ricando
June 24, 2025
The guest house owners were very initiative. They picked us up from the Dali Railway station. The rooms were clean. Since there are 4 of us, 2 adults and 2 kids, we had a big room and a smaller room joined together with 2 large beds. The view was amazing.
Upon arrival, it was 4.45pm, and we asked for recommendations of where to eat. However, since it's neither dinner nor lunch time, the owner Mr Hao suggested that we eat in the guesthouse itself. The guest house auntie cooked for us the best rice noodles that we have eaten so far. Springy white noodles in a bowl of hot flavourful broth. My kids slurped it all up and polished the whole big bowl.
When we asked for recommendations on local eating places, Mr Hao gave us a whole list of his specially curated food places, which we managed to try 2 of them. And indeed they were good.
The downside was that there were no coffee or tea sachets in the room. But they said they will make it for us and can send it to our rooms. They mentioned that they have a tea room. And so we enjoyed the 2 types of brewed puer tea while Mr Hao explained a little about the tea.
Personally, I feel that since they have a special tea room to enjoy tea, sending sachet or tea bags would be inappropriate and a disrespect to the art of enjoying Puer tea.
Location wise, it has a good view of the lake. And it's quiet. It's not exactly near the old town but we took a taxi (20 mins) to the old town. Thankfully, we didn't stay at the old town as it's way too crowded, and we felt it's a tourist trap. However, near the guest house, there were many highly recommended restaurants.
The guest house has a dining area on the 1st floor. One thing that I really enjoyed about this place is the dining area. The lady that cooked the meal for us looked like a typical chinese grandma (which reminded me of my late grandma) that she cooked the food so deliciously with passion. While we had our breakfast she would sit at another table, she wasnt staring , just casually sitting while browsing her phone or ensuring we finish our food but her presence reminded me of when my late grandma would sit and watch us eat to ensure we have no leftovers. Lol. It was an oddly familiar and nostalgic feeling that we laughed about. But we do get the homey feel, which we really liked. The guest house also had a laundry room for guests to use.
The guest house owners were very initiative, friendly, and helpful. Anything we need, we just let Mr Hao know, and he would reply. He even offered to send us back to the highway station.
It's definitely highly recommended. And I would ask my friends that should they come to Dali, they should stay in this place. It's just perfect for us.