Any recommendations for Chinese restaurants that would be a safe bet to take visiting relatives/friends?
Any of the Chinese restaurants at (or should that be “in”?) the Howard Plaza Hotel are pretty good… but as pointed out here previously, they can be a bit pricey 
There are two nice Chinese restaurants not far from the Howard Plaza to the south.
-
One is on Hsin-Yi b[/b] Road on the north-east corner of Hsin-Yi b[/b] and Fu-Hsing b[/b] S. Road, close to the Wellcome, second floor.
-
Shanghai Kitchen: A little further down on Fu-Hsing b[/b] S. Road on the left-hand side. I think the address is Fu-Hsing b[/b] S. Road Sec.2 No.17, ground floor.
Prices are pretty much okay, I think we paid about 400-500/person. I had better food in China, but these two were pretty close. Nice interior, decent staff and not crowded, at least not during the week.
Don’t go to that Cantonese place on HsinYi b[/b] close to Yongkang Jie where they make you wait for ages to get a seat, and then it’s crowded and noisy. The food was delicious, but it was way too loud to talk, so we’ll give that a miss next time.
HTH
Iris
Shanghai Tea House, Warner Village complex.
Not good value
Go to Hsiao-hsiao Ke – near the intersection of Jen ai and Chinshan b[/b]. Look for the 7-11 and locate the tiny lane behind it – it’s in the middle of this lane (connecting Jen ai to Chinshan b[/b])
Unfortunately, the service has slowed over the years, although their success is pretty obvious – they’ve grown to takeover (first) the floor above them and (then) the whole next building next door. So make sure you are with interesting company – but the food is worth the wait
Order the signature pork rib, the shueijiao (they ask that you not use sauce), the sour potatoes, too.
Bring a Chinese speaking friend if you don’t speak fluently enough
If you take your visitors to the Lin Family Garden in Banqiao, there’s a teahouse in a nearby night market that’s worth a visit. The food is nothing special (though not bad). The main reason to go there is that it’s filled with old lattice windows, has a fish pond running throughout the grounds, and features other nice touches. Visitors love the place because it looks so “Chinese.”
The last time I was there, the pond smelled too fishy. But perhaps this was because it was an extremely hot day. I don’t remember the place smelling like that any other time.
Don’t be put off by the fact that it’s located in a night market. Once you’re inside, it’s a different world. And the place is quite large.
I don’t know the address or the name, because it’s a place I normally just walk to. I’ll try to post better information later, if no one else has the address at hand.
[quote=“Iris”]
Don’t go to that Cantonese place on HsinYi b[/b] close to Yongkang Jie where they make you wait for ages to get a seat, and then it’s crowded and noisy. The food was delicious, but it was way too loud to talk, so we’ll give that a miss next time.[/quote]
If you mean Ding Tai Feng I have to disagree. When my parents came to Taiwan for a week I took them there the second night and by the end of the week they wanted to go back. Sure it’s crowded and noisy, but the food is great (it’s popular for a reason) and the walk through the kitchens to the restaurant upstairs seems to be interesting to most foreign visitors - the atmosphere doesn’t make you feel like you’re back where you came from. Go there to eat, like the Chinese do, and then move on to a coffee shop, bar, or 5 star hotel for a leisurely sit down and chat.
Not good value
Well, that’s relative. I consider it value for money and reasonable.