Social & Co
Address: 6 Huajiu Rd, Tianhe Qu, Guangzhou, China
socialandco.com/social-co.html
Cuisine: Fusion
FOOD:
Make sure you visit Social&Co on an empty belly, because we want you to truly appreciate what’s to come.
We visited Social&Co just before we were headed back to London (literally had our suitcases beside us as we ate) and it was the perfect send off meal. Here’s what we ate and our favourites.
To start, we had the Trailblazer – roasted broccoli and cauliflower never tasted so good! Mixed together with quinoa and Social&Co trail mix tossed in a vivid apple cider vinaigrette.
Trailblazer
Then onto a grilled potato salad. Just like the previous dish, this one was also very imaginative with a concoction of baby potatoes grilled with aged cheddar, toasted almonds and fresh sliced apple and salsa verde. A very aromatic dish with a combination of textures from the crunchiness of the almonds to the smoothness of the cheddar.
Grilled Potato Salad
If gluttony hadn’t already got the better of us, we tried the seared cod with gnocchi and pumpkin seed vinaigrette. A lovely mild and delicate dish, that was not too heavy on the palette.
Now onto our mains, which excites me just thinking about them! Braised short ribs that were served in the most insatiable glaze with mushrooms on the side. Probably our favourite dish alongside the Trailblazer. Add in some in Portuguese Chicken – which also has a great marinade, it’s just making my mouth water thinking back to it.
Braised short rib
Banoffee pie
Lastly – although we didn’t have much room left for dessert – we had to try their Banoffee pie (said to be Guangzhou’s MOST famous dessert). The whipped cream was fluffy and smooth and once we got into the centre, we were met with dulcet tones of toffee/caramel and banana.
Also make sure to try their Lights Out cocktail if they still serve it. It has popcorn flavoured syrup and a real kick to it.
OVERALL:
The food at Social&Co was absolutely sublime! Put together with cool wooden interiors and a relaxed environment – this place is perfect to escape the busy city of Guangzhou.
The menu is like a notepad – slightly smaller than A5 and can fit comfortably in your hand, much different than the typical Chinese menu that goes on forever with pictures of every meal. Make no mistake though, this isn’t a “Chinese restaurant” – the owner hails from New Zealand and brings a fusion of his own culinary dishes mixed with other International dishes, including Asian.
On reading the menu, we were excited by the sound of many dishes and pleased to find they tasted just as good. We just wish there was a Social&Co in London, because this was by the far the best restaurant we dined at on our travels!
Ideal for: Hanging out for lunch or dinner
Overall Rating ★★★★1/2
