Jiangnan Yi is an international youth hostel, but it doesn’t accept online reservations—only phone bookings~~~ After looking at photos of the rooms, I don’t think I could handle staying here. If you want a comfortable night’s sleep, you’d better just give up on the youth hostel~~~~~ But coming here for a meal is still a good idea~~~
Get off at the Zoo stop and head towards Manjuelong Road, and you’ll see the Manlong Guiyu Park, which remains one of the New Ten Scenes of West Lake~~~
But that’s not the main focus today. Continuing along Manjuelong Road, you’ll come across the quite famous Guhang Xunfeng Pavilion, with calligraphy by Jin Yong. It’s also a restaurant, and if I get the chance, I might try it out sometime~~~~
A little further ahead, there’s a small path leading up from the roadside—that’s Jiangnan Yi. The other shops around here used to be residential houses before they were all converted into storefronts. Actually, if you really lived here, the environment would be quite nice; it’s just that transportation isn’t very convenient~~~
Getting off track, let’s get back to Jiangnan Yi. This is what it looks like from the outside~~~~
I arrived around 11-something and walked in.
There’s a small courtyard.
There are several outdoor tables in the yard. The dining atmosphere is nice, but unfortunately, they were all reserved.
The first-floor dining area, which serves as the lobby, was completely unattended when I entered. I asked at the front desk, and a terrifying middle-aged woman going through menopause told me the first floor was fully booked and only the basement was available. Ordering starts at 11:30.
A cute cat sat here the whole time.
I took a look around the basement. It does have windows, though half of it is underground. The environment is actually pretty decent.
I claimed a large table all to myself and waited until 11:00 to start ordering.
You have to serve your own rice and pour your own tea. The problem with Chinese dining is that it’s hard to order dishes when there are few people… I had already picked out several signature dishes beforehand. First, I ordered the chicken feet, 2.5 yuan each. They tasted great, with just a hint of spice.
Southern Fermented Bean Curd Pork Ribs. Actually, it wasn’t all ribs; there were some pork belly pieces too. It had a bit of a braised pork feel to it and tasted quite good—very appetizing with rice. Eating a whole portion by yourself can get a little greasy towards the end, but it’s much better than the braised pork at Grandma’s Home, which feels greasy from the very first bite…
Hot and Sour Cabbage. This was only 15 yuan for such a huge plate. It wasn’t overly sour or spicy, but very crisp and refreshing—perfect to pair with meat dishes. Reading reviews where many people said you need to order two plates per table, I thought the portions would be small…
The service at the restaurant was pretty good. Great value for money, averaging 40-50 yuan per person, and I left feeling very satisfied. Remember to book in advance next time~~~~ The earlier, the better. You can always cancel if you don’t go, so there’s no loss. Sitting outdoors is definitely way better than ending up in the basement~~~~
Also, you pour your own tea and serve your own rice. Even though you serve the rice yourself, it’s still charged at 1 yuan per bowl… Then there are unwashed apples provided. I wonder what the story behind the ‘unwashed’ part is. Does the owner think having customers wash their own apples saves water?…
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