Chinese · West Street, Yangshuo · ¥80–¥120 per head
Chinese (Yangshuo & Sichuan)$$West Street (central Yangshuo)West Street institution since 2003
"Yangshuo's signature beer fish, cooked well above West Street's tourist churn — a ¥120 fish and a karst-view balcony for first-time visitors."
7Food
8Ambience
8Value
About Cloud 9
Cloud 9 sits on the second floor of a corner building on West Street (Xi Jie), Yangshuo's pedestrian tourist spine, directly across from the KFC. It opened as one of the street's first proper sit-down kitchens, and the cooking school it runs upstairs has operated since 2003 — among the longest-running in town. The draw is twofold: a balcony that looks straight down the lantern-strung street to the karst pillars beyond, and a kitchen that does the local Yangshuo beer fish without the rough edges of the cheaper stalls below. On Tripadvisor it ranks inside the top ten of the county's hundred-plus restaurants, which for a West Street address is rare.
The Kitchen
The dish to order is the Yangshuo beer fish (啤酒鱼) — a whole local Li River fish, scored and pan-fried, then braised in Liquan beer with chili, tomato, ginger, garlic and scallion and brought to the table as a single hot wok at roughly ¥60–¥80. It is the one Yangshuo plate you cannot reliably find elsewhere, and Cloud 9 makes a clean version: enough beer to lift the broth, enough chili to mark it as Guangxi rather than Sichuan. Around it the menu runs to stuffed snails with pork, Gongbao chicken, braised chicken and a Sichuan hot pot, with vegetable plates at ¥20–¥25 and most meat dishes at ¥30–¥40.
The room is unpretentious and the bill stays low — figure ¥80 to ¥120 a head once a fish and a few shared plates land on the table, with no service charge and cash still the easiest tender. The cooking school upstairs teaches the same dishes across morning and afternoon sessions, beer fish included, which makes a lunch here an easy pairing with a class. For the wider picture of regional cooking, our guide to Chinese restaurants sets Yangshuo's beer fish against the rest of the country's tables.
The Room
The view is the room. From the second-floor balcony the whole length of West Street unspools below — lanterns, buskers and the karst peaks closing the gap at the end — and the people-watching is best at dusk or on a busy weekend. Inside it is a plain traditional dining room with round shared tables, fan-cooled, loud and cheerful at peak. Service is fast and used to foreign diners, with an English-language menu and picture references. It works hardest at lunch, when tour groups thin out and the balcony tables open up. Walk in; reservations are neither taken nor needed.
Best for a Team Dinner
Cloud 9 is built for a group of travelling colleagues on a first night in Yangshuo: the shared family-style format, the central West Street address everyone can find, and the balcony view turn an ordinary dinner into the evening's anchor. Order one beer fish per three or four people, add Gongbao chicken and a hot pot, and the bill stays small enough that nobody argues over the split. For a more rural, river-cooked take on the same dish, the Yangshuo dining guide ranks the village kitchens, and the team-dinner hub covers group rooms across every city we cover.
Not for
Not for purists chasing the rural original. The river-cooked reference beer fish is out in the Yulong River villages at Sister Peng Beer Fish, not above West Street's tourist crush.
Frequently Asked
Is Cloud 9 in Yangshuo worth it?
For a central, English-friendly table it is one of West Street's safer bets: Cloud 9 ranks among the top ten of Yangshuo's 100-plus restaurants on Tripadvisor, the beer fish is properly made, and the second-floor balcony looks straight down the street to the karst pillars. Purists who want the rural reference version still cycle out to the Yulong River villages, but for a first night in town it delivers.
What should I order at Cloud 9?
The Yangshuo beer fish (啤酒鱼) is the dish to order — a whole local Li River fish pan-fried, then braised with Liquan beer, chili, tomato, ginger and garlic, served as one hot wok for the table at roughly ¥60–¥80. Around it the kitchen does stuffed snails with pork, Gongbao chicken, braised chicken and a Sichuan hot pot, with vegetable plates at ¥20–¥25.
Where is Cloud 9 Restaurant in Yangshuo?
Cloud 9 sits on the second floor of a corner building on West Street (Xi Jie), Yangshuo's pedestrian tourist spine, directly across from the KFC. It is a five-minute walk from most West Street guesthouses and a short taxi from the Yangshuo bus station; the cooking school occupies the floor above the dining room.
How much does a meal at Cloud 9 cost?
Plan on about ¥80–¥120 per person for a shared meal. Most meat dishes run ¥30–¥40, the beer fish is roughly double at ¥60–¥80, and vegetable plates land at ¥20–¥25. It is a casual, cash-friendly room — no service charge, no dress code, and the bill stays well under the resort-hotel kitchens nearby. Compare it with Yangshuo Mifen Honten for a cheaper bowl.
Does Cloud 9 run a cooking class?
Yes. The Cloud 9 cooking school has operated above the restaurant since 2003, with morning and afternoon sessions that teach Yangshuo and Guangxi dishes — beer fish among them — and a market visit. It is one of the longest-running cooking schools in town and a common pairing with lunch on the balcony.
Walk-in only — no reservations taken. Busiest at lunch and on weekend evenings; balcony tables turn fast.
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Practical Information
AddressWest Street (Xi Jie), 2nd floor, Yangshuo 541900
