Man Ho, Guangzhou Restaurants announce strategic partnership

Man Ho, the flagship Chinese dining brand of Marriott Bonvoy, has teamed up with Guangzhou Restaurants, a renowned name in Cantonese cuisine, a significant move for the Chinese culinary sector.

The partnership focuses on menu co-creation, product development, quality management, and operational support, aiming to set a new standard for premium Cantonese dining within luxury hotel environments, the companies announced.

Man Ho and Guangzhou Restaurants announce strategic collaboration. Photos courtesy of Marriott Bonvoy

A signing ceremony was held Monday at the Shenzhen Marriott Hotel Nanshan. The event also saw the debut of the partnership’s inaugural "Black Label" restaurant, which is set to serve as a benchmark for future collaborative projects

By leveraging the complementary strengths of both brands, the collaboration pursues a dual objective: elevating the standard of hotel dining while actively preserving and revitalizing traditional Cantonese culinary heritage.

Together, the two parties aim to expand the expression of Cantonese cuisine within luxury hotel settings, enhancing the sophistication, consistency, and overall evolution of premium Chinese dining at Man Ho restaurants.

As part of the first phase of the partnership, a co-created “Khanfu (广府) Cantonese Cuisine” menu will be rolled out progressively at Man Ho locations this year. The inaugural menu draws inspiration from classic Cantonese culinary traditions while embracing contemporary dining preferences through refreshed interpretations and innovative presentations. The menu is designed to cater to a variety of dining occasions and meet the increasingly diverse expectations of modern gourmets.

Selected signature dishes from the co-created menu (From L: Lobster Dumplings Trio, Traditional Salt-Baked Chicken with Ginger, Sea Perch Balls with Yunnan Ham)

Under the collaborative framework, Man Ho restaurants will be organized into a three-tier structure — Black Label, Gold Label, and Green Label — each with differentiated menu structures and operational strategies tailored to market positioning and local demand.

Black Label restaurants will focus on signature dishes and immersive, high-end dining experiences. Gold Label restaurants will feature five exclusive signature dishes alongside 25 classic Cantonese specialties as part of their regular offerings. Green Label restaurants will specialize in a full range of Cantonese dim sum selections across lunch and dinner periods, creating destination dining experiences centered on dim sum culture.

Man Ho Nanshan Kitchen at Shenzhen Marriott Hotel Nanshan is recognized as the first Black Label restaurant under the alliance. 

Since welcoming its first guests in 1989, Man Ho has specialized in Chinese cuisine with a strong Cantonese foundation. Today, the brand operates more than 60 restaurants across 58 destinations throughout China, serving guests from diverse regions and cultural backgrounds.

Guangzhou Restaurants, a time-honored brand founded in 1935 in Guangzhou’s Xiguan area, has long been celebrated as “the finest Cantonese cuisine in Guangzhou.” The brand currently operates 27 self-owned stores, including three in Shenzhen.

As a protector of intangible cultural heritage items such as “Cantonese culinary techniques” and “Guangdong tea drinking customs,” Guangzhou Restaurants has nurtured seven generations of Cantonese cuisine inheritors and over a thousand master chefs.

The brand has also created China’s first Cantonese cuisine museum, ensuring that the rich traditions of Guangdong’s food culture are preserved and passed on for generations to come.