Chaofa Chaoshan Beef Hotpot (Beijing Road)

Chaofa Chaoshan Beef Restaurant's Beijing Road branch sits just off the pedestrian street at the junction with Zhuguang Road in Yuexiu District, close to Exit A of Beijing Road Station, and it applies the Chaoshan (Teochew) approach to beef hotpot that has become one of the most sought-after styles of hotpot across Guangdong in recent years. Unlike the heavily spiced Sichuan-style pots found elsewhere in the city, Chaoshan beef hotpot is built around a clear, light beef-bone broth designed to barely mask the natural flavor of the beef itself, with fresh cuts delivered daily and hand-sliced on site rather than pre-cut and frozen. Snowflake beef, prized for its fine marbling, and ox tongue are typically the first cuts diners order, cooked for only a few seconds in the boiling broth before being lifted out at a precise medium-rare stage. Hanging dragon meat, taken from the neck area and valued for its particular chew, and handmade beef tendon balls round out the range of textures the kitchen offers across a single animal. Because the format depends on freshness, tables are served relatively quickly after ordering, and the restaurant is busiest in the evening, when both local diners and visitors following food guides fill the dining room. Its location just off Beijing Road, one of Guangzhou's busiest pedestrian shopping streets, makes it easy to combine with an evening of walking and shopping in the area.