Cantonese cuisine, from Guangdong and Hong Kong, is all about freshness and subtlety — letting top ingredients shine with light seasoning rather than heavy spice. It’s the Chinese food most familiar to the West, but the real thing is a revelation.
What to order
- Dim sum (点心) — the famous brunch of little steamed and fried bites: har gow (shrimp dumplings), siu mai, char siu bao (BBQ pork buns) and more, pushed around on trolleys.
- Char siu (叉烧) — sweet, glazed BBQ pork.
- Roast goose / roast duck — crisp-skinned and succulent.
- Steamed fish — the ultimate test of freshness and skill.
- Congee and clay-pot rice for comfort.
A few classic dim sum to look for — scroll sideways:
Roast goose (烧鹅) — crisp, lacquered skin over succulent meat.
Where to eat it
Guangzhou is the home of Cantonese cooking — arrive hungry for dim sum.
The most authentic places (confirm branches/booking before you go):
- Guangzhou — Tao Tao Ju (陶陶居): a cultural landmark since 1880, famous for traditional trolley dim sum and morning yum cha.
- Guangzhou — Guangzhou Restaurant (广州酒家): the classic “Eat in Guangzhou” institution for banquet Cantonese and dim sum — and a reliable stop for its baked sweets and pastries (mooncakes and Cantonese cakes).
- Guangzhou — Bingsheng (炳胜): refined private-kitchen Cantonese — elegant, contemporary takes on the classics.
- Guangzhou — Yu Tang Chun Nuan (玉堂春暖): the Michelin-starred Cantonese dining room inside the historic White Swan Hotel (see recommended hotels and my Michelin guide).
- Guangzhou — Huishijia (惠食佳): famed for sizzling clay-pot (ze ze, 啫啫) seafood and pepper crab.
- Guangzhou — Liyuan (丽苑): refined, classic Cantonese done beautifully.
- Guangzhou — Yin Deng (银灯): a top-quality yum cha house with a huge variety of dim sum — so well-regarded it charges full price all day, skipping the off-peak discounts most teahouses offer.
- Guangzhou — Dongshan Xiaochu (东山小厨): affordable but authentic old-Guangzhou home cooking — and the best roast goose (烧鹅) around.
- Hong Kong — Tim Ho Wan (添好运) for famously cheap Michelin dim sum, and grand old houses like Fook Lam Moon (福臨門) for the high-end classics.
Tips
- Dim sum is a morning–early-afternoon affair — go for “yum cha” (tea + dim sum).
- Point at the trolley or other tables; no Chinese needed.
- Tea is part of the ritual — your pot gets refilled all meal.
