Kang Ge Laoyou

Kang Ge Laoyou sits in the older, residential stretch of Xingning District north of Chaoyang Square, a part of Nanning with few tourist-facing businesses, which makes it a useful stop for travellers who want laoyou fen eaten the way local office workers and residents eat it rather than a version tuned for visitors. The kitchen is a single-room noodle counter rather than a chef-driven restaurant, and the menu centres on laoyou fen, laoyou stir-fried noodles, sour bamboo shoot and pork offal noodles, and a duck blood soup served as a side. The room is plain and functional, with shared tables, hard stools, and a serving hatch onto the street; there is no dress code and no ambient music beyond the noise of the kitchen and the surrounding street. As with most laoyou fen counters there is no beverage programme beyond free tea, bottled water and soft drinks. Reservations are not accepted, and the shop does not need them: seating turns over quickly and the busiest period is the breakfast and early lunch window, after which tables are usually available without a wait.