Latest Reviews

• • Kyle Essary
    January 1, 2008
    
  • Kunming > Salvador's Coffee House
    萨尔瓦多咖啡馆

    I like Salvadors. If you can find a smoke free area, then the atmosphere is really nice. Salvadors has wonderful drinks. As I mentioned in my review of the Silver Spoon, I love Chai, and the Chai at Salvadors will not disappoint.

    My biggest complaint is that their food is somewhat bland. They pride themselves on their Mexican cuisine, but even their fresh salsa has little flavor. With that said, I'm Texan, and we have more specific tastes for Mexican food than people from some places and I've had people tell me that they really like their salsa. Despite being somewhat bland in my opinion, I still find myself getting the Mexican breakfast more often than not. I do wish they used fresh tortillas though as the ones that they do use (on this as well as other menu items) are often flaky and a little crispy (possibly from being stale? It's hard to tell).

    Salvadors should be highly recommended for their ice cream though! It's really, really good.

    Overall, I like the atmosphere, think the main food items that I've had were mediocre, but love the ice cream. Some seem to rate these Western cafes and restaurants as compared to establishments in Europe, England and America. I prefer to rate based on their comparison to other Kunming establishments, and as such Salvadors is worth four stars in my opinion.

• • Kyle Essary
    January 1, 2008
    
  • Kunming > The Silver Spoon Café

    Originally, when my wife and I moved to Kunming, we were happy that there were multiple western style restaurants to choose from in the city, yet saddened by the lack of a restaurant that combined gourmet food with a classy atmosphere. People raved about certain Western food places, yet the food and atmosphere at these places were very disappointing when compared to such high reviews. Then we came across The Silver Spoon Cafe and were very happy with what we found.

    When you enter the cafe, you will feel as though you have entered a stylish, but small, American jazz cafe. In the evenings, the tables are lit by candlelight and the air is filled with classical jazz. My wife and I have commented so many times that it really feels like being in a cafe back in the States.

    The menu is written on a massive chalkboard, and the choices are rather diverse for a small cafe. First, the Silver Spoon has one of the widest selection of teas and coffees that I've found in Kunming. I usually order the Chai, because I'm a fan of Chai and theirs is very good. The food varies from gourmet sandwiches to salads, soups, flatbreads and delicious desserts. The cafe also offers seasonal foods. Tonight my family went and I enjoyed an outstanding beef bourginoun, which is such a perfect autumn food. Despite going weekly, I still struggle deciding between the sandwiches that I know are so good, or whatever special they may be serving that week.

    After enjoying your main course, The Silver Spoon offers a wide selection of tasty desserts. They have smaller snack type desserts such as chocolate covered Oreos and peanut butter balls, yet also larger desserts such as apple pie, cheesecakes and tarts. Nothing is ordinary or plain at the Silver Spoon and even simple sounding desserts are exquisite.

    The service is wonderful and friendly, and they are more than willing to do whatever it takes to make sure you have a wonderful meal. I know that they cater and believe they will even deliver smaller meals, but my family enjoys the classy atmosphere so much that we prefer to go there and eat.

    If you are looking for gourmet, authentic American food, then you must go to the Silver Spoon Cafe. It is far and away the best tasting, most authentic western food in town.

    Addendum: I do not hope that my review has you confused as to thinking that this is a large, full menu restaurant. Apparently, the Beef Bourginon that I mentioned was only a limited time special, and the usual cuisine is soup, salads, sandwiches and fine deserts. Just as the name implies, it is a cafe, just like Salvadors, Mazagran, etc. but as far as American cafe food goes, this is in my opinion the most authentic and best tasting American food in town.

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