Coming down from some serious workouts from climbing the different monasteries in Wutaishan, we came to this halfway stop filled with tourist buses for our lunch break.
Shanxi Restaurant 山西食府 is located in the tourist area called Wutaishan 五台山. The biggest advantage they have is the huge carpark opposite their restaurant along the highway. As usual we each ordered one dish each to be shared.
清水河熬石窟鱼 Stewed Freshwater Grotto Fish
According to legend, Matriarch She (pronounced as “Sir”) 佘老太君 of the Yang family of warriors 杨家将 fame wanted to reward the soldiers. She ordered the cooks to take the freshwater carps from Qingshui River 清水河 (滹沱河), deep fry them in oil and them simmered them in spices and other ingredients. This is how this dish, aka Dai County Stewed Fish 代州熬鱼, came about. As for me, I prefer the Cantonese way of preparing fish.
砂锅包浆豆腐 Stewed Beancurd Casserole
The beancurd has been deep-fried and then stewed in a chilli and tomato based red sauce that was quite savoury and good for putting on rice. Came bubbling hot in a casserole, which was quite a nice touch considering that this is touristy spot.
凉莜面鱼鱼 Cold Oatmeal Noodles
Shanxi is famous for noodle dishes, and they are featured as a main dish or as an appetiser. This appetiser was already prepped and all they did was scooped a portion for us. Cold and tangy, the oatmeal noodles, aka avena noodles, were very appetising, especially after the workout we had.
麻油长山药 Mountain Yam Sautéed with Sesame Oil
The single lady in the group ordered this vegetarian dish. Quite delicious even though it looked horrible.
台蘑鸡蛋 Wild Mushroom Omelette
The group had been ordering this dish everywhere we went, but this was the first one that used fresh mushrooms instead of dried ones. While the mushrooms were good, the eggs were not as tasty as the others. Nevertheless we finished the whole plate.
台蘑小米饭 Chopped Mushrooms with Millet
Millet is a grain that is eaten in this part of China known as Loess Plateau 黄土高原, and it tastes like cous cous. Not my favourite grain, but it was quite nice with the sautéed chopped mushrooms.
湘味小炒肉 Hunanese Stir-fry Pork
The Hunanese father and son in the group were starting to miss the spicy hot Hunanese cuisine, so they didn’t hesitate to order this Hunanese stir-fry. Quite nice, and I was looking forward to my next stop, which was Changsha in Hunan.
山西糖醋丸子 Sweet and Sour Meatballs
Shanxi is famous for vinegar and so their sweet and sour dishes are not to be missed. I have not tried this dish throughout the trip as I was a solo traveller for most part. So for my choice, I picked this quintessential dish that represents Shanxi other than noodles. The pork meatballs were deep fried but still retained their juiciness, and the sauce was spot-on. This was why I carried back 6 litres of vinegar from Shanxi on the way back.
Not exactly a tourist trap, but it was relatively expensive compared to the restaurants in town considering that we ordered really simple dishes. I think the only expensive stuff was the fish, but overall the tastes were quite good though some of the folks in group find it too salty and oily. But hey, this is Shanxi, where the star is the carb and the dishes are there as condiments.
Shanxi Restaurant (Wutaishan) 山西食府(五爷庙店)
山西五台县风景名胜区台怀镇杨柏峪村中路西街一巷85号
Tel : +86 13994139073
Visited Oct 2025
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