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A taste of Harbin

Modern Restaurant (Hotel Moderne)

马迭尔西餐厅

The dining room of the Hotel Moderne, built on Central Avenue in 1906 by the Jewish businessman Joseph Kaspe and the grandest surviving Art Nouveau interior in the city. It trades heavily on nostalgia and on the Modern ice lolly sold from the window outside, which Harbin residents eat outdoors at minus twenty. Worth an evening more for the room and the history than for culinary fireworks.

¥120–170 per person≈ US$18Daoli District, Central Avenue (中央大街) 89
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Why come here

A place worth making time for

Known for being the oldest continuously operating Western dining room in Harbin, inside a protected 1906 heritage hotel; no culinary award exists.

The house favourites

What to order

Point at the Chinese. Staff will understand it even where the menu has no English at all.

  • Modern ice lolly, bought from the street window (马迭尔冰棍)
  • Clay-pot braised beef (罐焖牛肉)
  • Russian-style red sausage platter (红肠拼盘)
  • Smetana-dressed salad (奶油沙拉)

What it actually tastes like

Heavy cream and butter throughout, plus the sweet-smoky garlic hit of Harbin red sausage, which is nothing like a Western sausage.

Allergens in this kitchen

dairygluten/wheategg

This is the kitchen, not one dish. Woks, fryers, blanching water and utensils are shared in almost every Chinese restaurant, so for a serious allergy treat the whole premises as the unit rather than ordering around it.

Get to know the menu

Local specialities to try here

Modern Ice Lolly 马迭尔冰棍Simple, very milky and clean-sweet, with a dense firm texture rather than an airy one.