Laris Steak House

Laris Steak House is a Western steakhouse at No. 128 Shulin Street in Xishan District, Kunming, in the Cuihu (Green Lake) and Yunnan University area of the city. Kunming is the capital of Yunnan province in southwest China, where most restaurants serve local cooking such as rice noodles, steam-pot chicken and mushroom hotpot, and the steakhouse offers a break from regional food for travellers who have been eating Yunnan dishes for several days. The area around the university has long had a concentration of cafes, bars and Western-style restaurants catering to students, teachers and expatriates, and the steakhouse belongs to that tradition. The menu centres on steak, which is the signature item, though the sources consulted do not name particular cuts, sauces or sides, and no prices were published. The price range is marked as $$$, the upper bracket for Kunming, so visitors should expect a bill noticeably higher than at a local restaurant, since imported or high-grade beef is generally expensive in China. The sources do not describe the dining room, but a steakhouse in this district would normally offer table service and a quieter, more formal pace than the noodle shops nearby; dress is likely to be casual. A reservation is advised on weekends, when tables are most in demand. Opening hours were not published in the sources consulted, so visitors should check locally. The Shulin Street address is close to Green Lake, which makes the restaurant easy to combine with a walk through the park and the university streets, and it is within reach of the hotels in the northwest of the old city. The venue suits travellers who want a familiar Western meal, a celebration dinner, or a change of pace, rather than those seeking a distinctive Yunnan food experience. Visitors with dietary restrictions may find a Western menu easier to navigate than a local one.