New Guangzhou Bars & Restaurants: September 2017

By That's PRD, August 31, 2017

Here are all the new restaurant, bar and cafe openings we featured in our September 2017 issue:

New Restaurants and Cafes

About Bagel

Bagel shops might proliferate in Seoul, but they are few and far between in Guangzhou, as Marcus Liu observed when he returned to China after studying in the South Korean capital. Stepping into About Bagel is to enter the experimental laboratory of Liu. The bill of fare sketched on a blackboard in back lists a dozen or so creative ‘bagelwiches,’ and patrons can choose between eight homemade bagel varieties: plain, sesame, poppy seed, squid ink, cinnamon raison, the gimmicky rainbow bagel and so forth.

Keep an eye out for the avocado, egg, cream cheese and lox bagelwich (RMB48) – the most expensive one boasting a classic yet intriguing combination. Onions, lettuce and tomatoes are piled on as well, even though they’re not listed on the menu.

Price: RMB30-50
Who’s going: selfie-takers, bagel seekers, the Jewish community
Good for: tasty ‘bagelwiches,’ flashing a rainbow bagel on WeChat Moments
Nearest metro: Taojin (Exit A), 3 minutes

Read our full review here. See listing for About Bagel.

Aroma

The Southern European cuisines of Spain, Italy and France involve one common ingredient: love. And plenty of sauce. Aroma at the Conrad Guangzhou is home to these three cuisines, termed loosely under the ‘Mediterranean’ umbrella.

Dips, ranging from black or green olive and artichoke, tomato and hummus, start you off in the deliciousness department. Dip in some freshly baked bread; it’s divine, and pairs well with a platter of finely sliced Joselito Iberian cold cuts (RMB238).

Whilst the more exotic like rabbit ragout (RMB160) might appeal to some, this succinct menu has a smattering of red meat and seafood favorites like New Zealand lamb chops (RMB238), squid ink risotto (RMB180) and fresh French oysters (RMB48/each).

Price: RMB300
Who’s going: those who can spell ‘Mediterranean’ – if you can spell it, you’ll enjoy every bite
Good for: robust flavors, hearty mains, saucy southern Europeans (on a plate)
Nearest Metro: Liede (Exit B), 5 minutes

Read our full review here. See listing for Aroma.

Jurassic BBQ

Situated on Jianshe Liu Malu, in the former location of Pandan Indonesian, this new restaurant provides grill-at-the-table barbecue in a setting that resembles scenes from the most classic of dinosaur movies. You guessed it, Jurassic Park.

Ample portions of roasted eggplant, grilled leek, baby cabbage and enoki mushrooms (aka ‘see ya later mushrooms’), arrive pre-cooked (RMB10 each). While none look particularly appetizing, they all end up being pretty tasty. Garlic lovers should definitely give the eggplant a try.

But enough about vegetables – this is a barbecue restaurant and it’s all about the meat. Skewers of pork belly (RMB16), lamb (RMB22) and black pepper beef (RMB24) are presented raw by the half dozen for your grilling pleasure. Other options like the squid tentacles (RMB16) come in a set of four.

Price: RMB100 for a beer and heaps of meat
Who’s going: carnivores, dinosaur enthusiasts
Good for: grilled meat, Jurassic Park feels, more meat
Nearest metro: Taojin (Exit A), 5 minutes

Read our full review here. See listing for Jurassic BBQ.

Stain Coffee

Sandwiched between two disorderly storefronts about a five-minute walk from The Westin near Guangzhou East Railway Station, the shop’s all-white exterior gives it away immediately. Why wanghong, or social media celebrities, flock to Stain for photo shoots is beyond us – the decor presumably took a grand total of 15 minutes to throw together.

Don’t even bother taking out your wallet. No, the drinks aren’t that bad, but Stain only accepts WeChat Money or Alipay. The menu is a combination of ‘blends’ (espresso, RMB20; Americano, RMB28; flat white, RMB30), ‘singles’ (fancy varieties like the ‘90+ Ethiopia Kemgin with orange candy, floral and ginseng,’ RMB42) and ‘specials’ (Stain mocha, RMB42; Einspanner, RMB38).

Price: RMB40
Who’s going: senseless selfie zombies, The Phantom himself
Good for: contemplating black holes and loneliness, coffee
Nearest metro: Linhe Xi (Exit A), 12 minutes

Read our full review here. See listing for Stain Coffee.

New Bar

Mint Space

This eerie bar is part discotheque, sports pub, canto-pop lounge and cafe. Given that it’s got almost nothing to sell but is still paying an atrocious amount for rent, we’ve come to the conclusion that Mint Space is either a covert super-lab constructed for the purpose of money-washing and manufacturing boutique amounts of illicit methamphetamine (aka Breaking Bad), or the playroom of an immature and lazy man-child who just happens to have inherited a by-the-hour hotel empire (aka Billy Madison).

Either way, Xingsheng Lu has for some time been registering tremors that our experts believe signals its fast-diminishing fashionability. With Mint Space as its most moronic add-on to date, we’d like to officially declare the street dead. Like a bad Chinglish sitcom.

Price: RMB70 (or RMB10 for warm coke)
Who’s going: hard to say
Good for: baby food, BBQ sticks, coke
Nearest metro: Liede (Exit D), 5 minutes

Read our full review here. See listing for Mint Space.