After spending the night in the bustling Nanshan district (南山区) of Shenzhen, it was time for......well, more game time. We picked up right where we left off the night before and played nearly four hours non-stop before finally realizing how hungry we were. Luckily, there’s no shortage of upscale Chinese restaurants at Coastal City (海岸城), but we decided to go for a more familiar face this time around.
We've been to more than a few Tao Tao Ju (陶陶居) locations before but this was our first visit to the branch here. Of course, the food menu was more or less the usual lineup of Cantonese comfort food. No real surprises there.
Signature Hong Kong style milk tea (招牌港式奶茶) (¥22) – Something to quench our thirst before the start of the meal. The tea was again very strong today, exactly what I needed to combat my sleep deprivation.
Steamed red rice rolls with crispy prawn (錦綉海鮮紅米腸粉) (¥36) – This has become a recent favorite of ours but I thought today's red rice rolls had an unpleasantly chewy texture. The water chestnut did make up for it a little with its nice crunch. A decent dish to start things off.
Tao Tao Ju jumbo prawn dumpling (陶陶居大蝦餃) (¥36) – The best (and biggest) har gow in Shenzhen hands down?
Pan-fried turnip cake (香煎蘿蔔糕) (¥26) – Another dish we regularly ordered on our visits to TTJ. This was again crispy on the outside and soft and moist inside.
Traditional steamed sponge cake (傳統馬拉糕) (¥21) – Nothing to write home about but it checked the box.
Stir-fried noodles in soy sauce (豉油皇炒麵) (¥43) – It unfortunately lacked the “wok hei” (鑊氣) aroma that comes from high-heat stir-frying. Some of us also thought the noodles were a little over-seasoned.
We’ve now visited six or seven Tao Tao Ju branches across Shenzhen, and regrettably, this was the least satisfying experience so far.
While the food was still decent, it didn’t quite meet the standard we’ve come to expect from this dim sum institution. More than that, the way the seating was arranged here — small, cramped sections; it really took away from the overall dining experience.
Not a total miss, but not a hit either.
Food Rating: 6.1/10
Price: ¥¥¥
Address: Shop 517, Level 5 Coastal City Shopping Mall, 33 Wenxin No.5 Road, Nanshan, Guangzhou, China
深圳市南山区后海文心五路33号海岸城购物中心5层517号铺
Closest Metro Station: Houhai (后海)
Tel: +86 (755) 8652-7061
Opening Hours: 10:00am - 10:30pm daily
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