Wine and dine in Xiamen: city offers varied cuisine and many nightspots

Times have never been better in Xiamen for anyone who loves great food, premium drinks and live music. The city’s once-sleepy culinary and nightlife scene is now far more varied and cosmopolitan.

Xiamen offers music lovers a surprising array of live music. JJ Bar and Grill in Haiwan Park features a six-person band coupled with Texan barbecue and a VIP lounge. The city’s most talented musician, Peng Fei, performs an eclectic and captivating mix of Chinese and Western songs at Latitude 24 in Le Meridien Xiamen.

One of the best neighbourhoods for fine dining is the area around the Marco Polo Hotel, where the city’s so-called Coffee Street is a stone’s throw from its Bar Street. Dozens of international restaurants and cafés dot the streets and alleys.

For Italian food, Unico Restaurant on 31 Jianye Road serves some of the city’s best pizzas and imported meats. While the restaurant’s centrepiece is its stone oven, its success comes from chef Danny Tan’s meticulous sourcing of ingredients from Italy and Australia as well as his attention to detail. Strada Restaurant at 8 Jianye Road also offers top-flight Italian fare. Literally next door, the Coyote Café offers the best Mexican food in town, thanks to the fresh ingredients of both the food and the margaritas.

One of the city’s best-known restaurants for seafood is Hai Ding Hui, which has dozens of varieties of live fish and aquatic animals on display, including a live crocodile for the adventurous diner.

While steaks may not be the forte for Chinese restaurants, the Jacky Angela Steakhouse at 102 Dongguan Road is one of the city’s top eateries, serving up choice cuts of meat as good as any steakhouse in New York or Chicago. The restaurant also offers a lovely view of Gulangyu. Another popular place is the Marble Steakhouse at Pan Pacific Xiamen, which is known for its selection of grain-fed and wagyu beef.