Shuchu Qian Cuisine (Zhonghua South Road)

Shuchu Qian Cuisine is a multi-branch Guizhou restaurant whose Zhonghua South Road location at No. 8 in Nanming District, Guiyang, is found near the Novotel. Qian is the classical short name for Guizhou, and the restaurant's offer is a broad survey of the province's cooking rather than one specialty. The menu covers sour soup fish, spicy chicken known as la zi ji, and a range of Guizhou-style stir-fries built on fermented chili, pickled vegetables and local pork, making it a useful stop for travellers who want to sample several dishes in a single sitting. Sour soup fish represents the Miao and Dong cooking of southeast Guizhou, with a tomato and chili broth simmered at the table. Spicy chicken is a drier dish of chopped chicken buried under dried chilies and Sichuan pepper, fried until the pieces are crisp, and it is meant to be picked through with chopsticks for the meat. The stir-fries show the sour and fermented seasoning that distinguishes Guizhou from neighbouring Sichuan and Hunan. The restaurant is a mid-range operation with large tables, a menu with pictures and a moderate level of noise during meal times; no dress code applies. Beverage options are tea, soft drinks, beer and baijiu, with no notable wine programme. Reservations are not normally needed, and walk-ins are accepted, but arriving before 7PM at peak times avoids the longest waits. Prices sit in the mid-range, comparable to other sit-down Guizhou restaurants in Guiyang, and sharing four or five dishes among a group is the usual approach. Its position near a major hotel on Zhonghua South Road makes it convenient for business travellers and tour groups, and the multi-branch format means that service is predictable, if less personal than at a small family restaurant.