Our plan for Suzhou was

1. Attractions in the day
2. Street-sighting seeing or Shopping at night.

Therefore, for the first evening in Suzhou, we took a taxi to Guanqian Street right after visiting the Suzhou Silk Museum. The taxi driver dropped us on the opposite side so we had to go through an underground walkway to reach the entrance of Guanqian Street. The sun was setting then so the streets lit up with a golden hue.

Exploration of Guanqian Street

Guanqian Street was certainly not what I had expected. I had to look at the name on the Chinese archway several times to make sure. I thought I was coming here to experience a “traditional walking street”. Walking into the pedestrian walk, I was quite disappointed by the modern huge shopping departmental stores at the sides and the small modern shops lining the length. I was not there for the shopping of modern stuff! I thought there would be more street food and street stalls!

Fortunately, we soon came across a shop selling a traditional snack which I had always seen in period dramas or read about, but never tried – the “Bing Tang Hu Lu” （冰糖葫芦） or essentially, hawthorn balls wrapped in a sugary liquid that is hardened and placed on a stick. There were small ones and big ones on a stick, so we chose the small ones to try first.

I took my first bite of the hawthorn snack and it was quite sour. The outside sugar coat did little to cover the taste. I’m not a fan of overly sour stuff so I ended up eating only a few balls and couldn’t finish the rest (quite a lot on one stick). Dar and Vin tried some but they were not a fan of it too, it too, so nobody else could help finish.

Dar wanted ice-cream instead. Ice-cream in cool weather? I agreed since there were no other suitable street food he was interested in.

Meanwhile, Vin bought this stick of chicken to eat so we all had something to eat as our tea-break while we look for dinner later on.

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Shopping for Silk Clothing

While exploring, we came across a small shop selling silk traditional clothing and I thought it would be a good idea to buy one for Ling for next Chinese New Year. I went in and was told that they have an adult version to match the little cheongsam. Even though I do not usually wear one, I decided to try it on and bought one too.

Chinese Embroidery Painting

We also noticed embroidery paintings on sale so we chose one with a bridge and a pavilion, which looked like the Lingering Garden we planned to visit the next day.

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Dinner at De Yue Lou

I think I searched a little on the restaurants available in Guanqian street before touring China and found this famous restaurant, “De Yue Lou”.

History of De Yue Lou

Its history was written on the menu, saying that De Yue Lou was founded in the Ming Dynasty and has a history of four hundred years. It was restored in 1982 and moved to Suzhou’s Guanqian Street. The restaurant offers Suzhou cuisine and is an expert in Suzhou’s boat dishes and boat light refreshments. The surroundings were also featured in two Chinese movies and frequented by celebrities.

De Yue Lou Suzhou Cuisine

Our first choice was of course the famous, “Squirrel Mandarin Fish“. It is actually mandarin fish with its meat deep fried and arranged together with the head and tail, to look like a “squirrel”. It costs CNY 188 and was quite big for a few people to share.

Next, we were recommended this dish of “Cripsy Fried Lake Duck“, which is one of their speciality too (CNY 98). We wanted to order a small portion to try but there was no such option. In the end, we still ordered the plate of duck meat for three of us (the toddler would just eat the fish and veggies).

At that time, we didn’t know how big it was and even ordered another plate of vegetables. Imagine our surprise when all three dishes came! Two adults, one kid and one toddler definitely couldn’t finish so much!

[ Taste Verdict ]

Taking a bite of the Squirrel Mandarin Fish, I found it crunchy and the red sauce was a sweet and sour sauce. Delicious! However, after several mouthfuls, it started to feel too overwhelming and too sweet. Therefore, I think it’s best shared with several people, each taking only a few mouthful.

Fortunately, we have the Crispy Fried Lake Duck to balance the taste (more of salty). That was very good indeed! A pity we really couldn’t finish such a large portion and I felt guilty “wasting food”.

The veggie dish was nice too but I couldn’t remember the name now. I think it was a combination of a few different types of vegetables that was in season at that moment. Chinese restaurants are always good at making their veggie dishes tasty so we had been eating lots of veggies while touring China.

The next day would be another packed day full of itineraries as we spent a second day and night in Suzhou.

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3 days 2 nights Suzhou: Day 1 Itinerary

• Pace Hotel
• Panmen Scenic Area
• Ruiguang Pagoda (Inside Panmen)
• Canglang Pavilion
• Suzhou Silk Museum
• Explore Guanqian Street
• Dinner at De Yue Lou Restaurant in Guanqian Street

• Read A Summary Detailed Itinerary of Our China Trip: 9-Day Family Travel Itinerary in China Shanghai, Suzhou & Hangzhou