Last night Jia and I went out to Coastal City and the surrounding area for dinner. We walked around the World Food Street behind the Poly Theater. This area is mostly inhabited by Bar Street--a group of empty bars that have mostly closed. The whole area is relatively deserted--it's still under construction and has been poorly advertised to the public.
The restaurants on the third floor seem to have the right idea to attract customers--special deals and lower prices. This is something the bars have yet to figure out (they like to charge 50RMB for a beer and offer few, if any, specials).
We chose to eat at Focaccino Ristorante, which has another location in Coco Park in Futian. Their current special is 152RMB (service charge included) for two glasses of wine, two soups, a large salad, two entrees, dessert, and coffee. It's a limited selection, but it is well worth the price.
Jia and I were the only patrons (one couple left as we sat down) and were given great service (which is why I didn't mind paying the service charge) to go along with our quiet dining experience. The wine was quite good for house wine--although it's not often I get to drink non-Chinese wine, so I might be biased. The caeser salad was wonderful considering I haven't had one in at least three years.
For the main course, we had spaghetti with chicken and herbs and a pepperoni, green pepper, and mushroom pizza. Both were great (and the pizza made a good cold breakfast this morning). And the freshly-ground coffee was a relaxing way to end our evening. The dessert was the only disappointed part of the meal--but I'm not much on desserts and we were both full by the time it arrived.
We'll more than likely return to Focaccino for a meal or coffee. The regular prices are reasonable and the specials make it even better. I'm tempted to try their lunches--there's a little more variety in the specials then.
5 comments:
Yum! The menu sounds tasty. Is it what you remember American Italian food to be?
I wouldn't quite put this in the category of American Italian food--it's not overly Americanized, but close. Best Americanized Italian in China is still Danny's Bagel in Guangzhou--really reminded me of NJ.
Truly truly truly .... you need to get to Shekou and eat either at Grisini's or Angelo's .... excellent Italian .... Grisini's may have better steak but Angelo's has hand-made pasta ..... and not that price .... bottle of wine ¥160, main course ¥100 for pasta (usually less)....
Yokie, Shekou is a bit out of my price range (plus I have to take the bus out there). I've been to Angelo's, it's really good, but I haven't tried Grisini's. Maybe I'll try it sometime.
oh well .... makes sense if you can walk to good eats vs taking a bus to good eats .... why travel? Grisini's, if you're in Shekou, is worth the visit ... and not hugely expensive (just slightly).
And have you been down to the first floor, the 3D bar? Holy smokes! You're right about expensive!
Now, across the street in Coastal City, 1 floor directly below the ice rink, was a real good Suzhou area Chinese restaurant ....
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