Hotel breakfast buffets is a bit hit-or-miss. To be honest, we was pleasantly surprised by the buffet at the Tianlongwan Xiyue Hotel in Guilin. Breakfast became one of my favorite part of waking up every morning during my stay in Guilin.
The food were good and I loved the relaxed atmosphere of not having to rush through breakfast. ) to go with the expected buffet fare. We’re talking proper congee, Guilin rice noodles, and some other surprises which make it seem less like a typical hotel and more thoughtfully put together.
A Great Breakfast Experience
Tianlongwan Xiyue Hotel Breakfast
First stop: the hot food section, where they had all kinds of dim sum and steamed dumpling shoved into bamboo baskets. There’s nothing worse than getting lukewarm breakfast food so it was nice that everything stayed warm in their old-school setup with clay pots and steamers. While the dumplings weren’t anything different than what you’d get at a restaurant, they were pretty good, decent enough to go back for seconds on one of the pork buns.
Plus they had a fresh salad bar as well that I wasn’t really anticipating going for at breakfast time. But it turns out they had plenty of very crisp salads. I ended up taking some cherry tomatoes and some cucumber slice, just to counteract all the carbs I knew I’d be loading up on.
My favourite stall was the congee station. A huge pot of plain rice porridge bubbled away while all the toppings were lined up beside it, peanuts, pickled vegetables, preserved eggs, the works. Another pot contained tea eggs, the dark marbled ones that has been steeped in spices and soy, and I was sure to grab a couple every morning.
A bowl of warm congee is comforting to have at any time but particularly if you’ve got a day of walking ahead of you.
Big trays were set out for those seeking a larger meal: stir-fried noodles and Yangzhou fried rice. Actualy, the fried rice was pretty good, not greasy at all; bits of ham and egg mixed throughout. I ate it the second morning too and it hold up well.
I will say, however, that the noodles did not appeal to me more than others.
A wide variety of other pastries filled out the spread, along with cold cuts and some pickled vegetables. These were some pretty decent Chinese style pickled vegetables, mustard greens and radishes in particular had a good bite to them. The pastry section was heavy on the sweet side, featuring donuts and egg tarts for you to enjoy.
I am generally not a donut person first thing in the morning. However, I arrived early one morning and the egg tarts was warm and flaky so I didn’t object.
The thing that really took this breakfast over the top for me though was the rice noodle station. This gave me the chance to create my own bowl of Guilin rice noodles from scratch, with all the toppings set up in little bowls (coriander), spring onions, peanuts, chilli oil, pickled beans etc. It was a bit DIY but in a good way. The fresh, silky rice noodles made it worth it and being able to customise everything let me make it as spicy/mild as I want.
The drinks were simple: milk, some fruit juices and a self-serve coffee machine which made a fairly good brew (I’m not a picky traveller when it comes to coffee). A fruit station with watermelon and other cut-up fruits was also very welcome since everything else is so heavy.
I managed to get the rice noodle bowl that I’d been craving all week on my final morning, with a generous helping of peanuts for crunch, some pickled beans for tang, and enough chilli to jump start my heart. On the side I picked up a plate of egg fried rice too. Why not, right?
It was satisfying, simple, and exactly what I wanted before checking out and hitting the road to see more of Guilin. Tianlongwan Xiyue Hotel wasn’t a fancy place for breakfast but they did it well. They included some local dishes (the congee and rice noodles), which I liked, and the variety ensured it didn’t get boring during several mornings.
It’s the sort of breakfast that’ll set you up well for the day but with no fuss. Do you have a favourite place to eat breakfast in Guilin? Or stay at this hotel?
I’d love to know what you think.
