Christmas and new year holidays are right around the corner, which can only mean one thing: having a blast! But, as always, even fun times come at a price and for party animals, that price may be a hangover.
So, to help you avoid feeling dizzy, sleepy, confused and a thousand more awful feelings from all the drinks you thought you could handle, here are five waimai options that can save your hungover soul.
1. Dazhanggui Liangpi & Roujiamo
Image by Jonathan Zhong/That's
We at That’s are unrepentant fans of cuisine from North China. Two of our favorite dishes under that admittedly large umbrella hail from Shaanxi: liangpi and roujiamo. China’s answer to the West’s world-famous hamburger, roujiamo is, simply put, a bun stuffed with beef or pork. In 2016, the dish was listed in the fifth batch of intangible cultural heritage items of Shaanxi province.
For folks in Shenzhen, we want to tip you off to one of our favorite waimai options to help you recover from your hangover: Dazhanggui Liangpi & Roujiamo.
The chain’s ‘Chinese hamburgers’ boast crispy buns packed with a blend of lean and fatty pork belly, which is stewed for hours in a seasoning-laden broth. If you’re craving some heat, we encourage you to order the spicy roujiamo, which comes with the addition of fresh chilies. If you’re a veggiesaurus, skip the roujiamo and try out the restaurant’s other house favorite: liangpi (literally meaning ‘cold noodles’). Translucent noodles within a flavorful sauce, liangpi is another Shaanxi delicacy that you don’t want to miss!
Price: RMB10-40
Good for: juicy meat, Chinese hamburgers, cold noodles
Search for: 大掌柜凉皮肉夹馍, Da zhang gui liang pi rou jia mo
Available on: Meituan, Baidu Waimai and E Le me
2. Gaga Xianyu
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For sandwich lovers, Gaga鲜语 saves the day with reliable quality and excellent bread. From 10 locations across Shenzhen they deliver solid sandwiches, hearty salads and some brunch classics that keep us wanting more.
The house favorite is a chicken and mango sandwich (RMB68) with sliced avocado and arugula to balance the fruit’s sweet acids. The classic Reuben and Gaga sandwich (a carnivore feast of ham, bacon and chicken, with an egg) both deliver on flavor, with sweet potato fries and a side salad included in the RMB68 price tag.
Vegetarians find a hearty meal in the harvest season salad (RMB58), featuring tender roasted pumpkin, cauliflower and tomato on a bed of quinoa and kale, with some nuts for crunch. Add RMB10 for some protein, or choose the Gaga salad (RMB68) to get some egg and slow-cooked chicken.
But if you love brunch, you’ll want their full English (RMB68), which is available anytime after they open at 11am. Add some much-needed vitamins to your meal with their tea or a juice blend, which travel better than the coffee.
Price: RMB60-80
Good for: sandwiches, fruit tea
Search: Gaga鲜语
Available on: Dianping, E Le Me, Meituan
3. Chi Ge Tang
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You may already know chicken soup is one of the best cures for hangover, but alas, you’re just too hungover to cook it yourself. Thankfully, there’s Chi Ge Tang, which specializes in chicken soup served inside coconuts, which are carefully packaged to prevent spills.
The restaurant’s set meal option of soup plus rice is handily customizable: choose from around six types of soups and four kinds of rice for your ideal meal, which will range in price from RMB28-52 a person.
To consume, unwrap the foil and pop off the circular ‘lid’ of the fruit, part of which is edible. Inside you’ll find, depending on what you ordered, chunks of chicken, spareribs, duck, or pigs’ feet (don’t judge); paired with coconut, bamboo, papaya, red dates or matsutake mushrooms.
Don’t forget to dip it all in salty, tangy, slightly spicy sauce, which is similar to what you’d get at a coconut chicken restaurant.
Serving sizes are moderate but filling. Plus, there are healthy (no better time than now to be so) choices for those who know where to look: for instance, you can order purplish ‘mixed grains’ (杂粮饭) for a chewier, more wholesome alternative to white rice.
With 30 locations around Shenzhen, the Let’s Soup-Party franchise is broadly accessible.
Price: RMB30
Good for: chicken soup with rice, thoughtful packaging
Search: 吃个汤, chi ge tang
Available on: Dianping, Baidu Waimai, E Le Me, Koubei, Meituan
4. So Salad
Image by Tristin Zhang/That's
Shenzhen-based takeout eatery So Salad is run by a bunch of young folks who want you to become “better and more beautiful” through a healthier diet (no better time to have a healthy meal than when you're hungover, is there?).
Organic veggies grown on a Huizhou farm, which, according to their official WeChat, meets European standards, are processed, sterilized, hydrated and checked for metallic contamination before they are delivered to their 12 branch stores in China, most of them located in Shenzhen and Guangzhou.
At So Salad, dressings, the soul of salad, are allegedly crafted by a Michelin-starred chef together with a dietitian, and you can choose from low-calorie Thousand Island, ‘secret’ sesame, vinaigrette and grapefruit honey options. Also on offer is a range of freshly prepared, pure juices, at prices averaging about RMB22.
Basic salads, which come with a base of lettuce, broccoli, niblets and cherry tomatoes, are priced RMB35-48, with salmon and chicken breast, salmon and plum, as well as beef and sweet potato making up the top of the price range.
Patrons are able to compose their own salads as well, with options for mains including prawns, duck breast, beef steak, salmon and chicken breast, while avocado, kiwi, orange, apple, pear and cherry tomato make up the fruit department.
Price: RMB35-60
Good for: robust salad, fresh juices
Search: sosalad
Available on: Meituan, Dianping, E Le Me
5. Kowloon Cafe
Image via Dianping
Considered the forerunner of present-day Hong Kong ‘tea restaurants’, bing sutt or ‘ice rooms’ in English, started in Canton and proliferated in Hong Kong in the 1960s. Traditionally, a bing sutt is a bistro that serves cold beverages like milk tea and Western snacks like sandwiches. For a home-delivered taste of this unique mid-century phenomenon, try ordering from Kowloon Cafe.
A popular order is the cube-shaped, bite-sized French toast. The baked rice with cheese, prunes and pork steak (RMB38) also makes for an appetizing meal. Feeling like an afternoon snack? Can’t go wrong with the good ol’ pineapple bun (RMB15). For something to drink, why not try the ‘netizen-recommended’ light bulb milk tea (RMB17), which, as you’ve probably guessed, is milk tea served in a light bulb-shaped container.
The popular restaurant has six branches around Shenzhen in Bao’an, Nanshan, Futian and Luohu.
Price: RMB30-50
Good for: Western food with a Hong Kong twist
Search for: 九龙冰室, jiulong bingshi
Available on: Meituan Waimai
Never tried ordering delivery food on a Chinese app before? We have a guide for that. You can also find more delicious waimai options by clicking here, and more helpful guides to living in Shenzhen by clicking here.
[Cover image via Pixabay]
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