美好剧院酒店，广州市增城区

The three-storey room is furnished with orange tables and leather chairs that evoke 1980s nostalgia. For over three decades, Ya Yuan has been feeding hungry locals with classic home-style dishes such as slow-boiled soups and claypot rice. With its velvety flesh and gelatinous skin, the poached Qingyuan chicken dressed in scallion oil is addictively aromatic. Even the post-meal complimentary mung bean or red bean sweet soups are made with care.

中餐

中餐

The decor mimics quaint mansions in the Xiguan district, with prints depicting Cantonese opera stories on the walls. The menu focuses on healthy cooking with seasonal, organic ingredients. Signature dishes include braised Doumen mud crab with hairy squash, which imparts robust seafood flavour, and juicy roast lemongrass-scented squab. To avoid disappointment, pre-order signature dishes and seasonal specials when booking your table.

Yao Ji has been a household name in Panyu District for over 40 years. On the menu, classic Cantonese flavours work their magic in painstaking recipes that are a rarity these days. The sweet, steamed lotus root puree is sticky and chewy and well complemented by briny dried shrimps and aromatic scallion. Oyster sauce chicken is nicely browned and boasts an inimitable umami flavour thanks to scallion and ginger.

This design-forward restaurant is located within an industrial park of remodelled factory buildings. Aptly, the décor exudes an industrial chic that complements the origami art hung from the ceiling. Trained as a designer, the owner took care of the décor and furnishings, whereas the Hunanese chef recreates classics from his home province. Dongting fish head, wotou cornbread and sweet fried dumplings are cooked with acumen and dexterity.

The chain operates branches in Hunan and Guangdong, but everything started in this flagship venue with a landscaped garden and a running stream. Its namesake signature dish is rice cooked in a pigeon and pork bone broth, boasting a crispy golden crust on the bottom and topped with steamed pigeon or a combo of pigeon meat and gizzards. Besides deep-fried or salt-baked fowl, the sautéed squid with cucumber is also a must.