This review found us embarking, almost willingly, on a two-hour metro ride to a place we simply cannot get enough of: the charming corridors of Foshan’s Lingnan Tiandi. As convenient as the lengthy trip is via public transport, it’s only natural to wonder whether an eatery dubbed "Three Drops" will be worth it, or if we should have spared the effort.
No matter which entrance you take into the common, a brief walk through stone alleyways will lead you to the front steps of Three Drops Kitchen & Bar X GEE, a three-story edifice consisting of a restaurant and bakery, second-floor salon and rooftop bar. The hope, we’re later informed, is that guests will literally “trickle up” – or move from one level to the next, relaxing over afternoon tea before settling in for a stylish up-do to parade around the third-floor bar by nightfall. Never has the phrase ‘don’t spend it all in one place’ felt less welcome.
GEE, a haute Hong Kong salon with world-class hair products, isn’t officially connected to Three Drops Kitchen & Bar. The two have simply agreed to merge business plans in light of their shared locale. Our attention, however, remained locked on first base: a ground-floor Western eatery founded by three Hong Kong studs with fetching Australian accents. Classmates who studied hotel management together in Sydney years ago, the trio once made a pact to open a restaurant of their own. Now, a decade later, their dream has finally come to fruition.
Pulling up stools to an elevated counter running through the main dining area, we chat with Derek Lee, the director, over a flat white (RMB32) and refreshing glass of lemon lime bitters (RMB38). It’s then that the mysterious three drops from the venue’s name are revealed: artisan coffee, an exposed bakery and an open kitchen. Lee, a barista and former pastry chef, believes that a baker should be able to see the reactions of his customers. As such, fudgy cakes and garnished waffles glisten temptingly in a glass case before the bakery, which is visible to all diners. The main kitchen – easily accessible via the back door of the shop – is devoted to whipping up fusion gourmet dishes. Head Chef Marco Ma of Guangzhou, trained in France and New Zealand, strives to enrich the taste of Western staples by tossing in unpredictable spices from Asian cuisines.
The margherita pizza (RMB48), fit for two, excels in freshness with plentiful basil and quality mozzarella. The crust, a wafer-thin, non-oily chip patented by Chef Ma himself, sounds exquisite in theory but arrives soggy, waterlogged with tomato juice. For an original option, we’d recommend the Japanese kajime sauce and leek pasta (RMB48) – a mod blend of Italian pasta and Eastern spice – or grilled pork spareribs (RMB98) – a generous slab of smoked meat accompanied by expertly grilled pineapple slices coated in a delicate mix of cinnamon and honey. Absolute bliss.
Hip, on point and friendly, Three Drops Kitchen & Bar is more than worth the trek. The food is honestly good enough to keep us coming back (well, at least to the first-floor restaurant), and that’s certainly more than we can say about Foshan’s cascade of toilets.
Price: RMB140
Who’s going: Posh Foshan residents, tourists with taste
Good for: Pre-perm luncheon, girls’ day out
// For address, see listing.
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