Brunch and bliss: The Shekou weekend ritual

There’s a universal language spoken every weekend, from London to Los Angeles to Shenzhen, and it’s called “brunch.” It’s a sacred ritual of late mornings, poached eggs, and the gentle clinking of coffee cups. When you move halfway across the world, you quickly realize that while the scenery has changed, the craving for a perfect eggsBenedict has not.

Shekou, with its sea breezes and leafy streets, is an expat’s paradise for many reasons, but perhaps the most comforting is its understanding of this universal language. In the early days, dining out anywhere in China felt like a high-stakes game of chance. You’d point at a picture on a menu, cross your fingers, and hope you hadn't just ordered a plate of something you swore you’d never eat.

But here, in this corner of Shenzhen, that anxiety melts away. Walking into a bright, bustling cafe on a Sunday, you’re often greeted not just by the smell of coffee, but by the holy grail for any non-Mandarin speaker — a fully bilingual menu. It’s a simple thing, really, but being able to read that a dish contains “smoked salmon, poached eggs, and spinach served on thick sliced toast with Benedict sauce” feels like a superpower. It transforms ordering from a chore into a joy.

On this particular weekend, my mission was clear. I started with a steak salad, because balance is important, right? This was no flimsy side dish. It included a generous portion of perfectly grilled steak sliced and fanned out over a mountain of fresh greens, cherry tomatoes, and olives. It was hearty, delicious, and just virtuous enough to make me feel good about my life choices.

A salad that went to the gym and is not afraid to show it.

But the main event, the reason for the season, was the salmon eggs Benedict. It arrived looking like a work of art. Two perfectly poached eggs perched atop layers of smoked salmon and spinach on thick, toasted brioche, all generously drizzled with a vibrant Hollandaise sauce. Cutting into the egg and watching the golden yolk run down the sides is a universal moment of pure, unadulterated happiness.

If you listen closely, you can hear an angel choir sing every time the yolk breaks.

To accompany the feast, I ordered a mixed berry smoothie. It was thick, fruity, and refreshingly cold on a hot, humid day — the one truly healthy decision I made that day, and a delicious one at that. As I sipped it, I took in the cafe’s vibe, admiring the huge, colorful mosaic of a woman holding a coffee cup that dominated one wall. It was a cool, artistic touch that made the whole place feel welcoming.

My internal organs thanked me for a brief respite from the Hollandaise sauce.

This is the beauty of Shekou. It’s a place where you can dive headfirst into the incredible local culture and cuisine but also retreat into the comforting arms of a familiar weekend brunch without a single moment of language-induced stress. It’s these small, thoughtful conveniences that make this expat community feel less like a temporary posting and more like a real home. The menus speak our language, and they’re saying, “Relax, you belong here.”