Men Tong Bing Sutt Tianyi 文通冰室 天一熊沢店 (Ningbo, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

Our whirlwind forty-eight hours in Hangzhou is coming to an end soon. After enjoying a breakfast buffet at the hotel, we quickly made a call to get ourselves a driver to send us to the train station.

We didn't get a close look at Hangzhou East Station (杭州東站) when we arrived from Ningbo two days ago. Here's our chance now.

Not exactly super busy this morning (It will get really busy in 10 days!).

The train ride to Ningbo station was a comfortable one and after handling all the paperwork at our hotel, we were right back at where it all got started, Tianyi Square (天一廣場).

It was already 2:30pm and all three of us were starving. So moments after we spotted Men Tong Bing Sutt (文通冰室) right across the street from our hotel, we walked straight in without even blinking.

It's been a few days since I last had Hong Kong-style milk tea.

Little nugget wanted some fatty barbecued pork!

I almost forgot it's my birthday today! And this is what I'm having as my birthday lunch, fried chicken with scallion oil and a fried egg. Proof that the globetrotting life isn't all champagne and caviar, huh?

Price: ¥¥

Address: 38 Rixin Street, Haishu District, Ningbo, Zhejiang, China 

浙江省宁波市海曙区日新街38-50号

Closest Metro Station: Dongmenkou (东门口 - 天一广场)

Tel: +86 19555172682

Opening Hour: 11:00am - 9:30pm daily

Map: https://j.map.baidu.com/a8/KCoi

The Westin Ningbo 寧波威斯汀酒店 (Ningbo, CHINA)

Forty-eight hours ago, we left Ningbo to head to Hangzhou and here we are, back where it all got started. For the second leg of our stay in Ningbo, I decided to check out The Westin Ningbo (寧波威斯汀酒店) situated on the eastern side of Tianyi Square. From our hotel room, we could actually see our accommodation on the first night, Atour S Hotel Ningbo Heyi Avenue (寧波和義大道亞朵S酒店) which was on the northern side of the iconic shopping and entertainment hub. 

So, why didn't I book this hotel for our first night in the first place? To be honest, I had a lot of doubts about this The Westin establishment after doing my usual research online. The hotel was built back in 2011 and in China, hotels don't really age well. Fourteen years is a pretty long time and from what I've seen from traveler's photos, the premise was due for a major facelift if you ask me.

I heard some floors have been renovated recently and at first glance, everything looked alright. Very spacious and light flooded.

Ningbo lies at the confluence of three rivers: the Yong, Fenghua and Yuyao. Our room boasts a very nice view of the intersection where the three rivers actually converge (三江口).

But after spending more time in the room, it was easy to realize certain things just weren't right. This is an eye test. I know the room has been recently touched up but what happened to the painting on the right side of the wall? Someone forgot to hang it up? OK, this one was minor.



The curtains and blinds were all controlled electronically but the technicians seemed to have gotten it the other way around. The "On" button actually opens the curtain/blinds now whereas the "Off" button closes the curtain/blinds. Weird! 

The bathroom had its own problems too. The basin and two connecting tables were probably from 2011 and they were somehow left untouched in the recent renovation. As a result, they looked totally out of sync with the rest of the design and color tone.

The toilet was actually alright but it was the sliding door to the bathroom that wasn't working during our stay. So, we had to leave the door wide open all the time. I wonder how they could miss it. 

One last thing I noticed about the hardware here was the hotel lobby. Somehow they chose to abandon this spacious check-in counter and lounge right beside it. The check-in counter was moved to the corridor close to the elevators. This was really wasteful. 



This was not the Westin we all admired as a luxurious five-star establishment. So many things have fallen out of our expectations during our stay but I was glad we were only here for one night. The management seemed to be a significant part of the problem. We noticed guests sitting around smoking, leaving burnt cigarettes scattered across the floor. The next morning, when we checked out, those cigarettes were still there as if nobody has ever seen them. It's just flat out ridiculous.

Rating: ❤❤

Price: ¥¥¥

Address: 75 Rixin Street, Haishu District, Ningbo, Zhejiang, China 

浙江省宁波市海曙区日新街75号

Closest Metro Station: Dongmenkou (东门口 - 天一广场)

Tel: +86 (574) 8910-8888

Map: https://j.map.baidu.com/ff/cnh

Pastry Boutique Grand Hyatt Hotel 酥園 杭州君悅酒店 (Hangzhou, CHINA) ★★★★☆

My fat boy got his late-night snack when we were taking a stroll at Hefang Street (河坊街) tonight. Now, it's my turn to look for mine.

I didn't have to look very far for my sweet treat as there's one readily available right in my wheelhouse. I am talking about Pastry Boutique (酥园) at Grand Hyatt Hotel (杭州君悅酒店) where we were staying over the weekend.

Matcha (¥58) – I am not usually a fan of matcha desserts but this one looked delicate and appealing enough to warrant a closer look.

The cake consisted of primarily silky smooth matcha mousse with a centre of mochi-like oatmeal rice pudding and mango compote. There was a pretty small matcha sponge cake serving as the base to lend some fluffy texture to the dessert. A simple but well-designed and superbly executed dessert. What a pleasant surprise!

Food Rating: 7/10

Price: ¥¥¥

Address: G/F Grand Hyatt Hotel, 28 Hu Bin Road, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China 

浙江省杭州市湖滨路28号君悦酒店1层

Closest Metro Station: Longxiangqiao (龙翔桥)

Tel: +86 (571) 8779-1234

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

Map: https://j.map.baidu.com/50/2S