Tao Tao Ju One Avenue 陶陶居 卓悦中心店 (Shenzhen, CHINA) ★★★★☆

We’re back in Shenzhen for another arcade-filled weekend! Right after breakfast, Jelloman headed off for her spa session, leaving little nugget and me to enjoy some bonding time at the arcade.

We hung in there for over two hours until we finally called it a day. As we have already agreed this morning over breakfast, we met up at One Avenue (卓悅中心). As usual, I had already secured a table remotely, so the wait was minimal (more on that later).

Signature Hong Kong-style milk tea (招牌港式奶茶) (¥22) – As always, silky smooth and rich with deep, robust tea flavors.

Tao Tao Ju’s Jumbo prawn dumpling (陶陶居大蝦餃) (¥36) – A staple for us whenever we visit Tao Tao Ju, delicately made with flawless wrappers.

Tao Tao Ju’s crispy pigeon (陶陶居脆皮乳鴿) (¥52) – I’ve never tried their roasted pigeon so time to cross it off my list. This was pretty tasty and succulent. Not as juicy as the one from Dagefan (大鴿飯) but more than did the trick for me.

Steamed rice roll with shrimps and egg (鮮蝦韭王滑蛋腸) (¥36) – The combination of scrambled eggs and shrimp worked surprisingly well with the silky rice rolls. Not bad at all.

Pan-fried turnip cake (香煎蘿蔔糕) (¥26) – Little nugget’s favorite turnip cake in SZ. A touch more diced cured meat and mushroom would have been perfect.

Sautéed broccoli with beef (西蘭花炒牛肉) (¥58) – I told little one that he seemed to be losing a bit of weight of late, so I recommended a protein boost for him. Surprisingly, he didn’t even ask for a bowl of steamed rice to go with it.

My friends have been asking me how to get a ticket at Tao Tao Ju remotely to shorten the wait. I know it’s not on Tao Tao Ju’s official app.

This is how it’s done.

(1.1) Fire up your Dianping app.

(1.2) Type Tao Tao Ju or "陶陶居" in Chinese in the search criteria box.

(2.1) If you don’t have Dianping app installed on your mobile. Fire up your WeChat.

(2.2) Go to the “Chat” page.

(2.3) Enter “陶陶居排队取号” or Tao Tao Ju in the search criteria. Do not go to the app (小程式) page and try this on the restaurant’s official app as the function isn’t available there.

(3) Either way, a list of Tao Tao Ju restaurants will be displayed with ones closest to your GPS location showed at the top. Click on the one you want to make reservation for.

(4) Click “Queue up 排隊”.

(5) Select the table size (1-2, 3, 4, etc.). You can choose to receive notifications.

Hope this helps! 

Food Rating: 6.8/10

Price: ¥¥¥

Address:  Shop L233, East Zone, Level 2 One Avenue, Fuhua Road, Futian, Guangzhou, China

深圳市福田区福华路卓悦中心商场东区L233号铺

Closest Metro Station: Gangxia (岗厦)

Tel: +86 (755) 8299-8870

Opening Hours: 10:00am - 9:30pm daily

Map: https://j.map.baidu.com/39/WOi

Mirai 蕾 (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

It's been a while since J.E.R.K. last met up so Master sifu and I decided to give our group chat a nudge with a shoutout. To our surprise, everyone happened to be free the following week, so we locked in a Wednesday evening for our long-overdue meet-up.

After tossing around a few dining ideas, we finally settled on Mirai (蕾), a modern izakaya known for its Japanese skewers, yakitori, and more.

The restaurant also doubles as a laid-back Japanese sake bar, perfect for unwinding over food and drinks.

With the extensive menu, and we honestly needed a few extra minutes just to process the options before we were ready to place our order.

Edamame (枝豆) — A light and healthy snack to kick things off.

Short rib green onion roll (牛小排嫰蔥卷) — The short rib was incredibly tender and juicy. I initially thought the green onion’s herby, vegetal flavor might clash with the beef but they balanced each other beautifully.

Bacon lychee roll (煙肉荔枝串) — Pretty tasty and well-matched. A sweet and savory combo done right.

Pork wrapped muscat roll (豚肉香印串) — My first time trying muscat with fatty pork. And wow, it worked. The rich, savory pork elevated the muscat's natural sweetness. Outstanding.

Tsukune (自家製月見雞肉棒) — The most disappointing dish of the night. The homemade chicken meatball looked more like a sausage and didn’t live up to expectations.

Chicken wing (盬燒手羽) — Decent. Nicely grilled with a smoky touch.

Eggplant (茄子) — I loved the thick cuts; super juicy and satisfying.

Zucchini (翠玉瓜) — One of the best dish of the night. Very juicy with a great char — simple but super well-executed.

As the first round of skewers hit the table, it quickly became clear that a few of us had changed — especially compared to 30 years ago when we first met. The shift toward health consciousness was unmistakable, and there was a collective hesitation to go all-in on the grilled goodies. Normally, I’m the last to care about things like that, but seeing everyone else being so responsible with their intake made me pause as well.

So, to our server’s mild confusion (okay, probably outright shock) — four grown men each had fewer than four skewers before asking for the bill. That’s got to be some sort of record at this place.

That said, it's been a while since I last had Japanese skewers in Hong Kong (these days, I save my yakitori adventures for Japan). And I have to admit, I missed them. Still, the seasoning on the skewers tonight was a little heavy-handed, which, in hindsight, partially explained why the guys hit the brakes so quickly.

Food Rating: 5.9/10

Price: $$$

Address: Shop 8, G/F, Ngai Hing Mansion, 2-24 Pak Po Street, Mongkok, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Mongkok

Tel: +852 9832-6636

Opening Hours: 12:00pm - 2:30pm, 6:00pm - 12:00am daily

Three Coffee 叁號啡樓 (Foshan, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

Chancheng District (禅城区), located in the heart of Foshan, is a vibrant blend of cultural heritage and modern economic development. It's not just the historic soul of the city but also a hotspot for stylish cafés and boutique coffee shops, many of which cluster around the charming Lingnan Tiandi (岭南天地) area.

After grabbing a quick pigeon lunch at Lingnan Tiandi, we found ourselves with an extra 30 minutes before catching the rapid train. With just enough time for one last sweet treat, I wasn’t going to let the moment pass me by.

Three Coffee (叁號啡樓), a hip, East-meets-West café near Lingnan Tiandi was an easy choice. 

One of their signature desserts, the ginger milk pudding tiramisu (姜汁撞奶提拉米蘇), had caught my eyes on the social media.

Unfortunately, I was greeted with the disappointing news that the dessert was already sold out. 😭😭

Was I going to leave empty-handed? No way. A quick drink, maybe? 

But then curiosity got the better of me and I decided to go for another dessert, eager to see how it would compare to those I'd tried in Shenzhen. While waiting for my dessert to be packed, I had the chance to explore the space. The café featured a cozy, laid-back seating area out front with a modern vibe. 

Tucked inside was a more formal dining area catering to full savory meals.

Thai milk tea Basque cheesecake (¥38) — When I finally got to taste it, my initial reaction was mixed. The flavor was slightly off-balance — the cheesecake lacked the usual cheesy note, and the Thai milk tea essence didn’t quite stand out.

If there’s one takeaway from this trip to Foshan, it’s this: desserts and drinks here aren’t quite the bargains you might expect. For comparison, back in Hong Kong, you can easily find a decent Basque cheesecake for around HK$50 as takeaway from a number of local bakeries. The one I had here — slightly underwhelming, cost around HK$42.

Still, the overall experience (ambiance, exploration and curiosity) made the visit worthwhile. Foshan has its own rhythm, and I was glad to catch a glimpse of it, even during a short stopover. Hopefully, I’ll get the chance to check out the rest of my shortlisted cafés and coffee shops on my next trip.

Food Rating: 4.8/10

Price: ¥¥¥

Address: No.31 Donghua Xuan, 6 Dongrui road, Lingnan Tiandi Commercial Centre, Foshan, Guangzhou, China

佛山市禅城区祖庙岭南天地东瑞路6号东华轩别墅31座

Closest Metro Station: Lingnan Tiandi (岭南天地)

Tel: +86 13431691750

Opening Hours: 9:30am - 7:30pm daily

Map: https://j.map.baidu.com/02/jKlk