The old mansion of the "Young Marshal" Chang Hsueh-liang is sadly unmarked. This colorful character from China's revolutionary past had lived there with his wife, Edith Chao, who later joined him in Taiwan after he was coerced into exile by Chiang Kai-shek. Their romance is almost as famous as his military feats.

Further along the road is the Xiao Bailou or Little White House district, where the original American concession had been. (This was later amalgamated into the British concession.) It is this area that draws us, because this is where the Kiessling Restaurant stood, and still stands, although it is now dwarfed by towering bank and hotel blocks.

This was China's most famous Western restaurant north of the Yangtze River. It had enjoyed patronage by many historical figures, not least of whom was the last emperor of China, Puyi, who reputedly used to enjoy Kiessling's famous tea dances.

The restaurant opened in the 20th century's infant years, when the former chef of the deposed German emperor came to Tianjin after his boss fled to the Netherlands. Mr Kiessling decided to open a little caf but soon expanded to include a restaurant as his reputation as an imperial cook spread. Soon, China's most illustrious of that time were dining and dancing here.

Those aristocratic days are now as faded as the building's facade. But the Kiessling Patisserie on the street level and the first floor Russian Tea Room is a must-visit for those after refreshments from a more civilized age.

Tender sponges are cut into petit fours and piled high with fluffy butter cream sculpted into intricate flowers and animals. Unlike inferior copies, these cream cakes are light as air, and the cream tastes like cream and not some plastic non-dairy concoction.

The larger cakes on display at the counters are works of art, showing off a skill in cake decorating that is fast becoming obsolete, even in the West.

In the upstairs tearoom, immaculate white tablecloths are paired with striking red placemats, which in turn, matched the chairs. We ordered ice cream sundaes, and my mother-in-law swears they tasted the same as they did 70 years ago.

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