Home2 Suites by Hilton Taizhou Wenling

The three-storey restaurant may be rustic in style, but its novel take on familiar home-style flavours defies all expectations. The kitchen dreams up adventurous food combinations that work surprisingly well. Must-tries include pork dumplings in a deeply flavoured duck herbal broth that has been simmered for hours. A Taizhou meal is never complete without seafood, such as braised yellow croaker, white crab, or spicy whelks sautéed with aromatics.

You can find Xin Rong Ji in all major Chinese cities these days, but this is their longest-standing outlet (in business since 2005). As in most Taizhou-style restaurants, diners pick their own seafood from the tanks and specify how they want it cooked. All-time favourites include golden fried beltfish with delicate flesh in a crispy crust, and braised sea anemone with glass noodles, which seduces with its flavoursome broth and lovely textures.

The brand was founded in 2003 in a small coastal town facing the East China Sea. This branch near the scenic Lake Jiulong stays true to the brand’s ethos, focusing on Taizhou recipes with uniquely Wenling accents. As in other seafood restaurants, expect to make your pick from the live fish tanks. Red-braised spicy whelks are plump, bouncy and sweet. Sea anemone on rice cake stands out with intense briny umami.

This noodle shop started out as a street hawker stall back in 1989. It is now run by the second-generation owner who cooks with only the freshest seafood delivered daily. Their signature ‘san xian mian’ features three kinds of seafood, namely shrimps, clams and fish; the noodles are springy in texture and the seafood broth boasts deep, complex aromas thanks to vintage wine. Stir-fries like spicy sautéed pork kidney are packed with wok hei.

The huge menu pasted on the wall may seem overwhelming, but the must-try for first-timers is definitely their signature noodles in ginger broth. Rather than ginger juice, the broth is slow-cooked with ginger tea that impart mellow warmth without being overly spicy. It comes with an array of shellfish, veggies, mushrooms, as well as ginger-infused fried egg. For a sweet finale, try their creamy egg custard with ground walnuts and ginger juice.

As the owner strives to serve every Taizhou-style small dish under one roof, his menu covers much ground, from flatbread wraps and bianshi dumplings to stuffed pancakes known as maibing. But the main draw is their home-style wok-fried mochi with egg and vegetables – the sticky rice cake has a crispy crust and chewy centre. The hearty "old-town" thick soup is garnished with shepherd's purse, dried tofu, potato, ground pork and baby oysters.

This three-storey eatery, the group’s flagship, offers private rooms on the upper floors. The array of live and chilled seafood on display is quite spectacular and wild-caught fish from the East China Sea is especially prized for its outstanding quality. Braised yellow croaker with sticky rice cake unveils interesting textures and natural sweetness. Made with spring water, Ningxi tofu soaks up the flavours of shrimps and salted pork.