Tao Tao Ju Main Restaurant Guangzhou near Beijing Lu Pedestrian Street 陶陶居十甫总店 ☏ 020 8050 3899

Heard a lot about Guangzhou's venerable Tao Tao Ju 陶陶居 restaurant (founded in 1880). It's like a pilgrimage every Cantonese cuisine fan have to make when in Guangzhou.

Besides in Guangzhou, Tao Tao Ju has many outlets including in Shenzhen, Shanghai, Chengdu, Xiamen, Beijing, and even London at Leicester Square. We went to the main outlet, original 1880 restaurant at 十甫总店 (Shifu Main Store), a short walk from Beijing Lu pedestrian street in Guangzhou.

The name 陶陶居 Tao Tao Ju is said to be given by Kang Youwei 康有為, a regular at this teahouse and the owner requested him to give it a name. Kang Youwei was a Qing dynasty era political reformer who advocated for constitutional monarchy for China (a dangerous thing to do at that time). He was exiled and escaped to Hong Kong in 1898. He travelled through America, Europe and Asia for 16 years to garner support for his reform ideas.

Renovated and reopened in Dec 2024, the four storeys of Tao Tao Ju sports nice Republic Period decor with contemporary Chinese touches. I would have chosen a table in the main hall to soak in the local vibes (admittedly can sometimes be ~~slightly~~ quite noisy) but the group opted for a private room - most established restaurants in China have private rooms.

酥皮水牛奶菠萝包 Puff pastry buffalo milk pineapple buns RMB 36.

Not sure why this was served first. It's crumbly soft chewy savoury sweet pastry filled with water buffalo milk. Nice local twist to the old classic but personally I still prefer good 'ol bolo bun simply with a slice of butter wedged inside 🤭 (But, that's another story for another post.)

煎酿虎皮椒 Pan-fried stuffed tiger pepper RMB 48

We ordered these ground pork stuffed chili a few times at different restaurants. Love its meaty filling and slight heat from the fleshy chili pepper.

Found out these are called "tiger pepper"... nah.. not fierce at all 🤭

冰镇咕嚕肉 Chilled sweet and sour pork RMB 78

Ordered this out of curiosity since we are in the birthplace of ku lou yok.

It's ku lou yok served on a bed of ice cubes.

The ku lou yok itself was quite nice. Chewy thick sweet sour batter and moist savoury sweet pork inside. But, the ice wetted the tasty morsel while the cold-outside, warm-inside sensation, I still couldn't get used to (even though I've tried this dish many times in different places). Contrary to the theory, the wet ice didn't crystallise the outside of the ku lou yok at all.

I've tried this in a few places before. This was in Jin Duo Duo, Johor Bahru, Malaysia and Yummy Palace in Singapore.

半只乳猪天王 Half suckling pig RMB 298

On point roast suckling pig. Crisp flavour and oil saturated thin skin over savoury dairy sweet moist soft tender meat and fat.

砂锅什菌煲 Assorted mushrooms in clay pot RMB 49

鱼肚浓汤浸时蔬 Seasonal vegetables in fish maw soup RM43

百搭酱皇蒸凤爪 Steamed chicken feet in wild sauce RMB 36. I like the gummy sticky texture of the stewed chicken feet here.

陶陶居大虾饺 Tao Tao Ju prawn dumplings RMB36

Not sure why we ordered dim sum items for dinner but this was nice. Crunchy juicy prawn wrapped in a thin skinned chewy purse.

With this "pre-view", I would like to be back at Tao Tao Ju for yum cha next time. Tao Tao Ju is actually one of the most sought after yum cha places in Guangzhou.

豉油皇炒面 Stir-fried noodles with soy sauce RMB 39

I don't mind returning to Tao Tao Ju to set my bearings on benchmark Cantonese cuisine when I am back in Guangzhou. Oh.. I need to come here for a full yum cha session.

Our total bill for tonight's sumptuous and scrumptious dinner came to RMB1020 (SG$187) tea, service fees, etc all included.

For our seven day Guangzhou / Shunde foodie trip, our total shared food bill came to SGD200 per pax for the entire trip. There were six of us, and we also paid for our driver / guide's share as we invited him to join us during meals.