22 Best Restaurants in Pearl River Delta, China

The classy decor and warm ambience are good reasons to dine at 1881, but the delicious food is what makes this one of the most popular restaurants in Shenzhen. Located inside the Grand Hyatt Shenzhen, 1881 specializes in classic Sichuan and Northern Chinese cuisines, and it's particularly well known for its wood-fired Peking duck. Also on the menu are a slew of Chinese wines and teas.

The restaurant shuts down for a few hours between lunch and dinner, so be sure to call ahead.

Worth a visit for the decor alone, Beiyuan is a throwback to 1928, the year the restaurant opened. The two-story dining room wraps around a traditional Chinese courtyard and includes a well-manicured garden and a pond with goldfish. The restaurant's interior is jazzed up with Chinese screens, lanterns and chandeliers. The menu—specializing in Cantonese cuisine and dim sum—is available in Engish, though it can be a struggle to get your hands on a copy.

Take the lines outside of Binsheng as an indication that the food here is worth the wait. A local Cantonese favorite, Bingsheng is most famous for its char siu, or barbecued pork. Wading through the huge picture menu (which includes English) can be a task, so look for the specialties: the chef's black barbecue pork is a signature, as well as the homemade, extra silky tofu, and enormous, piping hot pineapple buns. People come here for lively, family-style surrounds and excellent local fare, not for the service.

Avoid the rush by getting in line by 6 pm or after 8:30 pm.

The ultramodern vibes at 360° complement sweeping views of Shenzhen's equally modern skyline. The restaurant takes up the top two floors of the Shangri-La Hotel and offers a big selection of Western dishes in a somewhat odd picture menu. The standouts include the grilled tiger prawns with polenta, the baked scallops with XO sauce, and just about any of the steaks.

As the name suggests, the decor here is in various shades of blue—walls, ceilings, and even the mellow lighting. The restaurant is especially well known for its expertly prepared fish dishes. If you're really in the mood for decadence, try the dessert tray: chocolates, pastries, and several different types of mousse.

Occupying all eight stories of an old riverfront building with an open terrace on the top floor, this restaurant is popular with locals all hours of the day, so arrive early to be guaranteed a seat. The atmosphere is chaotic and noisy, but the morning and afternoon dim sum is well worth it, especially for the low prices. Famous dishes include stewed chicken feet (delicious, we'll have you know), crispy-skin chicken, and roasted duck.

This Cantonese-style restaurant is one of the few in Shenzhen that offers the feel of a grand ballroom. Fangdu's two floors are decorated with chandeliers and opulent carpets. This is a good place to fill your stomach with decent dim sum, but be sure to get there before 2 pm—otherwise you'll be stuck with some less appealing noodle and dinner dishes. The service is friendly and speedy, but don't expect any English.

Famous for its massive buffet, this super kitschy colorful place offers an over-the-top culinary and cultural experience best (and perhaps only) appreciated by kids. It can be easy to get lost among the hundreds of food stations with varying themes, such as a sushi station shaped like treasure ship. There's no need to reserve ahead, as there are more than 1,000 tables up for grabs.

This favorite is known for its international cuisine and truly unique selection of Chinese teas. The glass-domed roof and smart-casual ambience make it a popular spot for Shenzhen's movers and shakers. Afternoon tea is highly recommended.

Earning a string of culinary awards since it opened in 1935, this legendary place is one of the best-known restaurants in town. The setting is classic Canton, with flower-filled courtyards surrounded by dining rooms of various sizes. The food is some of the finest in the city, with house specialties like "Eight Treasures," a mix of poultry, pork, and mushrooms served in a bowl made of melon. Other Cantonese dishes include duck feet stuffed with shrimp, roasted goose, and of course, dim sum. If you're staying on the eastern side of the city, there's also a branch at 112 Tiyu Dong Lu in Tianhe.

For fine Cantonese in a more sophisticated setting, Jiang by Chef Fei is a popular choice. The style and service here are miles away from the more casual Cantonese restaurants, and the dainty dim sum creations are equally as memorable. Chef Fei puts a contemporary twist on classic Cantonese cuisine, with creative dishes such as slow-cooked beef shank with chili sauce, Canadian red coral mussels with kale, and pan-fried goose and radish dumplings that are shaped like swans. There is also a great selection of tea and wines that you can pair with your meal.

This is definitely not your average curry house. The Nepalese chef offers cuisine from both Northern India and Nepal. The restaurant is especially well-known for its tandoori dishes and its selection of naan.

With so many cuisines represented on its menu (Asian curries, Tex-Mex favorites, British fish-and-chips, and much more), a UN think tank could happily share a table here. Steak is one of Lucy's signature dishes. A favorite among foreigners, this eatery in the old Shamian district has a lovely outdoor dining area; even the dining room has a few trees growing through the roof. A friendly and helpful staff is at your service.

On the edge of Liwan Lake, this famous restaurant has a series of teahouse rooms and landscaped gardens interconnected by paths and bridges that have the feel of a Taoist temple. One room is built on a floating houseboat. Signature dishes include scallop pumpkin soup, baked crab legs, and crispy pork belly. The dim sum is highly recommended, as the restaurant is known for its beautiful presentation along with its fresh flavors. Make reservations or expect long lines.

Enjoy an espresso or latte in Chinese colonial splendor at this coffee house in a building dating back to the late Qing Dynasty. Comfy couches, strong coffee, and free Internet access are available in this café inside an old building that housed Guangzhou's U.S. Bank in the pre-revolutionary days.

This is a hidden treasure amid Shenzhen's vast number of restaurants. It's famous for its Peking duck, said to be just as good as that in Beijing, and for its fish soups, served in hubcap sized bowls. The catfish and pickled vegetable soup is velvety and the fish melts in your mouth. The smaller side dishes, mostly vegetables, offset the heavier fare. The waiting area in the front has birds in cages, and you're offered tea and pumpkin seeds while you wait.

This patisserie is a great place to take a break while shopping at the nearby MixC mall. Sugar Box offers a wide variety of homemade chocolates, cakes, and breads, as well as coffee, tea, beer, and wine. Savory items include mini sandwiches, salad, and pizza. The relaxing outdoor atmosphere makes it great for people-watching and whiling away the afternoon.

Housed in a faux colonial-style mansion on an island in Liuhuahu Park, this restaurant's location alone beats out most others in Guangzhou. The cuisine is pure old-school Cantonese, with expensive dishes like abalone and shark's fin soup served alongside more rational staples like crispy fried pigeon, roasted mackerel, and stuffed garlic prawns. Naturally, there's plenty of dim sum, and the "Cantonese combo plate" features a variety of roasted meats. Although the food at Tang Yuan is excellent, most people come here for the opulent dining room. A golf cart waits at the park's entrance on Liuhua Road to whisk diners to the restaurant's palatial front door.

With a name that means "house of happiness," this is one of the city's most revered traditional Cantonese restaurants. Opening its door more than a century ago, Tao Tao Ju is famous for its dim sum, especially the nai huang bao (buns made with milk and egg yolks). The menu, available in English, has many items that you're unlikely to find elsewhere, including tasty kudzu and frog rice.

With its arched columns, gilded capitals, gold-framed mirrors, lustrous drapes, and immaculate table settings, this top-notch restaurant feels like Regency-era France. The menu has become decidedly more European as of late, with some Irish dishes making an appearance. The menu changes every six months or so.

This aptly named eatery has a cheerful home-away-from-home feel, complete with flags from various countries hanging from the ceiling and beers from around the world. The food is inexpensive and good, with pizzas, pastas, and excellent bruschetta prepared by an Italian chef. Food from the menu is much better than the buffet, which is Y158 per person and lasts from 6–11 pm nightly.

Amazing views of the fishing boats and ferries of Shekou Harbor to the east and Nanshan Mountain to the north are yours at Yokohama. This is a good place to rest before taking the ferry to Hong Kong or Macau. The sashimi is the freshest around, and the other dishes are the real deal. The clientele is mostly Japanese, which is always a good sign. Try a side dish of oshinko (traditional Japanese pickles)—unlike many lesser Japanese restaurants in China, Yokohama takes no shortcuts with its oshinko, and offers eight different types.