but I didn't really enjoy it.

Hong Kong style mango pancakes are made of thin yellow crepes filled with light whipped cream and sweet mangoes. However, their mango pancakes have a thick crepes, and a hint of sourness in the mango. I prefer their red bean soup with glutinous balls filled with white lotus paste. Not too sweet and the glutinous ball is soft and chewy.

After dessert, we took the Didi back to our hotel (Fare - ¥ 22.13). That ends our second day in Guangzhou. My partner went for a massage next door, while I chose to relax in the hotel room.

(Total bill - ¥ 57)

Dessert shop

Milk pudding (hot) ¥ 15

Red bean soup with glutinous balls - ¥ 15

Mango pancakes - ¥ 12

Glutinous balls in sweet ginger soup - ¥ 15