Shenzhen - Day 4 (King Glory Plaza - Window of the World - Splendid China Folk Village - Dongmen Pedestrian Street)

It has been raining all morning, and the wind was so strong that all of the chairs in the swimming area were blown into the pool. We decided to have our lunch at King Glory Plaza since it's easily accessible via the metro. We took the metro from Luohu to Guomao Station (¥ 2 per person) and exit A to King Glory Plaza.

The first time we had Haidilao was back in 2019 in Singapore. That time, we were very satisfied with their food and service. Since Haidilao is one of the largest hotpot restaurant chains in China, we thought we would give it a try here in Shenzhen. The restaurant was quite empty when we walked in around 12.20pm. All the staff were very friendly and attentive.

We ordered their pig stomach soup and mala spicy and vegetable oil soup. On top of that, we add smashed shrimp paste, beef slices, fish slices and deep-fried crispy pork. The exterior of deep-fried crispy pork is crispy, but it has too much fat on the inside. Both fish slices and shrimp paste have an extremely slimy texture.

The workers assisted us in combining the sauce, which has more than twenty ingredients, but we didn't think it turned out very well. They also had congee, which I tried, but it tasted bland. However, I enjoy their free flow of watermelon, which is crunchy, juicy and pleasantly sweet. Besides that, the white fungus and red date dessert is soothing but a little too sweet. Both of us had a free flow of drinks (you can choose either soy milk, plum or lemon), which cost ¥ 18 per person. However, the soy milk tasted bland and the lemon was too sweet for my liking.

At the end of our lunch, they gave us two gift bags, each containing three snack packets. Aside from that, they offered us some candies, a packet of sunflower seeds and a lightly brewed chrysanthemum tea.

(Total bill - ¥ 267 including fruits and condiment charges of ¥ 10 for two person)

Chairs were blown into the pool due to strong wind and rain

Heavy rain

King Glory Plaza

Haidilao Hot Pot

Soy milk and lemon drink - ¥ 18 per person for unlimited drinks

Pig stomach soup and mala spicy and vegetable oil soup - ¥ 98

Smashed shrimp paste - ¥ 35

Beef chunk tender - ¥ 59

Fish slices - ¥ 23

Deep-fried crispy pork - ¥ 26

Noodles performance

Cherry tomatoes

Jicama and watermelon

Appetizer

Appetizer

Congee

Watermelon and congee

Watermelon and peach

White fungus and red date dessert

Seasoning buffet

Special mixture of sauce made by the staff

Chili sauce

Soy sauce

Complimentary snacks

Complimentary candies

Complimentary snacks

Complimentary snacks

Since the rain had stopped, we made plans to visit the Window of the World after lunch. So we took the metro from Guomao to Window of the World Station (¥ 5 per person). It takes around 35 minutes to get there and when we arrived around 3.05pm, it was closed due to poor weather. We only get to take some photos from the outside.

Window of the World Station

Window of the World Station

Window of the World

Window of the World

Window of the World

Window of the World

Window of the World

Window of the World

Window of the World

We decided to try our luck at the Splendid China Folk Village, located only one station away from Window of the World (¥ 2 per person). Splendid China Folk Village is within walking distance from OCT (Overseas Chinese Town) Station. Unfortunately, it is also closed due to poor weather.

Splendid China Folk Village

Splendid China Folk Village

Splendid China Folk Village

Splendid China Folk Village

Splendid China Folk Village

Splendid China Folk Village

Running out of ideas on where to go, we returned to Dongmen Pedestrian Street, which we hadn't explored much on the first day due to the rain. We took the metro from OCT to Laojie Station (¥ 4 per person). Feeling thirsty, we bought a cup of grass jelly milk tea. You can choose big or small bubble, tea jelly, taro ball, coconut jelly, red bean, grass jelly, coffee jelly or coconut milk jelly. The milk tea has a mild tea flavour. All I can taste is sweetness and milk. As we walked down Dongmen Pedestrian Street, we noticed a number of solo street performers were doing live shows on their cellphones.

Dongmen Pedestrian Street

Dongmen Pedestrian Street

Grass jelly milk tea - ¥ 11

Dongmen Pedestrian Street

Dongmen Pedestrian Street

Dongmen Pedestrian Street

We went back to King Glory Plaza and had dim sum for dinner. Guomao is only two stations away from Laojie Station (¥ 2 per person). We had crab and chicken eye dumplings, salted egg yolk shrimp siew mai, red rice sausage, bamboo leaf glutinous rice chicken and crispy Hawthorn BBQ pork buns. This restaurant has a policy whereby they won't charge you if the meal tastes bad. They also provide complimentary plum juice and soy milk pudding if you follow them on WeChat. Overall, the food tastes ordinary, and it's not one of those restaurants where you will want to return.

(Total bill - ¥ 152)

 

Guomao Station

Chua Lam's Dim Sum

Chili and soy sauce

Complimentary plum juice

Complimentary soy milk pudding (original price - ¥ 12)

Crab and chicken eye dumplings - ¥ 33

Salted egg yolk shrimp siew mai - ¥ 29

Red rice sausage - ¥ 36

Bamboo leaf glutinous rice chicken - ¥ 26

Bamboo leaf glutinous rice chicken

Crispy Hawthorn BBQ pork buns - ¥ 28

Car exhibition in King Glory Plaza

Car exhibition in King Glory Plaza

We went to the grocery store at King Glory Plaza but couldn't find the Cranberry and Nut Cookie Sticks. So, we took the metro from Guomao to Luohu Station (¥ 2 per person) and went straight to 7-Eleven to grab my box of Cranberry and Nut Cookie Sticks before returning to our hotel. I saw they had this yogurt flavor and nut cookie sticks and decided to give it a try. However, Cranberry and Nut Cookie Sticks remain the best.

Luohu Station

Yogurt flavor and cranberry nut cookie stick - ¥ 6.50 each