New restaurants are always popping up around Jianshe 6 Malu, but it’s only recently that the new arrivals have started to include Cantonese places. One of the latest is Sunloft, which is another addition to Guangzhou’s growing roster of nostalgia-infused Hong Kong-style cha canting (茶餐厅, or tea rooms).
A screen at the entrance constructed out of abaci establishes the Chinese tone of the décor, and the restaurant itself features birdcage lamps, a soothing geometric color scheme and walls decked out with photographs and framed knickknacks. Taking a break in here with a few snacks and a decent pot of tea (RMB10 for Tie Guan Yin, Pu’er and Wulong) is certainly a nice alternative to simply holing up in the same old coffee shop.
The menu features idiosyncratic English – “squid beard”, anyone? – but fortunately the food hasn’t been lost in translation. The plump, juicy prawn dumplings (RMB15) and comforting radish pudding (RMB10) come highly recommended, as do the barbecue pork buns (RMB10), which might look disappointingly small at first, but are deceptively light and fluffy, with a succulent filling just the right side of sweet. Some of the portions are on the dainty side even for dim sum, but then the prices are not outrageous for the area and plenty of more substantial fare (including noodles, wonton and congee) is also available.
Sunloft regularly announces discounts and other promotional offers, so next time you’re wandering through this part of town keep an eye out – it might be worth going local for a change.
// Daily 8am - 1am. Add.: 1/F, 1 Jianshe Liu Malu, Yuexiu District (8388 1840) 上楼茶点，越秀区建设六马路1号后幢1层
