We finished dinner a little early tonight and there was whisper between the three of us that we should take a relaxing walk around West Lake (西湖). Jelloman even suggested that perhaps we should try to walk our way to Broken Bridge (断桥), one of the "Ten Scenes of West Lake (西湖十景)". That was an aggressive thought.
Well, the map said a little more than half an hour but one thing we learned about maps in China was that you don't trust the maps in China. Forty-five minutes into our "leisurely walk", we were thirty and hot so we ended up making a stop at Hu Pan Ju Teahouse (湖畔居茶樓).
Known as the capital of tea, Hangzhou has plenty of tea houses to offer in different corners of the city. Hu Pan Ju is as famous as any thanks to its geographic location right beside West Lake and surrounded by water on three sides offering unrivaled views of the lake. Too bad it was already closed for the day except its ice-cream shop.
Longjing ice-cream cone (龍井蛋筒冰淇淋) (¥20) – Ice-cream flavored with Longjing tea, I have seen quite a few of these at the souvenir shops but this came from a teahouse. Worth a punt, right?
The first thing that came to mind was its resemblance to the Japanese matcha ice-cream. The flavor wasn't as deep (and bitter) as matcha but it was close.
The Broken Bridge was finally within our sight across the lake but it looked like there would be another 30-45 minutes of walking left and I wasn't sure if I was up for that. Bed time?
Food Rating: 5/10
Price: ¥¥¥
Address: No.1 Shengtang Scenic Area, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
浙江省杭州市圣塘景区1号(望湖宾馆对面)
Tel: +86 (571) 8702-0701
Opening Hours: 9:30am - 12:00am daily
Post a Comment
Please tell us what you think