China Guide
Yunnan
Food and drink
1 1910 Gare Du Sud 8 Houxin Jie 
0871/3169486 Traditional Yunnan fare in a building that once served as a French colonial train station; there's a large balcony and courtyard and photos of colonial Kunming throughout. It's rather upscale, and a popular place for visitors to make their first experiments with local specialities.
2 Aoma's 20 Chuncheng Lu Steaks, pasta, pizzas and some local dishes, in an urbane and relaxed atmosphere.
3 Blue Bird 127 Dongfeng Xi Lu 0871/3610478 Specializes in Thai and Burmese cuisine; fish with lemon sauce and chicken curry are recommended. Price: Dinner for two ¥100
4 City Café Dongfeng Dong Lu Basic Western and Chinese meals at reasonable prices. Price: From ¥15
5 French Café Wenlin Jie Good for pastries and quiches.
6 Fuhua Yuan Jingxing Jie Airy, canteen-like affair in one of the most charismatic parts of town, serving crossing-the-bridge noodles and other light meals downstairs, full meals upstairs.
7 Mamafu's Baita Lu A rather cultivated café.
8 Prague Café 40 Wenlin Jie Very strong coffee and a decent breakfast (¥16), as well as Internet access and book exchange. One of the better cafés in this locality, it's a good place to while away an afternoon.
9 
Salvadors Wenhua Xiang The best of the foreign-run student cafés, with great home-made ice cream as well as such novelties as hummus and bagels.
10 Shiping Huiguan 24 Cuihu Nan Lu 0871/3627444 This elegantly restored courtyard restaurant is a great place to sample Yunnan cuisine; it's rather well done but not expensive, and the nightly dance performances by Yi minority people are an added extra.
11 Vegetarian restaurant Opposite the Yuantong Si, Yuantong Jie An excellent place, reasonably priced and with an English menu and pictures of the dishes on the wall. It serves a mix of straight vegetable and imitation-meat dishes – best of the latter are coconut-flavoured "Spareribs" (bamboo shoots, celery and fried bean-curd skin), "chicken" and fungus rolls (dried bean curd), and "fish" (deep fried mashed potato served in a rich garlic and vinegar sauce).
12 Wei's Pizza 27 Xiao Dong Jie, off Nanping Jie 0871/3166189 Long-standing popular restaurant with wood-fired pizzas, genuine Italian chefs and extremely reasonable prices. Also offered are some unusual Chinese dishes, including river moss with coriander and Hakka bean curd.
13 Yunnan Flavour Restaurant Dongfeng Dong Lu, next door to the Camellia Hotel With (Han Chinese) hostesses in the traditional costume of Yunnan ethnic minorities welcoming you at the door, the atmosphere here is at best slightly tacky, but they do serve the full range of famous and not so well- known Yunnan dishes, including crossing-the-bridge noodles. Popular with tour groups.