iraglassismyhero's Reviews

THE ICE IN THE ICED COFFEE IS MADE WITH...COFFEE!!! i have died and gone to coffee heaven...when i was there yesterday, one of the owners noticed me happily crunching away on the iced coffee balls (NOT cubes! perfect spheres of coffee goodness!) and brought me a tiny ramekin of honey and a spoon and said, "you know, if you eat them with a spoonful of honey, it's a treat". yummy yummy yummy yummy...have been a fan for ages, but didn't know about the ice. they really leave nothing to chance. pure class. long live kaffe stugan!!! 百分之五百巴适的很!!!

Those are actually two numbers, a mobile and a landline. The mobile is 13880758271 and the landline is 86663023.

But as far as I can tell, Le Sud is closed, probably for good. I called a few weeks ago and was told that they were closed and "would start renovating soon", but it's hard to tell if that's actually true or if Julien's just packing it in. It's a shame because when he was there, Le Sud was really, really great!

I think the downfall of Le Sud came from an injury that required Julien to be away for an extended period of time, during which the local staff were unable to provide the same level of quality. Around that time is when I started to hear and personally experience problems with consistency and I guess it's been downhill since then as they struggled to get their customer base back.

But if they are indeed renovating, then I would run back to them with open arms!

You can go to gawk at the bizarre selection of live animals on the ground floor, or go upstairs to find the wholesale imported dry foodstuffs. Particularly a good place for getting food colorings and condiments.

Best place to eat in Sanshengxiang. Fresh, affordable, delicious dishes, which you can enjoy in the idyllic setting of 'flower town'. Most tables are on the patio, either in semi-private 'rooms' or in the courtyard by the kitchen. Everything is comfortable and the decor is colorful '民族风' style. They often have good music on the sound system and if not that, then there might live music going on nearby. Every dish I've had there is good; they serve up all the local Sichuan favorites. I especially recommend the 虎皮辣椒; they know how to do it right!

This place is way too big to review!

For those who don't know, the East Music Park is a huge arts/entertainment/dining/shopping complex built in and around old abandoned factories fashioned a la 798 in Beijing. It boasts Xiongmao, Chengdu's best electronic music club, an Imax theater, hotels, and a square for holding free public performances.

Xiongmao is obviously great, the whole design and layout of the place is great, and there are some decent restaurants, cafes, galleries and shops. It's still in its nascent stages though, so I look forward to it getting bigger and better as time goes on.

Don't miss the events, there are more all the time and they some of them have been pretty good. It's a nice place to while away an afternoon when the weather's good, and it's a nice change from your typical park.

I particularly enjoyed the Christmas lights and decorations this first year, followed immediately by Spring Festival lights and decorations. It was a nice atmosphere to walk around in in the evening.

A lot of people say, "waa, it's too far!" but it's worth it from time to time, even if not every weekend.

Best bagels in Chengdu, which is not to say that the bagels are great, but they'll do in a pinch. The other pastries I've tried have been good, but not spectacular. I admit I haven't tried anything else, but from the above, it sounds like I'll need to try the Vietnamese coffee one day!

It is a nice place inside, clean and bright, and the staff are all helpful and friendly.

If you get bagels, don't forget to ask for them to be sliced!

This place is just not as good as Vegetarian Lifestyle. I'd heard quite a few good things about it, so when I was invited to go with some friends I was looking forward to it. But I was surprised to find the inside is rundown with terrible orange halogen lighting and the music is bad. The dishes are oilier and not as good as other vegetarian dishes I've had elsewhere for the same (high-ish) price or cheaper. And the particular evening I was there, the people at the table next to us were celebrating a birthday, complete with a cake with a musical candle that they did not silence throughout the entire meal!

Forget Lotus on the Water, go to Vegetarian lifestyle or a temple restaurant instead.

I've had my hair cut at Lain Guy four times now. The first time was by M. Guy himself, as I'd won a free haircut from gochengdoo.com. M. Guy is French-Cambodian and can provide services in French, Cambodian, English and Chinese! If memory serves, he told me that after leaving France, he spent several years in Shanghai and Beijing before coming to open his own salon in Chengdu.

Anyway, after the first haircut, every other time my hair has been cut by Yuming as, sadly, I just can't afford the amazing M. Guy! No matter, as I have not had a single bad haircut there.

The place is nice, clean, and I appreciate the understated decor when so many salons in Chengdu are so frou-frou. They actually sit you down and do a proper consultation on your hair before washing! Also, I like it that I can have a friendly chat while I'm getting my hair cut if I like, but it's no big deal if I'm quiet. Everybody who works there is friendly and they do anything and everything they can to make their customers happy. I've seen them deal with some very picky clients with absolute patience and professionalism.

It's a bit pricey, but I was already going to a pricey salon near Chunxilu, paying over a hundred for a haircut. I hear from friends that prices for color are definitely up there compared to other salons, but they've mostly been happy with the results.

As an interesting aside, M. Guy said that he has experience cutting natural and treated black hair and is also happy to offer straightening and perming services if the customer brings the supplies (which can be brought from abroad or purchased on taobao).

The only small criticism I have is that the hair washing service is just not as good as the typical Chinese hairwash (hence 4 stars). Why not have the best of both worlds and offer a nice long hairwash-massage? It would be so nice to have both a great hairwash and a precise made-to-order cut.

In any case, I simply will not go anywhere else to cut my hair. Not only is it the best place in Chengdu, it's probably the best place I've ever been anywhere, especially for the money. I wish I could get my hair cut by a Parisian stylist back home, but it'd surely cost hundreds!

No, you get off at the Huaxiba stop and walk north on the east side of Renminnanlu. Take the first right; the restaurant's somewhere in the neighborhood of 500 meters down on the right.

A word of warning, though: while the food is pretty good and definitely cheap, the restaurant itself is pretty grotty. I could handle that if it weren't for the toilet smell wafting into the dining room from the corner of the front room. I'm hoping they put tables out front when the weather gets warmer.

Just went there for lunch yesterday. I have no idea what's up with the sudden influx of Italian restaurants (Casa Mosaico, A Boluza, Grappa's, new Peter Pan...) but this one is a welcome addition. I had absolutely no expectations going in except what a friend told me, "the bread is amazing".

When you come up the stairs, you're greeted by giant, curved brick pizza ovens. The dining room is spacious with lots of light and I think I'd like the decor a lot more if there were no Christmas decorations competing. Overall, it's modern and colorful: lots of mosaic tile (none to be found in the aforementioned Casa Mosaico; go figure) and plates on the walls, comfortable seating, dark woods.

We ordered a pizza Margherita and lasagne. Both were delicious and fresh, with the one small problem that the tomato sauce for both was a bit sour for my taste. Could probably use a few more hours simmering or more garlic, pinch of sugar, other spices, not sure.

The pizza doesn't have thick crust by any stretch, but it is pizza you can sink your teeth into. It had fresh mozzarella and basil on it; not too much, just enough. The small 11-inch pizza is plenty for two people if you order a salad or something else to share. They also have half-meter and whole meter (!) pizzas, long like a sub sandwich, not round, which sounded incredibly huge, hence our order of a small.

The generous portion of lasagne had pulled beef instead of ground beef as the menu stated, but it did not skimp on the ricotta, and the beef was tender and juicy, so although an unexpected texture, it was well worth splurging 60 kuai.

The 11-inch pizzas range from around 40 yuan to 80, I think, all under 100 and worth it. The larger pizzas are all quite pricey, but could probably feed a small army, so also reasonable.

The other items on the menu—antipasti, salads, soups, other pastas—if memory serves were all somewhere within the 20-something to just under 100 range. The mains were all over 100.

Since we were there for lunch, I didn't pay much attention to the wine list, but it looked extensive.

I asked about the 'amazing bread' and was delighted to be given a heaping plateful "to try". My friend was right, the bread is GREAT. You actually need teeth for this one and eating it is quite a noisy affair, woohoo! I introduced myself to the owner, who said he's from Napoli, and his business partner is from Tibet. No word on yak pizza yet, but I'm hoping...anyway, I told him that he should definitely sell the bread a la carte to take home, and was delighted when he showed up at our table moments later with an entire loaf on the house! We loved it today straight up with olive oil and dipping spices, but I'm sure it'd be good just about any way you slice it.

All in all, a very nice experience: taste! price! ambience! customer service! We'll definitely be back.

Rice Plus is the kind of place I wish we had more of in Chengdu: small, quiet, good food, good people, kid-friendly and really inexpensive.

Their specialty is rice-based dishes: curries and stews mostly. They also have an ever-changing selection of side salads and veggie sides. Recently they've had mu'er salad, macaroni salad, potato salad, steamed broccoli with dressing, and my personal favorite, pea salad with bacon and mushrooms.

Their portions are HUGE: if I take my 4yo, we usually split a small rice dish and are still stuffed!

The owner and his wife are super nice and will do any and everything they can to please customers. The last time we went, my son complained that they didn't have his favorite macaroni salad, so the owner went back to the kitchen and had them make a whole new batch! This didn't really teach my son anything, but it was great customer service.

The first time I went, the owner told me that when he and his wife got pregnant with their first child, they came upon the idea of opening a restaurant that sells all fresh, healthy food without additives and preservatives. Some menu items are healthier than others, but they are all fresh and delicious.

The bonus at the moment is that they have reduced prices, although I'm not sure if this is permanent or temporary for the Spring Festival down time. The rice dishes are all well under twenty yuan, even the larges, and the salads are only 3 kuai each!

The location is a bit out of the way; not really close to anything I'd otherwise go to, but it's worth the walk if you're in the Tongzilin area. Hope that it sticks around for awhile!

The good:

The pulled pork sandwiches are really great. Tender, flavorful and juicy. The homemade red cabbage coleslaw is a particularly nice touch.

The martinis are AWESOME.

Stylish, understated, modern decor: exposed brick, national geographic photo prints and mood lighting.

Attentive waitstaff: we never needed to wait for our water glasses to be filled or for our plates to be cleared. Even the chef himself came out from the kitchen to check on our order.

The music is good.

The fries were super tasty. Hand-cut?

The bad:

Maybe it seems nuts in Chengdu, but the staff were actually too attentive. Within minutes of finishing our meal, we were approached at least four times by at least three different people to order something else. Since there are no desserts on the menu, this meant requests to order more wine or a martini. Is it really too much to ask to enjoy our romantic evening a bit longer before basically being asked, "Would you like fries with that?"

Bits of the brick wall kept crumbling onto our table. It probably just needs to be sanded down. (In China, exposed brick tends to be really exposed!)

Scented candles in a restaurant should be a no-no. We want to smell the great food!

Most of the taro chips, which apparently accompany all the sandwiches, were overcooked. The few that weren't though, were delicious.

It's a bit pricey for Chengdu, especially for an independent establishment. (Not that the franchises deserve it either.) The pulled pork sandwiches were 65 yuan apiece (Really! At least they could have thrown in a side salad); more reasonably priced were the basket of fries for 20, and the martinis which start around 40 and go up to 88 for the 'Laoban tini'. If I remember correctly, there are no entrees under fifty.

From my (local) husband: no hot sauce! Expect requests for this over and over. It's Chengdu. Although, even in North Carolina (home of pulled pork), where there's barbecue, there's hot sauce.

The verdict:

A great idea with some kinks to be worked out. And I really hope they do work them out, because the Lazy Pug fills a niche that's currently wide open in Chengdu.

BEST cakes, cookies (soft cookies, yum!), pies, and other sweet baked goods in town, hands down!

plus the restaurant has a decent menu of sandwiches, soups, salads, pizzas, coffees, and so on, all at very reasonable prices and quite good.

a nice place to while away a quiet

afternoon as it's never very busy.

also they have a kids' play area which is nice.

their made-to-order cakes can be made in practically any style, size or color to suit your taste, so great for parties.

my only complaint is i wish they managed to keep the floor a bit cleaner, especially when my two-year-old is running around in his socks.

that and the owner is a bit grumpy.

but the rest of the staff, both foreign and local are great, very friendly and helpful, especially with special orders.

kind of a ghetto mall, really, in a feelgood sort of way.

there's a wal-mart in the basement level--wal-mart if is the devil, i know, but not only do they have "rock-bottom prices" (8 kuai for a liter of 100% orange juice!), but they do have some nice items that are hard to find in chengdu, particularly in the housewares section.

i have two favorite things at this mall: 1) the variety of kid-friendly places.

there are playgrounds in both the kfc and mcdonald's, also a permanent bouncing castle on the basement level, rollerblading on the second floor, another playground in the laiya department store, at least two kids training centers for things like art, music, and judo (and a gymboree wannabe coming soon), and a number of kids' clothes and toys shops in the basement and on the third floor with a decent selection and good prices.

plus on the third floor you can bargain!

2) the knitting shop on the second floor.

it has the widest selection of luxury yarns i've ever seen in chengdu, including loads of japanese imports.

the prices are still lower than back west and you get a 10% off VIP card for free upon your first purchase.

plus the staff are friendly and helpful.