• Mobile version
  • Follow us on Wechat
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • App

Six super local food spots on Wenming Road

Wenming Road (文明路) is one of the most typical arcade streets in Guangzhou. Under the arcades, there are old snack bars, calligraphy, painting and framing shops, copperware booths and so on. And there are also time-honored household dessert and soup parlors as well as hole-in-the-wall restaurants, which might look tired or shabby but offer some of the city’s finest foods.

Rose Dessert Store (玫瑰甜品店)

The Rose Dessert Store is a famous local dessert store. Its storefront is very small, and it is always full to bursting. Warm and homely, the store glows with warm yellow light, rosewood tables and chairs, and some traditional Chinese style paintings.

On a closer look, these ‘paintings’ are actually the store’s menu. One of the paintings mentions that ‘almond curd in syrup’ is one of the store’s signature dishes, and it can be accompanied by many extra ingredients ranging from one to four RMB. Another signature dish is ‘mango sago dessert’ which can be paired with chewy taro balls with an extra price of only three yuan.

Add.: No. 218 Wenming Road, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou (广州越秀区文明路218号)

Business hours: 12:00-24:00, Monday - Sunday

Recommended dishes: almond curd in syrup, mango sago dessert


Lao Xi Guan Rice-Flour Noodle House (老西关濑粉)

This noodle house was once recommended by the famous culinary documentary ‘A Bite of China’ bearing inscriptions autographed by the well-known food critic Chua Lam. As you might guess from the name ‘Rice-Flour Noodle House’, its signature dish most certainly is the rice-flour noodle, which is also strongly recommended by food critic Chua Lam.

A single rice-flour noodle is longer than a chopstick. The soup is thick, and minced preserved Sichuan pickles are scattered on top. You should eat the noodles with a spoon, because the noodles together with the soup will taste much more satisfying.

You can add barbecued pork or pot-stewed meat to your noodles if you like.

Rice flour water chestnut is another must-try. Big and chewy, for many locals it is one of the foods most memorable from childhood.

Add. 1: No. 216 Wenming Road, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou (广州越秀区文明路216号)

Business hours: 07:00-22:00, Monday – Sunday

Add. 2: No. 116 Wenming Road, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou (广州越秀区文明路116号)

Business hours: 08:30-22:00, Monday – Sunday

Recommended dishes: Lao Xi Guan rice-flour noodles, rice flour water chestnut


Baihua Dessert Store (百花甜品店)

It’s hard to miss Baihua Dessert Store if you are walking along Wenming Road, for it has a striking yellow signboard, with its Chinese and English names in red, green and blue, a proverbial riot of colour.

For the indecisive, the store’s menu is absolutely overwhelming, because there are over one hundred desserts. However, one of the must-order desserts is the yellow egg custard. It is creamy, milky, tender and smooth. If you love food with a milky flavor, you won’t be disappointed.

Add.: No. 210, Wenming Road, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou (广州越秀区文明路210号)

Business hours: 08:00-01:00, Monday – Sunday

Recommended dishes: egg custard, sesame paste, red bean paste


Dayang Coconut Chicken Restaurant (达杨原味炖品)

Do you know that chicken tastes more delicious when stewed with coconut? Have you ever tried chicken or quail stewed inside a whole coconut? Here is one of the best restaurants in the city for you to taste this dish, the Dayang Coconut Chicken Restaurant. Nevertheless, you may need some luck to savor this coconut chicken soup, for the restaurant is very popular among locals.

Foodies in the neighborhood all know that Dayang’s dishes are tasty with great ingredients, so they often queue up for a bowl of its soup. Relying on word of mouth, people travel from all over the city to try a bowl of its stewed soup. Hence, the restaurant is small and simple, but usually full of people.

There are many other kinds of stewed soups waiting for you to taste too. Note: once a dish has sold out, its name tag will be taken off from the menu by the owner.

Add.: No. 160-1, Wenming Road, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou (广州越秀区文明路160-1号)

Business hours: 12:00-24:00, Monday – Sunday

Recommended dishes: stewed chicken with coconut, stewed quail in a whole coconut


Yeah Yeah Yeah Coconut Jelly Store (椰爷爷原只椰子果冻)

The store is unique in many ways. The decoration style is adorable and interesting, with cute chalk writing everywhere and white coconut jelly ranking neatly in a glass showcase.

A small coconut jelly roughly as big as two fists is priced at 28 RMB, while a big one about the size of your head will cost you 32 RMB. The store also offers Put Chai Ko (rice pudding bowl), 5 RMB for one and 12 RMB for three.

The store has a simple but heart-warming story behind it, as it is co-owned by a grandpa and his granddaughter. Because the granddaughter loves coconut jelly so much, the whole family decided to open this coconut jelly store.

Add.: No. 134, Wenming Road, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou (广州越秀区文明路134号)

Business hours: 114:30-22:00, Monday – Sunday

Recommended dishes: coconut jelly, Put Chai Ko (rice pudding bowl)


Traditional Guangzhou Chicken Hotpot (叹佬鸡煲)

Founded in Fangcun, in Liwan District over 10 years ago, it is still one of the most popular restaurants offering Cantonese style chicken hotpot dishes. The branch on Wenming Road is as popular as its flagship store in Fangcun, and most customers have to wait in line for about one hour before there is a table available.

Once the chicken hotpot is served on your table, we’re sure you will feel that it was worth the wait . The chicken hotpot with abalone is one of the must-order dishes. With big abalone and tasty chicken, you will find your wait and the expense worthwhile.

Add.: No. 68, Wenming Road, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou (广州越秀区文明路68号)

Business hours: 11:00-02:00, Monday – Sunday

Recommended dishes: chicken hotpot with abalone, Huafeng noodles

(Author: Monica Liu; Editors: Simon Haywood, Olivia Yang)

Related News