Houhai Area

Water Nymph Café
By Annie Wei

It seems so hard to find a peaceful place in Houhai nowadays, where you can quietly enjoy the lake but not be bothered by huge, noisy crowds or bicycles. But, in fact, there still are some quiet refuges to be found.

From my friends I learned about a restaurant called The Water Nymph Café which took me a little time to locate. The reason is simple. Houhai covers quite a large area. Most of the loud bars and restaurants are situated along Houhai Nanyan, or Yandai Xiejie. This cafe, sitting at Houhai Xiyan, is about a 20-minute walk from Yindingqiao.

It’s easy to find good pizza, wine and Chinese restaurants around this area but some complain that the coffee leaves a lot to be desired. According to Huang Ying, the cafe’s manager, The Water Nymph uses excellent Illy brand coffee.

It’s a sweet and cozy cafe, with lots of room, comfortable sofas, and ample books and magazines to peruse. Huang Ying says they have several special events such as visiting professors from prestige universities giving philosophy talks about Nietzsche. And you’ll occasionally enjoy colorful music nights at the cafe, as well.

However, my favorite part of The Water Nymph is its second floor. Although Chinese customers find it a little too hot to be on the roof in the daytime, I am assuming it’s perfect for great parties, with themes involving bikinis, barbeques or sailing. Oh, yes, the sailing place complete with equipment is only 20 meters away! Plus, you can really enjoy the lovely lake view there!

Water Nymph Café
Where: 4 Houhai Xiyan
Open: 9:30am-11pm
Tel: 8403 1687