Laojie Diyi Lou (老街第一楼)

Laojie Diyi Lou (老街第一楼) is a casual Huizhou-cuisine restaurant at No. 247 Tunxi Old Street in Tunxi District, Huangshan, Anhui, China. It occupies a traditional Hui-style building near the Memorial Archway at the entrance of the old street, which makes it a common first stop for visitors beginning a walk through the Ming-Qing-style lanes. The kitchen follows regional Huizhou home cooking rather than any chef-driven or Michelin-style approach, and the emphasis is on large portions at moderate prices, rated about 4.3 by diners. Signature dishes are the fermented stinky mandarin fish (chou guiyu), mao tofu (hairy tofu), stone frog and fungus soup, and braised chicken in a pot. Stinky mandarin fish and mao tofu are widely regarded as emblematic of Huizhou cooking: the fish is cured in brine for several days and then pan-fried or braised, giving a pungent aroma but a mild, tender flesh, while mao tofu is tofu allowed to grow a fine layer of white mould before being fried. The dining room is a working restaurant in a heritage-style building, with round tables, steady turnover and a lively, conversational noise level rather than a hushed atmosphere. Dress is casual, and hikers coming from Huangshan or day-trippers in walking gear are entirely typical. No notable wine list is documented; beverages are the standard tea, soft drinks and beer found at Chinese casual restaurants. Opening hours are listed as roughly 7AM to 9PM daily and vary by season, so checking the Dianping or Meituan app before visiting is sensible. Reservations are not needed for small parties, though groups and holiday weekends should book by phone through the front desk or via Dianping. Portions are large, so two people can share two dishes plus rice for roughly CNY 100-150 (about $15-22). The Chinese name can be searched in Dianping or Meituan to see queue length, photos of the menu and current hours, and both apps accept foreign-issued cards through Alipay or WeChat Pay once linked.