Who doesn’t love Chinese food? Scallions, soy sauce, the sizzle of oil in a wok. But the Western palate craves variety. We’re used to coconut curry one night and salsa-drenched burritos the next. Sometimes, even the most delicious jiaozi can’t satisfy a craving for diverse cuisine. While Nanning lacks the variety of restaurants available in larger cities, it does have several good options for foreign food. From kimchi to cannoli, here are Nanning’s best foreign restaurants.
1) Món an Viet nam (越式菜馆)View In Map
Given Nanning’s proximity to Vietnam, it’s no surprise that the city has a Vietnamese influence. This restaurant outgrew its old location, mashed between two dance clubs, and has recently moved to posher digs in the Landong District. The multi-course platters start at around 70 RMB and are perfect for groups. The first course is a clear, brothy soup, lightly flavoured with lemongrass. The main platter consists of family-style snacks: rice-paper rolls stuffed with tofu and vegetables; braised seaweed; and breaded crab sticks (which will appeal to your childhood fish-stick fiend). Make-your-own lettuce wraps combine tofu, noodles, and light sauces into a Vietnamese taco. Finally, crispy-skinned duck arrives, haphazardly hacked into bite-sized pieces, to satisfy everyone’s finger-food cravings. Món ?n Vi?t nam also serves Vietnamese beer.
Add: 40 Shuangyong Lu, Nanning
地址: 南宁市双拥路 40号, 近南湖公园
Tel: 158 7875 3714
Opening hours: Daily, 11:00 – 22:00
Direction: On the ground floor of Oriental Pearl apartments, across from Nanhu Park
2) The Here (這里) View In Map
A freestanding building in the newly developed Admiral City shopping center, The Here gives Westerners a taste of home. The loose Italian menu offers thin-crust pizza, pasta, salads and minty mojitos. For a flashback to childhood delicacies, order the garlic bread – a home-baked baguette smothered in butter and crushed garlic (18 RMB). Meaty mains like steak cost well over 100 RMB, but most of the pasta dishes range between 35-50 RMB. The pork chops got rave reviews from a nearby table (96 RMB). I melted into my baked spinach lasagna, which was filled with tender eggplant, peppers and zucchini, the whole thing smothered in toasted cheese. The Here also bakes its own desserts, including cakes and chocolate-banana crepes (15 RMB).
Add: 131 Minzu Dadao, B10, North Square (Central), Admiral City Mall, Nanning
地址: 南宁市民族大道131号航洋国际城北广场水中央B10号楼独栋, 近公路
Tel: 0771 588 7183
Opening hours: 10:00 - 24:00
Getting there: Bus: Take No. 34 toward Landong, and get off at Admiral City (航洋国际城; just past the Guilin Expressway overpass, you’ll see the Wal-Mart Supercenter)
3) Delicious Korea (韩美味) View In Map
Each intimate floor of this multi-story Korean restaurant holds only a few tables. As such, it fills up quickly; call ahead to reserve. Waiters place live coals beneath a grill in the center of each table. After a drizzle of oil, the grill becomes the focal point of the meal; lamb, bacon, spring onions, potato, and sliced eggplant are picked off the fire with heavy silver chopsticks, slathered in kimchi, and consumed wrapped in lettuce leaves. Plates of BBQ items cost between 10 RMB for vegetables to 50 plus for meats.
Apart from barbeque, Delicious Korea also serves family-style dishes. The tofu soup had a nice sour, lemony bite (20 RMB). A scoop of mashed potato, covered in ground beef, became a hearty filling for thin, tofu-skin pancakes (35 RMB). Korean cold noodles, often served with egg and pickled vegetables, make a good snack in hot weather. Try the Korean rice wine (米酒), which resembles sake in its smooth, light taste.
Add: 29-3 Tiantao Lu, near Gucheng Lu, Nanning
地址: 南宁市天桃路29-3号, 近古城路
Tel: 0771 280 0680
Opening hours: Daily, 10:00 – 22:00
Direction: Opposite to the Agricultural Bank of China
4) Sebai Sebai (泰国餐厅)View In Map
On the far edge of the city, one of Nanning’s only Thai restaurants sits on the side of a road. Sebai Sebai is little more than a cluster of wooden tables under a tarp; despite the lack of amenities, it serves tasty, cheap Thai dishes. The Tom Yum Gum (shrimp soup) has a spicy, refreshing tang of lemongrass and mushroom. In true Thai fashion, the green papaya salad will set your mouth on fire, as will the chili-laden Lucky Chicken. Pad thai fans might be disappointed; the noodles seemed a little too saucy and Chinese for authenticity. All dishes here are under 15 RMB, so this is a perfect place for budget eaters. Be warned; the menu is in Thai and Chinese only. Bring a dictionary or a bi-lingual friend.
Add: 1-2 Qingchuan Dadao, near Daxue Lu, Nanning
地址: 南宁市青川大道广西华乔学校东门 1-2号, 近大学路
Tel: 159 9449 7943 or 135 0771 7209
Opening hours: Daily, 9:30 – 21:30
Getting there: Bus: Take No. 33 towards Guangxi University (广西大学). Get off at the end of the line, just underneath a pedestrian overpass. The restaurant will be about 100 metres back, next to the Foreign Refugees School
5) Japanese Tranquility Dining and Bar (和久日本料理)View In Map
Japanese Tranquility is indeed tranquil: blonde wood, latticed privacy screens, and swift service give it the feel of fine dining. But after 9:00 p.m., elegance reveals its budget sidekick: half-price sushi and two-for-one drinks. With sushi ranging from classic salmon rolls to Chinese creations of pork and dolloped mayonnaise, the menu has options for diverse tastes. The cheapest pieces – tofu squares, crunchy fried salmon – start at 6 RMB, and range up to mango and soft-shell crab at around 15 RMB/piece. I fell in love with the salmon hand roll: a thin, crisp sheet of seaweed rolled around sashimi, vegetables and (oddly) salad cream, eaten burrito-style (15 RMB). With hot sake on the side, it’s the perfect late-night snack (25 RMB/two bottles after 9:00 p.m.).
Add: 20 Dongge Lu, on the second floor next to the steakhouse, Nanning
地址: 南宁市青秀区东葛路20号, 二楼, 近思贤路
Tel: 0771 567 0688 or 0771 567 0988
Opening hours: 11:30 – 24:00
Direction: Ronghe Central Park
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Keywords: Nanning foreign food best foreign restaurants Nanning western cuisine Nanning
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