Nanjing
Ever-trendy Element Fresh gives the iffy Nánjīng cafe culture a good kick in the pants. The setting is smooth, the ambient tunes funky, the lines clean,…
Must-see restaurants in Jiangsu
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Suzhou
Upmarket Spanish restaurant and cocktail bar on the 37th floor of the W Hotel. As well as excellent food, drinks and service, this place also has a…
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Nanjing
This hectic, fun and vast place, decorated like a Qing dynasty eatery, with waiters scurrying around in period garb and lanterns hanging overhead, is…
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Suzhou
This institution has been serving up classic Suzhou-style soup noodles for 200 years. The delicious broth, which is made fresh each night from herbs,…
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Suzhou
Downtown branch of this popular restaurant that specialises in dumplings but also offers a variety of tasty, locally inspired and classic Chinese dishes…
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Nanjing
This restaurant is popular for its juicy and totally delicious beef 'potsticker' dumplings (牛肉锅贴, niúròu guōtiē). These golden, crispy wonders are easy on…
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Nanjing
Cosy bakery located in the student area around Nánjīng University. As well as delectable baked goods like cakes and breads, they make their own nut…
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Suzhou
Charming joint serving tasty western China style food, including roast lamb, kebabs, hotpot, and the standout Lánzhōu-style noodles (兰州牛肉面, ¥32). Located…
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Suzhou
With great clouds of steam rising from the kitchen, this local icon has been flogging noodles since 1943, but its handmade shēngjiān bāo (生煎包, pan-fried…
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Suzhou
Close to the Lion Grove Garden, this restaurant attracts a mix of locals and visitors for its subtly flavoured Suzhou cooking. The menu takes inspiration…
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Měitiānsīyú Chóngqìng Xiǎomiàn
Nanjing
This noodle joint serves vast, steaming bowls of rice noodles with copious amounts of chicken, beef, pork or fish thrown in. The fish noodles (水煮鱼片米线,…
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Nanjing
This place is reasonably elegant and certainly no dive, yet you can order up half a Peking duck (半只烤鸭; bànzhī kǎoyā) here for a paltry ¥39, including…
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Nanjing
This boisterous, two-level Xinjiang restaurant has a sizeable lamb-packed menu that runs that gamut from kebabs (¥5 each) and fried-bread-and-lamb (¥48)…
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Nanjing
The stab at a classy ambience doesn't quite succeed at Taj Mahal, but the menu's a winner. The spiciness of the mutton vindaloo may be slightly moderated…
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Suzhou
Often busy, this seriously cute little teahouse is perched beside one of Suzhou’s most popular canalside streets, serving up excellent dumplings and…
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Suzhou
Reasonably priced, upmarket restaurant offering a comprehensive array of local and classic Chinese dishes. The dumplings here are especially good,…
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Suzhou
This small restaurant has a lovely setting overlooking the canal that runs alongside Pingjiang Lu, right next to a picturesque stone bridge and a…
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Nanjing
Wagas is everyone's darling. The setting is all industrial chic: concrete floor, patchy and distressed white painted grey brick, staff in snappy but…
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Suzhou
Come to this friendly Buddhist restaurant for a modest-yet-filling vegetarian buffet that, at ¥10, will barely make a dent in your wallet. Etiquette…
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Suzhou
Popular with locals, this red-wood-furniture-bedecked eatery, with several branches across town, has a long history and wholesome, filling noodles – try…
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Nanjing
The best bakery in Nanjing, Real Bread Cafe serves its sandwiches in suitably crusty bread and its coffee (¥25) delightfully strong. Delicate and crispy…
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Suzhou
Crowds pay and gather near the entrance to wait for the steaming fresh xǐaolóng bāo (小龙包; soup dumplings) to come out of the kitchen. If you don’t want to…
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Nanjing
This small wood-themed restaurant with Japanese lanterns hanging inside does some excellent sets served with miso soup and a small salad. The curry shrimp…
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Suzhou
Good quality, Chinese-style vegetarian food in downtown Sūzhōu, not far from the Garden of Cultivation. Friendly service, with a wide selection of…
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Nanjing
Down along spruced-up Laomen Dong, New Zealander–owned Motu does a brisk trade in fine burgers and cold beers. Order at the till, take a numbered flag and…
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Nanjing
A small cafe serving up yummy Italian-style gelato, made on-site. Friendly, English-speaking service. The salted caramel flavour is especially delicious…
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Nanjing
Equal parts hectic and fun, Dàpái Dàng is decorated like a Qing-dynasty eatery, complete with waiters scurrying around in period garb and lanterns hanging…
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Suzhou
Small and simple family-run restaurant serving up cheap, tasty Gānsù-style food, not far from the Garden of Cultivation.
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Suzhou
With stunning views across the Grand Canal to Sūzhōu's old city walls, this restaurant serves no-frills Guìzhōu-style food that features liberal use of…
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Suzhou
This romantic Italian restaurant is tucked down a canalside lane that runs parallel to Shiquan Jie. Run by an entirely Chinese team, headed up by the…
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Suzhou
The rather gaudy Uighur kitsch atmosphere is entertaining and the Xīnjiāng staples – lamb kebabs (¥2.50) and nang bread (flat bread; ¥3) – all tasty…
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Suzhou
Out in Sūzhōu's higher education district, on the eastern side of the Industrial Park area, this cafe is a hit for its Western-style food, good coffee,…
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Jiangsu
This vegetarian restaurant serves flavoursome hotpots and noodles that draw on Chinese and Japanese Buddhist cooking methods. The simple set meal (¥68)…
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Jiangsu
Serves tasty northern-style flatbread, cooked in a traditional oven – expect a small, chatty wait while the bread cooks, even if you don't speak Chinese.
