Chinese Restaurants in the UK - Reviews

[somethingfunny]

OK, so after several years in China, I’m now back living in the UK.  Apart from the language, the one thing I’m going to miss is the food.  For about five years, on pretty much a daily basis, I’d find myself amazed that I could walk 100m in any direction and get a bowl of noodles, plate of fried rice or anything else to take your fancy for some ridiculous amount of money.  Whether it was 酸汤鱼 in Guiyang, 火锅 in Chongqing, 韩国烤肉 in Shenyang, 担担面 in Chengdu or 兰州拉面 on pretty much any street in the entire country, for anyone willing to take a risk, there was always something incredible on offer.（*See spoiler below for definitive list of tasty dishes)

 

Anyway… to the point.  I’m now on a mission to satisfy my high expectations for Chinese food here in the UK.  I took some classes in cooking before I left, but more than anything, it was the ease with which I could walk into a restaurant and have something delicious plated up in front of me so effortlessly that I loved.  So I want to see what I can get here in the UK…

 

I’m not sure how many people on this forum live in the UK, but I do know that while Tripadvisor and 大众点评 provide some good insights to the Chinese fare on offer, I’d like to see some reliable reviews from someone like myself.  So I’m going to write a couple of reviews of places I’ve been to recently (I did a search and there are surprisingly few reviews of Chinese restaurants in the UK on here – I’m not sure if this means I’ve found a niche or that no-one is interested) and if people like them, I’ll maybe keep writing them.

 

This is how it will work:

1.     I go to a restaurant and stuff my face.

2.     I come here and write about it and maybe post a few pictures

3.     I’ll give three ratings: 1-5 for taste, 1-5 for authenticity and 1-3 for price.

 

This will be quite London centric, but whenever I’m somewhere else I’ll try and hit a Chinese restaurant and give it a review.

 

*(Personal Favourites here:)

I have to give a shout out here to some of my favourite dishes, even if no-one else reads them, I know at least abcdefg will appreciate a nice list of great dishes:

贵阳烤鱼

印度飞饼

千层饼（各种饼我都爱）

怪噜饭（贵阳特色炒饭）

丝娃娃（又是一个贵阳特色）

典型的川菜也要说几个：回锅肉（回锅土豆），辣子鸡，宫爆鸡丁

老醋花生米

土豆牛肉盖浇拉面（也可以加个煎蛋）

麻辣烫（Ironically, they don’t really have this in Sichuan, and when they do, it’s not as good as it is in The North）

[somethingfunny]

We’ll kick off with ‘Shuang Shuang’ (爽爽).  I’ve had this place on my radar for a while now and today, with an unexpected day off from work, I finally bit the bullet and hit this place for lunch.  It’s situated on the corner of London’s Chinatown (64 Shaftesbury Avenue) and is pretty hard to miss, given that I think it’s pretty much one of a kind in the UK.  I have little experience of the ‘single-pot hopot’ scene, having only been once to a 呷哺呷哺 when in China, but here goes:

 

Description:  This is a hotpot restaurant where you get your own individual pot and the dishes to add into the pot are delivered on a sushi style rotating conveyor belt.  You’ll also get a choice of two dipping sauces:  One is a 芝麻酱 style thing, while the other is supposedly “Hot and Sour” although I found it to be more “Sweet and sweet”.

 

What I had:  The ‘mala’ soup, and to add: fried tofu, mixed root veg, pork belly, rump steak and fresh noodles.

 

Taste: 4/5

In short, this place is tasty.  I thoroughly enjoyed my meal and looked forward to each mouthful.  The small pot means it takes a little long for the vegetables and thicker cuts of meat to cook, which might put some off, but if you know what you’re doing you should be fine.  A mark is lost because I ordered the 麻辣 soup, the ‘hot’ dipping sauce and I still had to layer in a load of extra chilli sauce to get any near the kind of level of heat I wanted.  Hot pot doesn’t need to be spicy, but if you’re going to sell me a 麻辣 flavour, then please make it 麻辣.  That’s just me though, so I’m still willing to give this place high marks.

 

Authenticity: 2/5

I feel bad giving low marks here – if this category was ‘atmosphere’ or ‘cleanliness’ then it would be scoring pretty high, but the fact is that this is a fairly sanitized version of what you would get in China.  I went on a weekday lunch time and there weren’t a lot of people, with a fairly even mix of Chinese and non-Chinese.  The really big place where they lose marks though, is having staff that don’t speak Chinese.  Having staff that speak great English is… well… great, but even if they won’t let me, I’d like them to at least take the order off the Chinese guy next to me in Chinese.

 

Price: $$

I can’t find the pound key on my macbook, so this gets two dollars out of three.  This place won’t break the bank, but will leave you a little sore if just going for a lunch.  Including the service charge, I paid 15.60 and that didn’t include any drinks, and I had chosen the set meal with one extra plate of meat.

 

Summary:  I recommend this place.  It’s definitely worth a visit.  If you’re not used to this style you might feel a bit uncomfortable, but for anyone who likes to try something new, you will be rewarded.  Also, there is enough here for a seasoned hot pot pro.

 

Edit:  I've added a few photos here.  Apologies for my terrible photography skills and gratuitous shots of my half eaten meal and the mess I've made.

 

[imron]

I can’t find the pound key on my macbook,

Alt-3 should do the trick - £

[abcdefg]

I don't live in London, but I applaud your effort, Somethingfunny. Well done! Will be following this thread with interest. And I like your list of favorite foods.

 

I'm back home now in Texas for my annual visit and haven't even bothered to try the two Chinese places in my little town this year. Every time in the past they have both been disappointing. The owners are Chinese, but they have "adapted" all recipes to fit local tastes with the help of Mexican chefs who don't know about proper Asian seasoning. (I have nothing against Mexican food, but don't like it disguised as Chinese.)

 

In Kunming I sometimes go to an "individual hot pot" restaurant like the one you describe. Was introduced to it by a friend who was vegetarian. I would include meat items for mine, but she wouldn't for hers. Worked out very well that way.

[zander1]

Would recommend 'Chinese Laundry' in Islington if you get the chance, pretty authentic and very tasty.

 

Also, 'A Wong' in Victoria is really amazing, would recomend the 10 course taster menu (each course is from a different province) haven't tried their a la carte. He also does an 7/8 course menu where every course involves Beijing Duck in some way.

[Shelley]

This looks like a good project, what a wonderful reason to try lots of restaurants   "I need to eat here so I can do a review and here, and here......."

 

Its great for me cos with my nut allergy I will never try all this food but it nice to hear about it, if you ever come across a nut free chinese restaurant, do let me know

[abcdefg]

What a great idea to have a tasting menu with each course from a different province. 

 

Some of the Beijing-style roast duck places in Kunming serve the sliced duck meat in one course so you can roll it up in thin pancakes with scallions and condiments and follow that with the main bones deep fried and then sprinkled with some powdered spices so you can gnaw them for the last little bit of tender meat. I suppose that would make two courses and a third might be a duck soup. It would take a good culinary imagination to extend the menu to duck prepared or served 7 or 8 ways. I would like to go there and order that feast.

 

The Kunming individual-serving hot pot place that I mentioned above always features duck tongues. It's one of their specialty items. First time I had them, I was surprised by the bone. Wasn't expecting it and had to afterwards review duck anatomy 101.

 

Unlike that of mammals, the avian tongue possesses a bone that runs throughout the middle of the organ. And, instead of being covered on top in taste buds, tiny papillae protrude on either side of the tongues. While the tongue of cows and pigs are muscle meat, varying only somewhat in texture from the flesh on bones, the tongues of ducks bear no resemblance to duck meat.

 

https://cookingintongues.com/2011/10/27/do-duck-tongues-really-have-bones-and-other-food-discoveries-from-kunming-china/

 

http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2009/10/nasty-bits-fried-duck-tongue-offal-recipe.html

[zander1]

abcdefg - Take a look here if you want to see the menus: http://awong.co.uk/food/

Also I tried the Peking duck whiskey sour foam while I was there, surprisingly nice.

[abcdefg]

Very impressive! Thanks for that link. The duck fois gras and duck consomme sound good, as does the crisp roast duck skin. Not so sure about that cocktail, but I'll take your word for it.

 

Had a roast duck supper this August in Beijing at one of the famous 北京烤鸭 specialty restaurants (Dadong 大董) a block off Wangfujing. They offered some imaginative variations on the duck theme, but my dining companion was not feeling adventurous and they all had to be ordered for two or more people. We stuck to the basics.

 

Duck meal at Dadong in Beijing cost over 700 Yuan for two, with fruit juice instead of wine. And it was a fine meal, don't begrudge them a penny. Lots of atmosphere and excellent service.

 

But Kunming roast duck, carry out, Yiliang style, usually costs 26 yuan for one whole plump bird with golden crisp skin and juicy meat. The seller throws in dipping sauce, dry seasoned salt and scallions free.

 

[Luxi]

What a nice project! I often look for authentic Chinese places to eat when in London or other big cities, but 90% of the time, the food is disappointing. It's even worse outside the major cities. Great to have the prices too, A Wong sounds very nice but bit above my usual budget...and I tend to travel with companions who much rather go for the "All you can eat" buffet.

 

I hope you get a chance to travel to Manchester or Liverpool, Somethinfunny. 

[Botterli]

If you find yourself in York, check out Hong Kong Chop House (I know...) for some pretty authentic dishes (not just HK food).  If you have time, preorder the 凉皮 the day before you come. Red Chili is also pretty good and a bit more advanced.

[Shelley]

Well well well.............Look what I found just up the road from my place. Definitely will go and try some teas, and possibly desserts and sweets. Might be worth putting on your list if you are ever in Southampton.

 

https://www.google.co.uk/?gws_rd=ssl#q=hashtag+serendipity&cns=0

 

Its called Hashtag Serendipity .. not the best name but has some very good reviews.

 

I will let you know what I think when I go soon.

[somethingfunny]

So last Friday I heard about a place round the back of Euston train station that sold 凉皮, I asked the person who was just about to go there what the name of the place was and they said they didn't really know, but something like 陕西凉皮 or 西安肉夹馍 and that if I searched for something like that I'd surely find it.  It turns out this place is called Murger Han (terrible name - possible lost marks here), but you'll find it hard to miss as, after all, it has 西安凉皮肉夹馍 written across the main sign.  I've always had a bit of a love-hate relationship with 凉皮 but my curiosity for something very Chinese, fairly obscure, and not generally well-known for being delicious led me to get there as soon as I could.

 

Description:  This place does two things:  肉夹馍 and an assortment of noodle dishes, including 凉皮, 油泼面, biang biang 面, even 米线.  The place is fairly small with tables for two packed in quite close together at the back.

 

What I had:  One 肉夹馍 and the full whack biang biang 面 which comes with pork, spicy oil and some egg. 

 

Taste: 5/5

Wow.  I wasn't expecting this.  I used to live in a place (admittedly in the North-East of China) that had a 陕西 restaurant downstairs and I'd often eat their biang biang 面, the noodles at Murger Han are much better than that.  Good strong flavours, perfectly cooked noodles, fresh and crunchy vegetables.  The 肉夹馍 tasted pretty much like any 肉夹馍 I ever had in China tasted (I'm not a massive fan but ordered out of curiosity).  These noodles won't be to everyone's liking but I was very, very impressed.

 

Authenticity: 5/5

Even though I was served by the member of staff they'd hired in to handle the 'foreigners', I'm still going to give this place top marks as I was the only non-Chinese person there (and it was getting full when I left after an early dinner on a Sunday evening), and the food was pretty much exactly what you would be served in China.  I find the staff thing a bit strange, I'm not being racist (I hope not anyway) but even if you're speaking to the Chinese waiting staff in English, you can still be confident that you're ordering from someone who is very knowledgeable about the food.  I guess thats one of the characteristics of the 'the customer is always right' culture - it's difficult to tell a customer who is ordering 'incorrectly' what they should actually ask for.  But anyway, the Chinese customers felt sufficiently at ease here to shout out loudly when they were ready to order.

 

Price: £-££ (That's one-and-a-half, and it's shift-3: £)

I paid £8.80 for my noodles and £3.60 for my "Chinese Burger".  I could have done with just the noodles, and it would have definitely been too much at lunch time.  They automatically add a 10% service charge - does everywhere do that now, or is just something the Chinese places like to do because they're worried their Chinese customers won't tip?  Anyway, you could get a lunch time bowl of tasty noodles for under £10.  I didn't have any drinks but expect the normal London prices.

 

Summary:  Very, very good.  I will be returning at the first opportunity.  This won't be everyone's cup of tea, and I can imagine some people finding it fairly disgusting (and quite oily), but it really exceeded my expectations and I think you'll be hard-pressed to find somewhere else in London (or the UK?) making noodles like this.

 

Pictures:

[Luxi]

What an amazing find, Somethingfunny! Euston Station is my station to London, almost feels like home ground.  I must make a point to get there with plenty of spare time to try this place.

 

Their FB page is quite interesting,  has some notes and pictures of food. 

https://www.facebook.com/MURGERHAN/

[somethingfunny]

Well let us know if you check it out, I'd like someone else's opinion.  I'm starting to worry I wrote the review too soon after eating there and might have been a little overexcited.  

 

Was damn good though.

[abcdefg]

肉夹馍 -- Yum! For whatever reason Kunming has lots of small cafes run by cooks from 陕西。This means easy availability of things like interesting noodle dishes and rou jia mo, the "Chinese hamburger." One near my house will serve me more lean meat if I ask them, which makes the finished product much more tasty, at least in my view. In some other places the meat is nearly entirely fat. They stew it slowly a very long time and use a rich, flavorful sauce 卤汁 plus a garnish of medium-spicy green peppers cut in slivers.

 

I'm still in Texas, but look forward to returning to Kunming where I can have such items again before long.

[Zeppa]

Would you try My Old Place near Liverpool Street Station please, the one in Middlesex Street (there's one in Bethnal Green but I don't know it). I have only been once. It may be the best Sichuan food in London.

http://www.feedingfen.com/2015/08/23/my-old-place-east-london-szechuan-dining/

[LiMo]

Great review of Murger Han (Is that really the English name, I'm pretty unobservant  ), I've been there myself and I can heartily concur with your conclusions. Absolutely delicious!

[Guest realmayo]

I definitely need to try Murger Han or My Old Place next time I get Chinese food. And keep A Wong as an option. I'd also been curious what the Shuang Shuang place was like. These are excellent reviews.

 

I've found in the past that Chinese restaurants in London can be great ... until one day they're suddenly nothing at all special. Manchurian Legends was one like that. I read somewhere that it's simply a matter of the chef moving on.

 

My only addition to this topic is to recommend Min Jiang for Peking duck: expensive, so kind of a special-occasion place, nice views, and I liked the duck a lot (although I've only had it once before so I'm hardly the expert).

[somethingfunny]

How much is A Wong?  Looks nice, but pricey, and I couldn't see any prices on the website.