Standing close to Luohu Checkpoint and Shenzhen Railway Station, Luohu Commercial City is arguably one of the busiest places in Shenzhen.

Yet within this maze-like commercial city, there is a place where you can quieten down and have some nice food. Just climb to the third floor and enter the Taste Restaurant & Bar.

The only Western food restaurant in the commercial city, Taste offers a large variety of delicious food in a quiet, elegant atmosphere, typical of a Western restaurant. With soft background music floating through the air, the restaurant seems a world away from the hustle and bustle of the city. The sprawling railway station complex, the majestic Shangri-La hotel and the endless masses of people can be seen through the large windows of the restaurant.

Although it opened only in April, Taste already has many regular customers, most of whom are Hong Kongers and expatriates who like to take a rest here before or after crossing the border. Yet the restaurant is never crowded or noisy.

But being a border restaurant is not the only reason for Taste’s popularity. For a restaurant, the winning point is — and always is — good food.

Taste has a wide variety of food from traditional Western dishes from Angus rib-eye steak to favorite Cantonese dishes such as clay pot rice.

The chef’s recommendations include house specials such as marinated beef short ribs and stir-fried red rice with dried scallop shreds and vegetables.

The beef short ribs are marinated in abalone soup for six hours, long enough for the ribs to absorb the flavor of abalone while retaining their tenderness.

Stir-fried red rice is a creation of the chef, a beautiful and tasty mixture of scallop shreds, red rice, vegetables, and pine nuts.

For Western food lovers, tender pan-fried silver cod fish with lemon butter sauce is a good choice.

For Asian food lovers, there is the Thai favorite, tom yum kung sea food soup. There are also traditional Chinese dishes such as broccoli and shrimp stir-fried with XO abalone sauce and sweet and sour pork.

If you like, the restaurant will take orders for off-menu dishes if the ingredients are available.

Afternoon tea is served from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. A free drink is available with an order for one dish.

The restaurant has a choice of beverages from fresh coffee, decaf coffee, wines, whisky and Hong Kong-style milk tea.

Average cost at the restaurant is around 50 to 60 yuan (US$7.3-8.8) per person, a medium price for Western food restaurants. As a satisfying dinner party with friends or business partners, this is a bargain.

(Shenzhen Daily December 30, 2008)