Dim Sum and Blackouts in Guangzhou

Who doesn’t love quality Dim Sum and a few too many drinks?

Living in China for three years, I’ve always wanted to visit Guangzhou. It’s one of the best cities in all of China, holding a tier 1 ranking in population.

The #1 place for production and factories in all of China, Guangzhou is a superpower in the economy and tourism world. Tippy-top of the list for many travelers, I was lucky enough to visit the big city earlier this year.

It’s incredibly well-known for its vivid nightlife, delicious dim sum, and large expat community. So six friends, my girlfriend, and I set out for a week inside Guangzhou to get a taste of all it could offer. Little did we know that the city would give us our fair share and then some.

The First Day

My girlfriend and I’s flight was on Wednesday and was booked at 7 PM. Well, at noon that same day, it was pushed to 9. Then at 5 PM, it was made to 11. Then, once we were at the airport at 11, the flight team at the front desk dropped a bomb on us.

“We don’t know where the plane is; we lost it. Sorry.”

What the hell does that mean?

We ended up sitting in the empty terminal until 3:30 AM! We finally landed in Guangzhou at 6:00 AM, got to our hotel at 7:00 AM, and knocked the hell out. Our friends had already been there one day, so we had to take a quick power nap and meet them for brunch.

Brunch, Vacation’s Best Meal

We all love brunch. You know it, I know it, everyone knows it. Brunch is the best part of any vacation. My girlfriend and I staggered to the brunch spot after sleeping for two hours for the past two days. American-based brunch is all the more remarkable as an ex-pat, especially in a country like China.

American-brunch icons like Dennys, iHop, or any other restaurant are few and far between in smaller towns. I live in Qingdao, and there is only one proper brunch restaurant I know, and I’ve been there enough times to get a little sick of it. So visiting a tier 1 city with all the food in the world is incredibly exciting.

I had chocolate chip waffles, a full English breakfast, and two or three coffees. It was a hell of a time. The rest of the day was spent exploring Guangzhou, meeting with our old friends, and preparing for the night ahead.

Getting Hammered in Guangzhou

An entire party pier in Guangzhou hosts over 20 bars and restaurants. All you have to do to enter is show you’re not positive for covid, and you’re off to the races. Our first move on this treacherous night was for the eight of us to get some food in ourselves.

We decided to make our way to a Mexican restaurant, which was surprisingly delicious. We sat rooftop overlooking the neon-lit Guangzhou skyline and river. It was beautiful, as were the drinks. We ordered 3 or 4 large buckets of booze and shared them amongst ourselves over two hours. Once satisfied, one of the restaurant’s hosts gave us free drink cards for their club section below.

Following their lead, we arrived at the club, yet it was still early for the party pier, about 10 PM. We were the only ones there, so we had our drinks and moved on to the next—a smaller hip-hop club with just ten tables. We handled our business and took our seats.

Our group ordered two vast towers of beer. We danced with everyone in the club, guzzled our beer, and had a great time. A few of us, me included, were feeling a little fuzzy. Luckily, I know when to turn it down and mellow out. Some others, however, need to catch up on the memo occasionally.

The ladies of our group made their way back to the Mexican bar, bought ~20 or so shots of tequila, and had a shot race. My best friend and I were not invited because they knew we’d try to stop them. Smart, I guess. When they returned, it was a rough sight, one of our friends was way above her head.

It was only midnight on the first night of vacation, yet we had to take her back to the hotel as she had blacked out and thrown up all over the pier. Although the night was cut short, it made for some great stories.

Dimsum, A Hangover Cure?

Dimsum is a style of food that originates from the Guangdong province of China and has made its way across the world, becoming the most famous in Taiwan. Portions of food are ordered from carts or menus, typically buns, baozi, noodles, dumplings, and more food following this style.

You can eat twenty plates of delicious food without noticing it! Guangzhou dim sum is one of the most famous places for dim sum.

My girlfriend spoke for months about how excited she was to finally try actual, traditional dim sum. Yet, we showed up a little later than all of our friends.

It was our friends’ first time at dim sum, and they did all the ordering without us and somehow managed to order nearly all the worst options available. My girlfriend ate what was at the table with a tear in her eye; the price was already outrageous, so we didn’t dare fix the mistake.

So Many Options!

As I previously mentioned, one of the best things about traveling to tier 1 cities is the sheer amount of authentic Western food you can get. I know what you’re thinking, “Kade, you’re in another Chinese city. Why are you eating Western food?” It’s because I miss it, okay?

My favorite restaurant chain, only found in a few cities across China, is Shake Shack. Oh man, Shake Shack. Thinking about it now has my mouth watering. Extremely expensive for a burger and shake, yet delicious, I make it my mission every vacation to get the pickled pepper bacon cheeseburger. We completed the task in Guangzhou and many other types of delicious western food.

An entire tomahawk steak, jalapeno poppers, lasagne. We didn’t get these things in Qingdao, so we took advantage of what Guangzhou offered. On our last night on vacation, we made our way to an Irish pub hosting a band named the “Black Cats.” We showed up early, got some food, and enjoyed the show.

My flight was 5 hours before my girlfriend’s because I had work the next day, so I headed out first. Overall my trip to Guangzhou was my favorite so far in China. It was a wonderful time, much better than the overrated Shanghai.

Have you gotten a little too blasted on vacation? Where were you? Drop it down below so we can chat!

Did you enjoy this article? You can find more JUST like it on my Medium landing page, where I cover all things expat and China-related. I’m also a freelance copywriter; if you want to contact me about the services I offer, you can contact me via my portfolio website.

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