The 5 best Chinese restaurants to try in Shenzhen

Located just a stone's throw away from Luohu Port, Shang Palace is a luxurious Chinese restaurant housed within Shangri-La Shenzhen. The restaurant offers an all-you-can-eat dim sum lunch every weekend for just RMB188, allowing diners to enjoy more than 100 exquisite dim sum and snacks for two hours. Some notable highlights include the crystal shrimp dumplings and custard cheese with lychee buns that are made to order. There is also a wide selection of hot dishes like their daily stewed soup, crispy roasted pork, and exquisite sweet soup and desserts. You will definitely get your money’s worth!

Level 2, East Side, Shangri-La Shenzhen, Railway Station, 1002 Jianshe Road, Shenzhen; +86 755 8396 1383
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Xiao Diao Li Tang brings a traditional Beijing dessert to Shenzhen. Their signature dish is, of course, the Xiao Diao Li sweet soup made with plenty of snow pears, but they also plate up other popular Beijing dishes including Peking​​ duck, chilled bean puddings, Qianlong cabbage, stone pot beef stewed rice, and more. To complete your dining experience, the restaurant's interiors are designed to resemble old Beijing – decorated with elements like Beijing opera masks and circular fans – making diners feel like they are eating in the lost streets and alleys of the city.

L519-L520, 5/F, Meiyuan Road, Luohu District, Shenzhen; +86 755 2511 3439

Yong Fu Xiao Xian was created by the team behind Michelin-starred and Black Pearl – which some consider to be the Chinese equivalent to the Michelin guide – Ningbo restaurant ‘YongFu’ in Wan Chai. Compared to the Hong Kong branch, the Shenzhen restaurant offers the same exquisite dishes but at a much more discounted price. The star of the show has to be the '18-cut raw crabs', where the chef plates up fresh crab pieces using just 18 cuts. Each piece is evenly coated with crab paste and wine, allowing the umami flavour to shine. Other delicacies include white crab fried rice cake, torched Huadiao chicken, and stewed sea anemone with sweet potato noodles.

SL617, MixC World Shenzhen, Shennan Boulevard No.9668, Nanshan, Shenzhen; +86 755 8670 3301

This up-scale Cantonese restaurant is located in the Shenzhen Mandarin Oriental Hotel, and is run by Chef Huang Jing-hui, a renowned chef with previous experiences at Michelin-starred restaurant, Jiang, at the Guangzhou Mandarin Oriental Hotel.

The Bay's menu features Chef Huang's take on Cantonese dishes, offering a fusion of contemporary Lingnan and Chaoshan cuisine. The restaurant presents his most unique and delectable inventions, including the charcoal-grilled giant whelks, flaxseed roasted chicken, Chiu Chow-style fried fish maw, ginger-baked Wenchang chicken, and more. The restaurant also has a dedicated dim sum session, which costs around RMB500 per head. 

Block A UpperHills, No. 5001 Huanggang Road, Futian District, Shenzhen; +86 755 8182 9301
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Yun Jing, which translates to ‘beautiful scenery above the clouds’, is appropriately located on the 70th floor of the Raffles Shenzhen Pengrui Hotel. The restaurant offers stunning sea views of Shenzhen Bay and even Hong Kong, as well as elegant and delicate design elements with such detail that you can notice even on the employees’ clothing.

Since its opening in 2019, the restaurant has been specialising in new-style Cantonese cuisine. Seasonal recommended dishes include caviar persimmon ruyi, charcoal-grilled escargots, and crab roe braised bird's nest.

70/F, Raffles Shenzhen, T7, One Shenzhen Bay, 3008 Zhongxin Road, Nanshan District, Shenzhen; +86 755 8666 8666
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