You might imagine that any new restaurant (or any old one for that matter) would be glad of a review as a way of drumming up business and letting the wider world know what a fantastic dining destination they're missing out on. Bay Garden's Blessing Soups, however, needed more than a little persuading of this fact, and were less than happy about us taking pictures to accompany an anonymous appraisal. As the old ad men used to say, 'there's no such thing as bad publicity', so what's to lose? But if these were indeed the owners' fears, they were unfounded. A clearly ordered menu (no Chinglish) of Guangdong specialities, and at decent prices, explains why this eatery is bustling on a Wednesday night when similar places are struggling on the weekend. To wit, the Coriander and Black Fungus (10 RMB) was delicately seasoned if a little too spicy on the aftertaste. And the only complaint about the Chicken in Sizzling Casserole (38 RMB) is that diced potatoes would have made a better accompaniment than whole chunks of ginger. The Sea Bass (58 RMB), however, was cooked to perfection and thankfully didn't involve the arduous removal of bones. Mention must also be made of the décor: a surprisingly tasteful affair with cool, curved birch walls reminiscent of an alpine chalet and enlivened by built-in aquariums housing exotic fish. Not the breeds, we imagined, that were ultimately headed for the pot.   

1 Linglong Jie, SIP, Suzhou 苏州园区玲珑街1号万科玲珑生活馆. Daily 11am-2pm, 4pm-9pm. No cards. Tel: 6258 8222