Best / Worst Kunming Food

Posted in: Forums > Food & Drink • 56 posts • Newest

• • Bernie
    March 5, 2007
    100 posts
  • It may not be the best (that's why I started this thread) but let's start with the Bluebird Club for best?

• • Ahmet
    March 6, 2007
    83 posts
  • Bluebird: Nice atmosphere, good service, high prices, mediocre food.

    Sakura: Very clean, poor service, even higher prices, good food.

    Bangkok Cafe: A "dive", good service, bargain prices, great food.

    MaMa Fu's: Mediocre "tourist" atmosphere, poor service, high prices, awful food.

• • Bernie
    March 7, 2007
    100 posts
  • For a comfortable restaurant with a pleasant atmosphere, excellent service and reasonable food, I would suggest the "Spanish" (or Mediterranean) restaurant at 24 Cuihu North Road.

• • Bernie
    March 7, 2007
    100 posts
  • An Afterthought: A restaurant doesn't usually get into my 'good book' unless wine-by-the-glass is available.

• • piers
    March 9, 2007
    147 posts
  • I'm a huge fan of the Teppanyake chain Fei Yang (飞阳). There are two that I know of, one in Kundu and the other on Jiao Ling Lu. Cheap enough, great food, pitchers of beer for 15 kuai.

    Ummm....and look out for Indian food at Chapter One! (it's a plug but hey that's my job!)

• • Bernie
    March 28, 2007
    100 posts
  • I would like to agree totally with 'Ahmet' about the restaurant on Cuihu North Road, No.24 (Green Lake) that calls itself 'Espana Restaurant' -- it has a menu that is broad enough to justify the name displayed outside, 'Mediterranean'' . . . and there's wine by the glass.

• • chris
    March 29, 2007
    144 posts
  • What about late-night grub? All I know is the Halfway House kitchen is usually open til twoish and the Jinbi Lu McDonald's is 24 hours... anywhere else for the post-midnight munchies?

    Chris

• • Bernie
    March 30, 2007
    100 posts
  • Arrgh! No sooner do I agree with Ahmet about the 'Mediterranean' restaurant (see above) when I visit again and find the need to put it into the 'Bad' catagory. Why? I took a student to learn something about 'Western' etiquette, we ordered salad starters and (expensive) beef main courses. The Salads And The Main Courses Arrived At The Same Time! -- immediately complaining, I noticed that the staff simply removed the main courses to a small table at the back of the room -- then, still before we had quite finished the salad, the staff brought back the main courses (probably because they were getting cold). Moral: In future, just order the first course, then, when finished, order the main course. Am I being too picky? No, not at those prices!

• • Bernie
    April 4, 2007
    100 posts
  • At the risk of hearing, once again, the phrase, 'Bernie, this is China', new expats to Kunming may find the recent experience quite interesting (or amusing). The restaurant in question, 'Golden Bay West' on Cuihu North Road, received three visits: (1st Visit) A common problem -- charging for providing paper tissues which were not used, because cloth napkins were used -- result, bill amended. (2nd Visit) Once again, an undescribed one yuan charge appears -- complaining reveals that the charge is for the newly-provided (and used) warm hand towels -- result, charge paid, and manager made aware of bad practices. (3rd Visit) No warm hand towels and no extra charges -- result, suppressed mirth!

    Now (while I'm on a roll) I recently visited (with some trepidation) the Red Star restaurant with some Chinese friends following a recommendation that it was the 'best' western-type restaurant in Kunming -- I have no hesitation in reporting that, notwithstanding many Chinese restaurants, I would describe it as the worst western-type restaurant in Kunming -- in other words, good beer and cheap food does not a good restaurant make.

• • jackhendler
    June 5, 2007
    6 posts
  • My experience in Kunming has taught me that the so-called Western restaurants here all tend to be fair to bad at best. I've found that each one can at least do one menu item within reason. Experiment with the menus and remember which place can make this one item. Then just remember where you have to go depending what you fancy that day. Service? Forget it. Nothing anywhere comes close to western standards. But... this is China!
    After that being said, I have found a couple of places in Kunming that are actually surprisingly good in value and taste. If I was in the states, I wouldn't hesitate to go there to eat. Sorry, but I'm keeping them to myself. Now they are new, not crowded, the food is great, and even the service is good. I'm going to enjoy it while I can.........

• • oyarsa
    June 11, 2007
    18 posts
  • If you're venturing up north there's a new place called The Silver Spoon Cafe ran by an American lady. Best western food in Kunming by far. No one's mentioned the Wicker Basket either, the only all you can eat dinner salad bar, also very good.

• • Bernie
    June 11, 2007
    100 posts
  • Oyarsa -- may we have the addresses please.

• • Ahmet
    June 11, 2007
    83 posts
  • Just had dinner at Moonlight Corner Thai Cuisine (inside Expo, north gate, attached to golf driving range) last night and I have to say it was the best restaurant experience we have had in kunming so far. It started with an informed and responsive telephone conversation giving us good directions. Next, the locaiton is quiet, beautiful and feels "exclusive," like a small country club. There is a plenty of free parking. The menu is extensive. The food was beautifully presented, with outstanding, fresh ingredients. The decor is modern and clean with a very airy, open feel created by huge windows that overlook the Kunming skyline. Service was exception, too. Always attentive, the waiters and waitresses were never intrusive.

    We tried soup, salads, a vegetable dish and an entree. Everything was prepared in authenthic Thai manner and was delicious. This may be the best "special occasion" place in Kunming. Expensive by Kunming standards, but less than half the price of La Na Thai in Shanghai (one of the best in China) and with better food! don't waste your time with Sakura. Head straight to Moonglight Corner. If you are taking a taxi just tell them to take you the north gate of Expo Horticultural gardens. Once inside the gate follow the winding road up the hill to a T intersection and turn right. You've arrived when you see the golf driving range. Bon apetit!

• • oyarsa
    June 12, 2007
    18 posts
  • Bernie, sorry, didn't have the info when I made the post, here ya go:

    Silver Spoon Cafe is in Bei Chen Garden Walkway B-10 and the Wicker Basket is in the walkway directly across the street. There is also a Wicker Basket on the west side near Chun Yuan. In either of those two parts of town you are guaranteed to see some foreigners walking around and you can ask them if you can't find it.

• • tomnecoopkell
    June 13, 2007
    2 posts
  • You all have posted some EXTREMELY useful information. I will be in Kunming soon and would really love to try some of these restaraunts. The only problem is that I do not know streets well at all, so, if you feel led, helping me out with landmarks would be GREAT!

• • jackhendler
    June 20, 2007
    6 posts
  • OUCH Bernie!!!! You just "exposed" one of my secret places... Moonlight Corner! This is by far the BEST eats in Kunming. Their food is as good as eating in Bangkok. It should be since the owners are 4 famous chefs from BKK that opened it. Everything about this place is heaven. Well worth the $$!

• • jackhendler
    June 20, 2007
    6 posts
  • Yes, the atmosphere at the Bluebird is nice but it certainly does not make up for the high priced bad food served there. This place goes nicely in my "I'll never be back" category. BTW, I found the service there very bad as well.

• • km2005
    July 15, 2007
    4 posts
  • For good food and value, get out of the Cuihu area! It is pathetic to live your life just around an area catering to tourists!

• • km2005
    July 15, 2007
    4 posts
  • Also, this thread should be re-named Best 'Non-Chinese' Food in Kunming as many of the posts so far are about non-Chinese food. Why go to Kunming to eat Indian or Thai food? That's like going to New Mexico to eat Frech.

• • clueless
    July 17, 2007
    1 post
  • Forget about the so-called Indian food at Chapter One - we ate there recently and had some of the worst Indian food I've ever tasted (I've been to India 4 times). The 'butter chicken' was a joke.

• • surruk51
    August 4, 2007
    8 posts
  • If you want a good pizza or a really good pasta al forno, I have not found better than Pisa Pizza in Wen Lin Jie. Opposite Chapter One and close to the better known Teresa's Pizza.

    And as I mention Chapter One, I have to say it has really gone down hill in the last 6 months or so. The service is terribly slow, and on more than one occasion, recently they have failed to get the order right. And when it eventually arrives, it is no better than alright.

    As a resident in Kunming, it is nice to be able to relax back into the familiar territory of western cuisine once in a while, but it would also be good to hear of good places for local food, since that's what is eaten most often (since it is a lot cheaper than eating western stuff)

• • sweetcitygirl
    August 9, 2007
    1 post
  • Have you ever been to Free Life Restaurant & Bar which located on wen Lin Street. Besides the yummy home made dishes, there is a full manu in English, surprise! ha! Especially in Kunming. It makes a lot easier for all of forreigners.

    Sauteed Rice Cake With Chicken,Pickled Vegetable Tossed Shredded Pork, Lemon Grass With Pineapple .... What do you think these, guys?

• • niubicom
    August 9, 2007
    7 posts
  • chapter 1 gone down hill in the past 6 months? its been terrible for a long time. the one and only time I ate there, a year and a half ago was a god awful experience. the service was atrocious, the food was not fit for livestock. we spent 2 hours there. it took more than an hour to get our food after the "chef" continually forgot how to make french fries (burned several batches) and had to start all over again. the sandwiches we ordered were not the ones we received. what we got was terrible.

• • dianjing
    August 11, 2007
    17 posts
  • had the same underwhelming experience at Chapter 1. Once we were waiting an hour for the food and the waitress informed us that the cook was out buying the vegetables .The only thing decent there was the Indian so no reason go there now since that has moved down the street.

    Speaking of Indian, the first time I went to Cacaja rt after it opened it was great. Since then I have been back 3 times and the portions seem to shrink with each visit. Shrinking portions and inconsistent dishes seem to be a common problem with restaurants in China. You order sth once and it's great, the second time it's horrible or it may very well have morphed into a completely different dish.

    I could bore you to tears with my bad restaurant stories. One thing that I advise you is go to Chengdu if you want to experience real gongbao jiding. I can't even eat it here in KM after experiencing the real thing, usually it's even lacking 1 or 2 key ingredients such as huajiao or a little sugar.

• • Bernie
    September 11, 2007
    100 posts
  • Are the changes mentioned above just a cycle of events - just like the cycle of life?
    Last week I visited Chapter One for lunch . . . the kitchen was closed. I walked over to the Prague Cafe . . . it took 55 minutes (no kidding) to deliver a simple salad -- my partner's lunch was long finished by this time. Yesterday evening I went to the French Cafe and ordered the Salad Exotique, which is described as a chicken salad but, because of the dim lighting, I'd eaten half of it before I realized that there wasn't any chicken (to be honest there were a few minute shavings of chicken, enough to fill a teaspoon) and all the assistant manager (I assume) could say was, "Sorry, we'll remember next time." I wanted to reply, "Sorry, maybe I'll pay next time!" Thank goodness, there are signs of new restaurants opening soon.

• • Bernie
    September 11, 2007
    100 posts
  • I would suggest that the obvious success of the CaCaJa Indian restaurant (Wenhua Xiang) is its management by a very experienced Indian manager who is also a professional chef, and who treats his staff well. Of course, nothing is ever perfect there, especially in the eyes of non-Indians.
    Amasta

• • Bernie
    October 7, 2007
    100 posts
  • In order to not cause a confusing situation, may I be the first to suggest that this forum be closed, and future comments and reviews be transferred to the new Listings/Food & Drink section. Just a suggestion.

• • Kevin
    October 10, 2007
    1 post
  • Silver Spoon is the BEST western restaurant by far in Kunming. Everytime I have been there, the food and service were excellent. In comparison to other restaurants of similar style it is a bit pricey but well worth it.

• • Duckhunter
    October 10, 2007
    1 post
  • Silver Spoon Cafe: The Mile High Crumb Apple Pie is the BEST apple pie I have ever had, not just in China but in my life. The soups, salads and sandwiches are all great. We have't had a bad experience yet.

• • hedgepig
    October 10, 2007
    275 posts
  • wow - is the silver spoon paying gokunming users?

    i think Bernie's got a point about this thread - the listings system seems to have expanded loads recently - you can now post reviews of places there

• • dianjing
    October 11, 2007
    17 posts
  • I don't think anyone is being paid to post, but when The Bangkok Cafe gets a "great food" review (in a previous post) one feels compelled to speak up abt genuinely great food, for which I think Silver Spoon qualifies.

    Am I the only one who thinks Bangkok Cafe is only so-so?

• • CalMatt
    November 15, 2007
    25 posts
  • Nope, so-so is an accurate description of Bangkok Cafe. At least it's cheap and halfway authentic.

• • bucko
    November 16, 2007
    246 posts
  • Go to the Green Lake Hotel for the best icream in Kunming. Imported Italian 8 RMB a pop. Puts Haggen Daz to shame.

• • Ahmet
    November 17, 2007
    83 posts
  • Sorry for the hype in my earlier review of Bangkok Cafe. The other restaurants in comparison were so bad that I overdid my review. In general, every non-Chinese cuisine I've had to in Kunming, with the exception of Moonlight in Expo Garden, has been mediocre at best and just plain awful at worst. My recommendation: cook Western or non-Chinese at home. You can get most of the basic ingredients you need at Metro and Carrefour. Otherwise it's tough to go wrong with Yunnan cuisine: colorful, flavorful and diverse!

• • Matthew
    November 22, 2007
    73 posts
  • GoKunming now has a 'Write review' function on the listings section. We'll be adding more to this section shortly.

    Listings section URL: http://www.gokunming.com/en/listings/

• • Hiketsu
    December 3, 2007
    12 posts
  • Is Best of Kunming only for places that advertise with Gokunmng... 他妈的！ You would think that Kunming had no restaurants or bars that were not within a kilometer of Yunda.

• • Bernie
    December 4, 2007
    100 posts
  • Well, to be fair to GoKunming, this award is a great idea if only more people knew about it because, originally, you were asked to nominate your favorite place.
    But, like myself, not many people did this because we couldn't think of anywhere. ;-)

• • chris
    December 4, 2007
    144 posts
  • In response to Hiketsu, our listings section is offered free of charge to local businesses... also, only one of the 40 candidates for a Best of Kunming Award is a paid advertiser on this site.

    Hiketsu is correct in saying that many of the candidates are concentrated in one part of the city. It seems that only 14 of the 40 candidates (just over one-third) are more than a kilometer from Yunda, but that is not so surprising as the Yunda/Cuihu area is well known for its food and drink options and it is not so easy for new restaurants or bars to survive far from the center of the city.

• • Bernie
    December 6, 2007
    100 posts
  • I find this thread a useful addition to the Food and Drink Listings and I would like to include the following.

    Recently, we made it out to the Silver Spoon Café. Beichen Gardens may be a remote place for many people but this new café seems to have a dedicated following. I needed a guide and, therefore, I will provide such details. One simply travels northwards on Beijing Lu until reaching the Northern Coach Station, behind which is the METRO supermarket. Across the street is a KFC restaurant - the Silver Spoon is someway behind KFC, set in a large residential area with attractive gardens, together with many other restaurants, bars, and shops.

    As mentioned before, it is a tiny café. The décor is an attractive Americana style with many small tables (perhaps, too many) that were not occupied during our visit, except for one person browsing the Internet. My companion suggested that a few cushions would be welcome.

    We ordered two delicious garlic soups — my companion also ordered a tasty Caesar salad and I tried the roast pork and blue cheese toasted sandwich. Thin slices of roast pork as an ingredient becomes nondescript when toasted with blue cheese that, itself, was quite bland. Blue cheese is usually wonderful to use for cooking but, in this case, I would venture to suggest using something like Gorgonzola or Roquefort (if available). The home-made bread was good but some garnish would not have gone amiss.

    A visit to the Silver Spoon becomes a dilemma when one's attention is drawn towards an appetising lunch (or supper) menu. Kyle Essary (above) mentioned the beef bourginoun. But this is very much a tiny café and should not be confused with a restaurant, especially as 24 hours notice is required for anything other than soup, salad, sandwiches, and the delicious deserts.

    I felt sorry for 'prd34' above, and I hope that he gives it another try. But I must take Wei Xue (pseudonym?) to task regarding his medical knowledge — Although it usually takes 24 hours, or more, for food to pass through the body, if there is toxic shock resulting from either allergenic or bacterial infection, one should expect a faster reaction (I am not saying that this happened in his case).

    The owners of this café should be commended because they are obviously keen to bring good western food to Kunming and, if they opened a café/restaurant on Wenlin Jie, I would be a frequent visitor.

• • andrew1960
    July 9, 2009
    9 posts
  • Anyone know about the Brazilian BBQ and whether its still going? Great western BBQ, guys in cowboys suits bring round plates of BBQ ribs, etc...and the floor show with the Brazilian dancers...the eye candy is OK, was also a muzo there doing a great pan pipe version of that song outta Kill Bill

• • texinchina
    August 6, 2009
    6 posts
  • Mama Fu's does suck, but their jiang su yao guo ji is a great dish...a little small and pricey, but quite tasty.

• • BBinKMG
    September 24, 2009
    37 posts
  • After being disappointed at several places serving "western" food, I have found a very good and reasonable restaurant in north Kunming, called Golden Phoenix, which serves actual Thai food. (There is another resto in Cai Fu centre which calls itself a thai resto but clearly isn't). This new one is very reasonable and well decorated and super. I have been to Thailand several times and this is the real mccoy as the english might say

• • BBinKMG
    September 24, 2009
    37 posts
  • As for Western, I'm thinking The Box II is pretty cool also. Obviously I live in northern Kunming where our options are somewhat limited but this restaurant is good no matter what criteria you apply.

• • JJ and Janice
    September 24, 2009
    253 posts
  • For BBinKMG: as far as places in BeiChen area - - your thoughts on new owners of Silver Spoon - - re-opened Prague - - Wicker Basket - - Samoana. Thanx - - JJ

• • BBinKMG
    September 24, 2009
    37 posts
  • Hi JJ and Janice,

    I've been to Silver Spoon since it gained the new French owner and I still like it. However, I am mainly living in France now so I'm used to the French touch. I see little French changes to the regular American menu but I like them. Also he's got great taste in red wine and reasonable prices for it. So I consider that a real advantage.

    Have to try the others you mention again soon before I vote on them.

• • blowhole
    September 26, 2009
    1 post
  • Just went to a great restaurant today. On beichenlu and erhuanlu, it's near the tea market on the east side of the road (beichen road) (Forgive me for forgetting the whole name) But it was called FeiYang something... It's one of those places where they have a huge table with a flat stove in the middle, and everyone sits around and watches the chef cook. Prices were very reasonable (20-40 for meats, and 5-12 for veggie dishes) and everything we ordered was amazing.

• • bucko
    October 13, 2009
    246 posts
  • We all got to really lower our standards to talk positive about any western restaurant in Kunming. Only a very few can actually rise to the mediocre level on a normal scale. Kunming must have it's own scale based on a "overgrown farm town".

    But the blame is not with the owners/cooks of these places. The simple fact is that Kunming has the worst wholesale food supply sources in China. These eateries don't have a lot of options for getting the correct ingredients to start with.

• • TheSwedishGuy
    October 13, 2009
    64 posts
  • God I miss the food in Kunming. Been back in Sweden for 2 weeks already and I miss the food so much. I hate western food, lacks taste, no real spices or flavors... and western Chinese food sucks ass... and it's expensive. Live it up while you are still in Kunming! One day you return home to the west and realize how good the food is in Kunming :´(

• • Tiger
    October 13, 2009
    66 posts
  • bucko, how on Earth can you say "... the blame is not with the owners/cooks of these places."? If some chefs can produce excellent-tasting dishes, then, the other cooks should be sent to a catering school (Together with the owners). Sub-standard quality is an attitude problem.

• • sanyiseul
    October 14, 2009
    100 posts
  • Indeed it is not easy to get good quality raw materials in Kunming.

    BUT it is not impossible! And some stuff we even have to get from Beijing, Shanghai or Guangzhou.

    But cou can save much money if you buy cheaper stuff in exchange for high quality one....

    Authentic western food cost sometimes as much to prepare as in Europe but people here are not willing to spend as much as they would spend in Europe. This is one of the major problems with western food here.

    I absolutely agree with Tiger: Sub-standard quality is an attitude problem.

    But fortunatelly there are few places caring for good quality!

• • bucko
    October 14, 2009
    246 posts
  • Yes, no doubt there is the attitude/skill level problem that effects quality as well. Also, as long as people have to "take what they can get", there is not much motivation for western restaurants to really care, which is the competition factor.

    Still, raw materials is the biggest factor.I disagree with sanyiseul about food prep costs as much as Europe. That is way off the mark. Quality food, prepared CORRECTLY, will be a lot cheaper than Europe by far. More expensive than Chinese food, sure, but the higher cost for it in Kunming would not be a factor whatsoever. Make delicious western food, you will have plenty of customers paying extra for it.

• • curious66
    November 4, 2009
    7 posts
  • Ganesh at Wen Lin Jie.

    AUTHENTIC Indian cuisine... doesn't get much better than this!!

• • piers
    November 4, 2009
    147 posts
  • If you liked it please put a review on the bar listing:

    http://www.gokunming.com/[...]

    Cheers.

• • Anna M.
    November 4, 2009
    4 posts
  • For *some* things (like cheese or salami) you do have to pay at least the european prices here.

    I'm glad, happy and thankful that there are some restaurants really committed to quality. Eating at Sandra's is heaven to me.

• • curious66
    November 5, 2009
    7 posts
  • Piers, u need to make ur 'roti's a bit heavier though... tey don't give the full mouth-feel of real rotis!

• • Sten.
    November 26, 2009
    5 posts
  • Been in Kunming for nearly 3 years now and I'll try to mention few eating places that me and my two flatmates from UK think rather nice.

    Western style foods :

    - French Cafe : Has nice salads, sandwiches, and according to my flatmate the pizza is not bad (not a pizza fan myself).
    - Vintage Cafe : Has nice selection of salads, gratins, and drinks (juice and stuff). They don't serve food on Tuesday (chef's break day)
    - Mazagran Cafe : Has a nice atmosphere, go there if you want to relax and free of cigarette smokes. They have varieties of western style food and some Asian style. Very friendly service.
    - Spanish restaurant by green lake : Good atmosphere, good food, high price.

    Asian style foods :

    - Lao Fang Zi : By bird and flower market near city center, good food, good atmosphere, prices are around medium to expensive range.

    - Moonlight Corner : Thai food, one by green lake, another in the north near Golden Temple. I prefer the northern one, excellent food, fabulous scenery, medium price.
    - Ganesh : Not bad, friendly service, rather in the expensive side however. Go there if you like Indian food.

    - Heavenly Mana : Good food, cheap price, but always packed with customers during eating times.
    - He Min : Japanese style food, food is not bad, price is still okay (depending what you order).
    - Guo Zi Lou : Everyone knows this place I am sure, each Guo Zi Lou has their own house specialties.

    If you have further question, you can contact me and I will try to answer :-)

• The Old Theatre Inn
• Lost Garden Guesthouse & Restaurant
• Chicago Coffee
• Kunming Mei's Mandarin School
• As You Like
• Keats School
• Moondog
• GoKunming
• YMCA Club 1933
• Slice of Heaven
• Kingsway Tented Resorts
• Camel Bar
• The Mask
• Bakery 88
• Kunming College of Eastern Language and Culture
• My Favor Restaurant
• Chapter One
• Wonders Of Yunnan Travel
• O'Reilly's Irish Pub
• Salvador's Coffee House
• Wangtianshu Restaurant & Deli
• Tenwest Mandarin School
• Cacao Mexican Restaurant
• Flying Tigers Restaurant
• Kunming Yu-Cong Enterprise Management Company
• Huiying Dental Clinic