Tianjin is well known for its food - make sure you
don't leave without sampling some of its
speciality cakes and pastries.
Erduoyan Fried Cake Shop , Beima Lu. A
century-old institution that specializes in rice
powder cakes fried in sesame oil. Don't be put off
by the name, which means "Ear hole".
Food Street , off Nanmenwai Dajie. A
cheerful, two-storey mall, this is the best place
to eat in Tianjin. With fifty or so restaurants on
each level, there's something to suit all budgets
and tastes. Upstairs try the Zhejiang
Restaurant for Zhejiang cuisine, the Suzhou
Deyuelou for Jiangsu food, and Penglaichun
for Shandong dishes. There are two reasonably
priced Sichuan restaurants, Emei and Gujing,
downstairs and a good but expensive Japanese
restaurant, Kobe. In between the
restaurants are stalls and shops selling cakes,
biscuits, dried fruit, nuts, chocolates, and dead
ducks.
Goubuli Stuffed Dumpling Restaurant , 77
Shandong Lu. Handy if you're shopping around
Binjiang Dao. A famous Tianjin restaurant, this
place has grown from a poky little store to the
flagship of a chain with branches in the US and
across Asia. There's a dining room upstairs, but
locals eat in the fast-food restaurant on the
ground floor, where you get a lot of dumplings
plus assorted condiments, in an airline-food-style
tray for a very reasonable ¥13. The name, which
means "dogs won't touch it", is thought
to be a reference either to the ugliness of the
original proprietor or to the low-class status of
dumplings.
Guifaxiang Shop , 568 Dagu Nan Lu.
Another Tianjin institution, this cake shop is
renowned for its fried dough twists, a delicious
local speciality which the assistants will wrap
and box for you - they make good gifts.
Haihe River Palace . This expensive,
upmarket restaurant built in classical Chinese
style on a pontoon on the Haihe River, just east
of Liberation Bridge, south of the train station,
specializes in Cantonese food.
Quanjude Roast Duck , Heping Lu. A
branch of the famous Beijing restaurant. Duck and
all the trimmings for two should come to around ¥200.
Suiyuan , Huanghe Dao. A good selection
of Shandong-style dishes for around ¥50 per head.
