Qingdao is rich in seafood, including fish, prawns,shellfish and
sea weed as well as local foods from other areas. Yunxiaolu is a
major restaurant area. Qingdao explodes with regional and
international deliciousness. By virtue of its seafront location,
seafood rightfully dominates the menus, ranging in cooking styles
from spicy Sichuan to sweet and heavy Shanghai. There are also
plenty of foreign fare options including Italian, German, Japanese
and Korean. Prices are flexible enough to accommodate all
budgets.
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Shandong Cuisine is known for its excellent seafood dishes and
delicious soup and presents its food (usually deep-fried, braised,
roasted or stewed) with a strong emphasis on soy sauce, shallots,
and garlic. Qingdao, regarded as the "cradle of Shandong cuisine",
puts a spin upon the usual Shandong dishes with its concentration
on seafood (sea cucumber, scallop, conch, prawn, and red porgy).
Well-known dishes include "sea cucumbers stewed with shallots",
"stewed salted fish" and "celery with creamy soup". Made in simple
style, these dishes are available in most restaurants.
Unique seafood recipes are naturally the best-known Qingdao
culinary creations, and vegetarian restaurants offer fresh local
agricultural produce, except in mid-winter. Your best choice is to
head down to any of the many little seafood restaurants on the
shore or around Laiyang Lu to enjoy Qingdao cuisine. For a better
(and more pricey) atmosphere, the hotels are a good way to taste
seafood with less of the language barrier problems. The Qingdao
Seafood Restaurant, on Qingyu Road, is also a more expensive, but
better quality, seafood provider.
Qingdao also has a fairly large Muslim population and a couple
of Muslim places are scattered about, among which most noticeably
are the Donglaishun restaurant (Donglaishun fandian) and the
Qinghai Muslim Restaurant (Qinghai musilin fanzhuang, on Dexuan
lu), as well as numerous meatstick (Chuanrou) sellers.
Authentic Cantonese dishes can be experienced at the Peacock
Restaurant. The menu is ever changing but usually contains such
noted Cantonese dishes as shark’s fin and Bird’s Nest. The
Shangri-La Hotel’s Shang Palace also delights diners with five star
service in a five star setting. Or try the Gloria Inn’s or Jiangnan
Gourmet Court. Its regal interior of deep red tablecloths lends the
room a stately setting that is not reflected in the price. Eel,
crabs and mandarin fish are some of its more popular menu
items.
The White Spray Seafood Restaurant offers everything from
Sichuan seafood to Beijing duck. Its seaside views and close
proximity to the Badaguan Scenic Area makes it very popular with
tourists. Or for truly exceptional views ride an elevator to the
Rolling Restaurant TV Tower. It sky scrapes at 230 meters inside
Qingdao’s Sightseeing Tower. The varying menu offers everything
from shrimp and scallops to mutton and beef.
Murano’s, inside the Crowne Plaza Hotel towers as Qingdao’s
first and only authentic Italian restaurants. Pizza and pasta rule
the menu. The Dongfang Hotel’s Forum Restaurant goes one "western"
step further by not only serving Italian fare but also
Texas-smiling prime cuts of beef. For pizza and barbecue ribs in a
lively setting wander out to the Surf Plaza’s New Orleans’s Music
Restaurant. Besides dining, it also offers live music and
dancing.
The appropriately named Korean Restaurant offers an impressive
menu full of impressive Korean dishes ranging from hot pots and
cold noodles to kimchi and fish cakes. And the Shimbashi Restaurant
wows the taste buds with impossibly delectable Japanese dishes
highlighted by blowfish, the kitchen’s specialty.
McDonalds and KFC are both now resident in Qingdao, almost next
door to each other near the train station.
Donglaishun Restaurant
Of the quantity of Muslim restaurants in Qingdao, the
Donglaishun, a branch of the popular chain, is of high quality.
Specializing in Islamic food, kebabs, muslim bread and decent
portioned mutton dishes, the restaurant is a safer and more varied,
though more expensive, option than the street vending meat-on-stick
sellers.
The restaurant also serves seafood and, surprisingly, fairly
decent roast duck dishes.
Address: 7, Haimen Road, Qingdao
Telephone: 0532-3864253
Biwan Hotpot Restaurant
Qingdao still has plenty to offer besides seafood. For a spicy
hotpot you could do no better than the Biwan Hotpot Restaurant
(Bibowan meishichang). The restaurant serves a variety of hotpots,
specializing in the spicy. The restaurant also serves authentic
Shandong and Cantonese dishes which are decent. This is a popular
Chinese venue and so may fill up.
Address: 12, Linqing Road, Qingdao
Telephone: 0532-3876726
New Orleans Music Restaurant (Jazz Music and Chinese
Cuisine)
- Sun Plaza
White Spray Live Seafood Restaurant (Seafood)
- 8 Nanhai Lu
Blue Wave Gulf Restaurant
Graced with the Taiping Bay as a backdrop this dining pearl
looks, smells and most importantly, tastes like an authentic
seafood restaurant. The kitchen favors Sichuan and Cantonese
styles, giving diners a wide choice of options. Those with
flameproof tongues will enjoy some of the spicier dishes from its
ever-changing menu, including bean curd and hot pots. Shark’s fin
and Bird’s Nest are some of its more popular dishes. Tourists favor
this restaurant, especially those returning from a day at the beach
or from the Zhanshan Temple.
All of the seafood is flopping fresh, which is not surprising
considering that if it were any closer to the Taiping Gulf its fa
ade would be lined with barnacles. The seaside views are
outstanding, making it extremely popular with tourists returning
from a day at the nearby Zhanshan Temple.
Address: 29 West Hong Kong Road, Qingdao
Telephone: +86 (0)532 387 4792
Qingdao Seafood Restaurant
An ideal place for marine dishes, this restaurant towers top the
others. Shandong, Yangzhou and Cantonese are the main influences
equating to an array of spicy dishes, with an emphasis on garlic
and soy sauce. Scallops, sea cucumbers, prawns, red porgy and conch
are just a few of its expected dishes. The menu is pricey, but few
diners ever complain. Reservations are suggested, especially if you
want to snare a window table affording postcard type views of the
beach.
Address: 20, Qingyu Road, Qingdao
Telephone: +86 (0)532 296 1958
Average Cost: 150
Qilu Chinese Restaurant
The Qilu Chinese Restaurant also is worthy of a visit. Its
location inside the Qingdao Ocean Hotel does not afford seaside
views, but compensates with superb cuisine.
With the Yellow Sea in the backyard, it comes as no surprise
that seafood and more seafood dominate this restaurant. Cantonese
and Sichuan styles are the preferred cooking angles meaning diners
can choose between sweet and lava-hot spicy dishes. Tilapia,
sheephead, rock cod, clams, crabs, and shrimp are just some of the
dishes that the kitchen steams, sautés and braises. For those with
asbestos tongues there are several hot pots to choose from as
well.
Address: 61 Xianggang Zhong Road (Ocean Hotel), Qingdao
Telephone: +86 (0)532 571 7888
(chinatravel.com)
