Description:
Song Helou, or “Pine & Crane” Restaurant is the most famous in Suzhou and supposedly the oldest at about 250 years.
Address:
141 Guanqian Jie, off Renmin Road, Suzhou
Telephone:
0512 6524 4921
Neighborhood:
Historic/Downtown
Cuisine:
Suzhou, famous for being slightly sweet.
Price Range:
Moderate-Expensive
Hours of Operation:
Daily 8am-9pm
Additional Information:
English menu
Guide Comments:
My Suzhou tour partner’s assistant suggested we try this most famous restaurant in Suzhou. Just by saying “most famous” made us wonder as this usually means tourist trap. Sure enough, what we found off the pedestrian walkway was a multi-story brightly lit marble Chinese restaurant. We got there at 1:30pm, right after the lunch crowd had left and our waitress was not terribly happy to see us.
We quickly ordered some of the specialties: Song Xu Guiyu, pronounced “song shoe gway you”, which means squirrel-shaped mandarin fish, Si Fang Dofu, “seh fahng doh foo”, a tofu dish, some green vegetables and dumplings. The fish, despite it resembling a porcupine more than a squirrel, was quite sight. Filleted, deep-fried and covered in sweet and sour sauce, it was tasty and crunchy. The tofu was fantastic, light and fluffy covered in a delicious mushroom sauce. The green veg and dumplings weren’t very exciting but overall it was a decent lunch despite our unenthusiastic wait staff.
If you’re looking for Suzhou cuisine in a famous spot, this is the place to go. If you’re looking for something off the beaten path, look elsewhere.
