Hongmian 红棉 @ Guangzhou

We were lazy to go out for our dinner and decided to settle it in our hotel, Westin Tianhe in Guangzhou.

Hongmian Chinese Restaurant 红棉中餐厅 is located on the fourth floor of the hotel, and to my surprise it was located in a ballroom. I thought it was a temporary measure, but it seemed that they have been operating at this location for years. Hopefully the food was better than its environment.

佐酒五香河虾仔 Wok-fried Baby Shrimp, The Five Spices with Wine

The tiny river shrimps were deep fried and then tossed in Shaoxing wine and five spice powder. The shrimps were crispy and flavourful, an excellent appetiser.

鸿运金猪拼盘（乳猪/叉烧）Traditional Roasted Pork Combination (Suckling Pig & Barbecued Pork)

Our first roasted suckling pork for the trip and it did not suck. The skin was crispy and thin layer of meat and fats complemented the skin perfectly. The BBQ pork or charsiu was a disappointment though. It was too sweet and too dry despite smothered in sauce.

青榄土鸡炖响螺 Double-boiled Sea Whelk Soup with Green Olives

Double boiling or dun (炖) is a much slower and more gentle process, characterised by submerging a ceramic pot within an outer pot of boiling water – similar in concept to the double layered metal pots the French refer to as a bain marie. The soup is not boiled twice, as its name suggests. The process extracts all the flavours from the ingredients used.

Green olives are a common ingredient in Chaozhou and also used by the Cantonese in their cuisine. When green olives are in season, they are used in soup and it gives a very refreshing taste to the soup. The dried sea whelk provided the umami to the pork and chicken stock.

Darling actually ordered their seafood soup, but it turned out not what we had expected. It was more like a Korean seaweed soup with bamboo fungus and almost no seafood. The manager changed it to the same olive soup as I did.

波士顿龙虾 Boston Lobster

They were running a promotion for the Boston lobster, a 1.5kg crustacean cooked in any way you want for ¥230 (~SGD 46). We picked to cooked it with butter and garlic sauce on a bed of e-fu noodles. There was plenty of lobster for two of us, but I thought the lobster was tip-top in freshness. That could explain why they need to sell them at a discount quickly.

姜汁炒芥兰 Sautéed Kailan with Ginger Sauce

And then, the sautéed vegetable. From what was available, kailan or Chinese kale was the only thing that sounded appealing.

乾坤龙虾（芙蓉花雕蒸&荔枝龙虾球）Rock Lobster in Two Ways (Steamed & Deep Fried)

This was a very thought through and perfectly executed dish. Half a rock lobster per person, and the tail was cooked two ways – (芙蓉花雕蒸) steamed with eggs and flavoured with Huadiao wine like a chawanmushi, and (荔枝龙虾球) coated with rice puffs and deep fried like a tempura. The presentation was really appealing, and taste was delightful.

精美水果 Fruits of the Day

The fruits finally arrived, signalling the end of the meal. We did not order any other dessert as we over ordered for dinner.

Because we were so tired from the month long trip around the country, our tempers were a bit short. The staff was very accommodating to our every request and patiently adjusted our tired tastebud. The food was good, not fantastic as Guangzhou offers a lot more being the culinary capital of China. But compared to other Cantonese elsewhere in China, Hongmian is a above average.

Hongmian Chinese Restaurant 海航威斯汀红棉中餐厅
No. 6 Lin He Zhong Road, Tian He District, The Westin Guangzhou, 4F 
广州天河区林和中路6号海航威斯汀酒店4楼
Tel : +86 (20) 28266966

Visited Mar 2024