The Grandma's 外婆家 in Hangzhou

Grandma's is a pretty well-known chain of restaurants serving authentic Hangzhou food. We got to one of the branches around 1.30pm for lunch, and it was still extremely packed. It took about 15 mins for us to get a table.


Appetiser of preserved radish. Crunchy and spicy.

Wai Po Ba Bao Cai （外婆八宝菜) at RMB 6. Decent but not outstanding.

Wai Po Hong Shao Rou (外婆红烧肉), RMB 35. The pork was amazingly soft, tender and even though it was oily, it was so easy to eat. It was very flavourful as well. We only ordered this after we were told that the Dongpo Pork was sold out, and so was the Beggar's Chicken. Both of them are Hangzhou specialities, and we were quite disappointed that we didn't get to try them at Grandma's.

Digging below the layers of fat to get the meat. I didn't eat the fat, but couldn't resist the skin!

响铃 - baked rolls of tofu skin. It wasn't worth the energy it took to crunch through.

Ma Po Dou Fu (麻辣豆腐) at RMB 3. It was amazingly cheap, and excellent with the steamed rice. I slurped up every last drop.

Something that was a cross between a clam and a mussel - either a pippi (found in Australi) or tua tow (found in Sg/Msia). These came sizzling on a hot plate, and when eaten hot, were simply delicious. This was about RMB 30 or so.

We also had a huge 1 litre jug of winter melon tea, which cost RMB25. Including rice, our final bill came up to RMB 125 (approx S$25), which was very reasonable. And on the whole, the food was really delicious and very enjoyable.

You can access their website, and check out their menu at http://www.waipojia.com.cn/index.asp. Unfortunately there's no English webpage, but if you're in Hangzhou, your hotel can help with making a booking at giving you directions if you just ask for the nearest Grandma's. The common line for reservations at all outlets is 400-672-6009.