Shanzai Vegetarian Meal

Top choice in Guiyang


The beautiful rooftop terrace of this vegetarian restaurant has some of the best views and food in Guiyang. All dishes are stylishly presented and combine interesting and unique flavours. The signature dish is the enthusiastically named shànzāi shànzāi (善哉善哉; ¥48), which literally means 'excellent excellent', and combines stir-fried vegetables with crunchy bits of fried dough stick, walnuts and tofu skin.

The spring rolls (素春卷, sù chūnjuǎn; small/large ¥22/40) are crisp and tasty while the Tainan sour noodle soup (酸汤台南小面, suāntāng Táinán xiǎomiàn; small/large ¥15/42) has a nice balance between sour and spicy flavours. The ‘four treasures' dish (善哉素四宝, shànzāi sù sì bǎo; ¥45) features little bowls of tasty nibbles, including smokey aubergine and spicy okra, that are great for sharing.

The restaurant is a little hard to find. On Xihu Lu, look for an alleyway to the left of an ICBC Bank. Follow the alleyway until you see a stone passage with a wooden arch on your right. Head down here and take the lift on your right to the 4th floor but carry on up the stairs to the right to the 5th-floor reception – the terrace is on the 6th floor.