Food Fit For Gods: Sky Dining in Guangzhou

Food Fit For Gods: Sky Dining in Guangzhou
By Jefferson Mendoza , eChinacities.com

Guangzhou’s skyline is littered with massive high-rises and what better way to experience the city, day or night, then from high up in one of these towers. Here are a few places to enjoy sky dining in Guangzhou.

1) The Westin Pazhou View In Map
Majestically standing on the southern side of the Pearl River Delta is the Westin Pazhou. Enjoy the Mai Japanese Restaurant on the 42nd floor. Refreshingly beautiful with its simplistic wooden chairs and floor-to-ceiling high-beams, this venue is soothing to the senses. One can see the lush greenery of the Panyu village by day, and by night, it transforms itself into little night-lights with the Guangzhou Tower just peeking through the side. True to Japanese esthetic beauty, you don’t need a lot of decor to experience a memorable lunch with your friends or an evening with your partner.

Online distribution manager Selina Chen says the Westin Pazhou promotes the values of “health” and “wellness” from the moment you step into the hotel, resulting in the way one perceives their dietary staples. The Mai Restaurant offers a succulent Sushi menu dubbed “Super Food.” The “Super Food” menu allows you to choose an array of Japanese dishes with the highest anti-oxidant properties. Booking in advance is advisable and an all-you-can-eat buffet at Mai Japanese restaurant that starts at 230 RMB/person. The price also includes the service fee.

Two floors down is the Executive Club Lounge. It offers another panoramic view of the Guangzhou skyline which you can take in while enjoying some high tea.

Add: Area C, Canton Fair Complex 681 Fengpu Zhong Road, Haizhu District, Guangzhou
地址: 广州市海珠区广交会展馆681奉浦中路C区
Tel: 020 8918 1818
Mai Japanese Restaurant opening times: 12:00-14:30 (lunch); 18:00-22:00 (dinner)

Guangzhou’s skyline at night
Guanzhou skyline.
Source: duabelas

2) IFC/ Four Seasons Hotel View In Map
Smack at the foot of Zhu Jiang New Town is the IFC tower/ Four Seasons Hotel, which is grandiose for many reasons. Koko Law and Vitaly Matskevichus ate on a Wednesday evening at Caffe Mondo, an Italian restaurant. “When you eat Italian food in Guangzhou, often the food is not authentic enough,” says Law. “But at this restaurant, it was. The mozzarella was real.”

For Matskevichus, this was his second time at Caffe Mondo, “It’s a good place for a business meeting when trying to make a good impression. You can really get a feel of Downtown Guangzhou.” Caffe Mondo offers an à la carte menu or a buffet option which offers bite-sizes dishes from all you can eat bruschettas, fresh salads, cheese and desserts. Buffet prices range from 200-300 RMB/person. At night, you can see the Zhu Jiang Park lit up while also overlooking the Guangzhou New Library, the new Guangdong Museum and the tallest building in the city: Citic Plaza. 

After dinner, Law and Matskevichus went to Tian Bar, which is on the top floor (99/F). Cocktail drinks are slightly pricier, starting at 99 RMB. Reservation is highly recommended for tables near the window.

Add: Four Seasons Hotel Guangzhou, 5 Zhujiang West Road, Tianhe District, Guangzhou
地址: 广州市天河区珠江西路5号广州国际金融中心主塔楼67-100层
Tel. 020 8883 3888
Caffe Mondo opening times: 06:30-10:30 (breakfast), 11:30-14:30 (lunch) and 17:30-22:00 (dinner); 12:00-15:00 (Sunday brunch),
Tian Bar opening times: 17:00-01:00 (Sun-Thurs), 17:00-02:00 (Fri & Sat)

3) DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel GuangzhouView In Map
New to the Guangzhou’s hotel scene, DoubleTree by Hilton offers authentic Chinese dishes made in front of your eyes at NoDu (with no service charges) or dine at OPEN for their buffet dinners (starting at 268 RMB/person) on the second floor and then make your way up to the Executive Lounge on the 39th floor – to fully experience DoubleTree’s unique panoramic view consisting of the Baiyun Mountain, the mash-up of old and new buildings and Liwan District from afar.

Under the Hilton brand, marketing communications manager Karen Xu says DoubleTree tends to attract younger guests. “The DoubleTree concept is young, leisurely as well as a business hotel,” Xu says. “We always try to make our guests feel at home.”

Being the capital city of the province of Guangdong, the locals always try to find the latest in flavorful dishes. According to assistant restaurant manager Adam Warner, “Guangzhou is a food city. Everybody has their take and they are fussy eaters. We need to be on top.” As a result, DoubleTree’s head chef has created ice cream and popcorn desserts dipped in nitrogen, bringing dessert-eating to new heights. A day trip to one of DoubleTree’s venues provides a different feel from one at night. It’s yours to discover which is best suited to your liking.

Add: 391 Dongfeng Road, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou
地址: 广州市越秀区东风路 391号
Tel: 020 2833 2888
NoDu opening hours: 11:00-21:00
OPEN opening hours: 06:30-22:00
Executive Lounge opening hours: 14:30-16:30 (for afternoon tea); 18:00-20:00 (dinner service)
Getting there: Get off at Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall Station, Exit D2, turn left and walk 15 minutes.

4) The Garden HotelView In Map
It’s only when the sun sets down that the magic happens at the Carousel Restaurant on the 30th floor of the Garden Hotel. While savoring the all you-can-eat international seafood buffet, guests can enjoy the ever-changing-skyline as the restaurant rotates a full 360 degrees in about two hours. Prices range depending on the day of the week: Monday-Thursday (starting at 400 RMB/person plus service charges) and Friday-Sunday (starting at 500 RMB/person plus service charges).

Restaurant guest Lora Deng has mixed feelings though. Despite the décor and the seafood dishes, this restaurant is more for “family gatherings” she says. After her one night at the Carousel, she said that many of the guests were children and elderly patrons. But special events like Valentine’s Day make it extra special, says host Rainbow Liu. Based on her observations, “the guests come and they feel everything, the food and the atmosphere.”

Add: 368 Huan Shi Dong Lu, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou
地址: 广州市越秀区环市东路368号
Tel: 020 8333 8989
E-mail: bc@thegardenhotel.com.cn
The Carousel opening times: 18:00-22:45

5) The Guangzhou TowerView In Map
With bamboo-like beams that were built in such a way, with rotating ellipses from the bottom to the top, to represent a female silhouette, the Guangzhou Tower boasts the highest revolving restaurant in the city – The TWIST Mediterranean Buffet on the 106th floor.

Hunan native Meng Li has been to the tower – twice. The day trip is definitely different from the night one, he says. “The Zhu Jiang New Town and the Guangzhou Tower are perfectly matched in the evening.”  One can see colorful lights from the boats, to the bridges, all the way to the buildings: the experience at this level is unforgettable. Prices start at 488 RMB/ person plus a 15 percent service charge.

Add: 222 Yuejiang West Road, Haizhu District, Guangzhou
地址:广州市海珠区安悦翔西路222号
Tel: 020 8933 8222
Email: www.cantontower.com/en/
TWIST Mediterranean Restaurant opening times: 09:00 - 23:00

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Keywords: sky dining in Guangzhou restaurants in Guangzhou; Westin Pazhou; Four Seasons Hotel

3 Comments

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oxana212

lovely

Jul 25, 2022 03:20 Report Abuse

kbalazs

"At night, you can see the Zhu Jiang Park lit up while also overlooking the Guangzhou New Library, the new Guangdong Museum and the tallest building in the city: Citic Plaza." Seriously? Citic Plaza once really was the tallest in town, but that was before any other buildings mentioned in that sentence existed. :D

Oct 01, 2014 14:40 Report Abuse

dandmcd

No thanks, I'll eat closer to the ground and save 200 to 300 RMB per person. Not as if you can see anything outside the windows with the Guangzhou "fog" anyway.

Mar 14, 2014 16:03 Report Abuse