Description:
The Lotus Pavilion is a non-descript Chinese restaurant inside the Garden Hotel compound. It serves surprisingly good Suzhou and Yangtze River specialties.Address:
99 Dai Cheng Qiao Dao, SuzhouTelephone:
0512 6778 6778Neighborhood:
Historic/DowntownCuisine:
Suzhou, famous for being slightly sweet and Yangtze River specialties such as fish.Price Range:
Moderate - InexpensiveHours of Operation:
Daily lunch 11:30am-2:30pm. Dinner 5:30-10:00pm.Additional Information:
English menuGuide Comments:
I stayed at the Garden Hotel with my son and we were both tired after a longer trip from Shanghai than we anticipated. He had his dinner in the hotel room over cartoons (he's three) and so I decided not to adventure too far away from the hotel. With him in the stroller, we popped across the main building to the Lotus Pavilion.
Uncrowded and poorly lit, I was a little worried it wasn't open. But once we got past the dim entrance, things looked a little more lively. The menu is somewhat limited - a nice change from the forty pages usually presented at typical Chinese restaurants. I asked what the local specials were and was happily surprised with what I received. Sometimes Chinese dishes come dripping in gluggy sauces, but these dishes were all light and flavorful.
- Assorted sautéed mushrooms were delicate with just the perfect amount of salty sauce. There was a large variety in the dish - at least seven different types of mushrooms.
- Tender bamboo shoots came in a bed of thinly sliced red peppers and shredded greens, maybe chives or garlic shoots. The sauce had a nice, subtle flavor that let you taste the essence of the different vegetables.
- Stewed pork with sweet potato - with this one, I was sure there'd be a gluggy sauce, but no. The sweetest of the dishes, the potatoes and pork almost tasted as if they'd been candied. But the potatoes were perfectly soft on the inside and slightly crunchy on the outside. I skipped the fatty pork. This dish was good enough for dessert.
Bottom line: Lotus Pavilion isn't necessarily a place to seek out but if you're in the neighborhood (the hotel is very near the Master of the Nets Garden), it's worth a stop for lunch or dinner.
