Introduction
Since relocating to Asia last year, we have taken any and every opportunity to hunt down the many exquisite desserts that the region has to offer — starting with a Chinese New Year-themed high tea in Kuala Lumpur, we then compared two of the best kuih shops in Penang, escaped the pandemonium of Hanoi by taking high tea in the clouds, slurped bowls of che admist glowing lanterns in Hoi An, feasted on exquisitely-crafted sakura high teas and all the best wagashi in Tokyo, hopscotched through Singapore’s best traditional high teas, became bedazzled by fabulous Thai high teas in Bangkok and two of Bangkok’s most instagrammable dessert cafes, sobbed over Korean rice cakes in an artificial hanok village at the outskirts of Seoul, and nibbled our way through an array of modern Chinese cakes in Xiamen and Quanzhou. In this latest volume of our Asian dessert travel adventures, we visited Sanya on Hainan Island just before the start of the rainy season for a long weekend. What follows is our guide for a leisurely weekend in Sanya, culminating in what must be one of the most memorable afternoon teas we have ever had — underwater! :O
Day 1: Southside – Nanshan Guanyin Temple, Sanya Downtown, Luhuitou sunset
One of the most surprising things about our trip to Hainan was how vast it was. Singapore, you are truly tiny 😛 Just over an hour away by car from the Haitang area where we were staying, Nanshan Guanyin Cultural Zone (南山文化旅游区) requires about half a day to fully appreciate. The temple complex is expansive, requiring two shuttle rides to get across. Book your entrance tickets online on Trip.com prior to arriving to avoid the ticketing mayhem. The site is famous for a colossal Guanyin monument. Standing at over 100 metres tall, it is actually three statues of the lady goddess, one facing inland and the other two out to sea. To reach it, you walk across an overpass, and upon arriving, you are given three incense sticks with which you can make a wish. Even during the off-peak season, the crowd was intense. After making your wish, you can circumnavigate Guanyin and also get some fresh sea breeze – it’s a much more peaceful exercise that few partake in.
Afterwards, we took a car — be forewarned, the Didi stop at Nanshan is confusing (!) — to Sanya’s main downtown city area, where we briefly checked out the pristine shoreline of Dadong Beach (大东海), strolled along coconut tree-lined avenues, reflected on the melding of old-school Sanya with modern Sanya shopping malls, and squeezed in a Nanyang-style afternoon tea that featured desserts that would not look out of place in Malaysia and Singapore. Kuih, anyone? 😀
About two hours before sunset, we visited the Luhuitou Scenic Lookout (鹿回头公园). To get here, take a 15-minute taxi from the Downtown area, and then a shuttle ride that spins its way up the mountain. You could hike, but why would you while on holiday, eh? 😛 Literally translated into “Deer Looking Back,” this spot commemorates a historical love story, where a hunter from the ethnic minority tribe, Li, almost slayed a deer, who turned into a beautiful maiden, and they lived happily ever after. At the peak, you will find a handful of touristy eateries and cute trinket spots, and many viewing platforms from which to photograph panoramic views of Sanya below. After sunset, but for five sail-shaped buildings, the city illuminates as a just slightly sparkly flat carpet, so Luhuitou is – in our view – actually most stunning during the daytime and in the hour or two before sunset.
Day 2: Yalong Bay Rainforest, Haitang Bay shopping and underwater high tea
Before we relocated to Asia, we had never heard the word “oxygen bar” before. We have since come to learn that it’s one of the most highly sought-after aspects of a holiday in China. Who doesn’t want to get away from big cities for a little while, eh? About 30 minutes from Haitang Bay where we were staying, Yalong Bay is all about oxygen – trees and water galore. The Yalong Bay Rainforest Park (亚龙湾热带天堂森林公园) is – similar to the Nanshan Guanyin area – incredibly vast, requiring at least half a day. As with so many Chinese tourist attractions, internal infrastructure is very well-considered — i.e. essentially built for the lazy. No need to hike to each attraction, just take a shuttle. 🙂 We certainly did that — we took a shuttle to the first spot, and walked the rest of the way, from strolling through valleys of orchids to racing across suspension rope bridges, and then trying not to get sweaty palms while walking across glass bridges in padded socks.
Confession: we actually chose to visit Hainan not for the beaches – which are textbook-perfect sandy beaches – but rather, for its duty-free malls. The one at Haitang Bay – CDF International Mall (中免国际免税城) – is reportedly, the world’s largest – and we can certainly, confirm that. Every Western designer brand that you can possibly think of is housed inside – and it’s well worth the visit, as most goods are cheaper than even in HK (which has no sales tax). However, for us, what we were looking for, were sadly all sold out or not stocked in Hainan. 😦 So if you have a dedicated sales representative at these designer stores, best to advance check or time your visit with stock availability.
But let us not ramble anymore. If you have reached the end of this article, it means you have been patiently waiting for us to spill the details on one of the most incredible high teas we have ever had. One of the last things we did on our weekend in Sanya was to book an underwater afternoon tea at the Intercontinental Haitang (the hotel we were staying at) the afternoon before our flight. Held in the aptly-named Aqua Restaurant, the high tea food offerings were Western in style. Savouries saw luxurious touches such as caviar and lobster, but were largely an afterthought to the desserts. Comprising four mousse cakes respectively infused with blueberry, lemon, vanilla and chocolate, the desserts were not particularly creative, but they were nonetheless well-executed patisserie fare. All of this arguably played second fiddle to the enchanting sea world around us. For once, we probably took more pictures of the aquatic animals than of the desserts – schools of fish whizzing by, giant turtles languidly floating, and the occasional hotel staff scuba diver monitoring all of them. This was a truly unforgettable high tea experience – and we are thrilled we no longer need to go all the way to Dubai just to experience it 😀
Dessert adventure checklist
- ☑ Dessert destination: Sanya, Hainan, China.
- ☑ Budget: $-$$.
- ☑ Sweet irresistibles: Modern Chinese desserts.
- ☑ Travel notes:
- How long? Hainan has two main cities – Haikou (more historical) and Sanya (more resort feeling). For Sanya, we thought 2-3 days was a good introduction. You might like more if you are a beach bum.
- When to visit? October-April. This avoids the rainy season.
- How to get there? We took a flight from Hong Kong, using HK Express. The whole weekend in Sanya cost less than two dinners in Hong Kong….
- Where to stay? We stayed at the easternmost end of Sanya on this trip, at the Intercontinental Haitang Bay Resort. It’s a stunning hotel, with a breathtaking entrance lobby, beautiful manicured gardens, direct beach front (though the sea is too rough to swim), incredible food options (insane breakfast buffet, and many restaurants from casual to high-end), and direct access to the CDF Mall. It’s very kid and elderly friendly.
- Pro tips? Similar to what we learned when we visited Xiamen, make sure to pre-book tourist tickets to everywhere on Trip.com or the attraction’s Wechat. Check XiaoHongShu for crowd/weather updates – for example, we had wanted to visit Wuzhizhou Island, but had read of severe boat overcrowding and delays, so skipped it.
Dessert Correspondents 