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Where Do Chinese People Eat Out in London? |
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Food
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Wednesday, 23 May 2007 |
 There is a phenomenon in London (and many other major cosmopolitan cities outside of Asia) that always puts a disdainful grin on my face. Simply walk down the main streets of Chinatown and look through the windows of the many Chinese restaurants. Three out of four places are mostly half empty except on weekend nights when they are full. Whether they are half empty or full, these places share one funny trait – they are full of non-Chinese faces. There is nothing out of the ordinary about this. Plenty of Chinese restaurants throughout Europe are full of non-Chinese faces. What is interesting is that London Chinatown is full of Chinese people walking around. So why are they not in these restaurants? Where do they eat?
Well, there are a few restaurants in Chinatown that Chinese people do eat in. But first, let’s examine why Chinese people do not eat in the places mentioned above. Simple answer – these places don’t really cater to Chinese people. They are designed for tourists and non-Chinese Londoners who come to Chinatown to eat ‘Chinese’ food. So, if you want to venture beyond sweet and sour pork and lemon chicken. Try these real Chinese restaurants:
Young Cheng (2 branches)
76 Shaftesbury Avenue, London, W1D 6ND
Telephone: 020 7437 0237
22 Lisle Street, London, WC2H 7BA
Telephone: 020 7287 3045
This is the most authentic local Cantonese restaurant in Chinatown and the one place I go to more than any other in Chinatown. This is where Chinese people go for good, no-nonsense cheap Hong Kong diner food. Neither the food nor the atmosphere is fancy. The service is friendly but rushed. If you want to hang around for a long meal, you are in the wrong place. The food is not compromised - it’s cooked for Chinese people. Lunch gives you perhaps the best deal in town – one dish with rice/noodles for around £5, and you get tea and a big bowl of authentic, home style Chinese soup (with pork bones and vegetables) for free. What would I do without Young Cheng?
Golden Dragon
28 Gerrard Street, Westminster, London, W1D
Telephone: 020 7734 2763
Of all the dim sum restaurants in Chinatown, this is the best and the most authentic one. Look inside and you’ll see a sea of Chinese faces, perhaps the only place with so many Chinese faces for dim sum. The service is rushed and the plates are slammed down on your table – just the way it should be in a busy Hong Kong dim sum restaurant!
Royal China
Several locations all over Greater London (Baker St., Queensway, St. John’s Wood, Canary Wharf, and more)
This is the Chinese restaurant to go to for the best dim sum in London (ok, Hakkasan and Yauatcha come close but have you seen the prices?!). When I have Chinese friends or relatives in town, this is where I take them if they want dim sum or a nice Chinese dinner. The food is excellent (on a par with good restaurants in Hong Kong), the prices are only slightly higher than in Chinatown, the atmosphere is nice (as nice as an authentic Chinese restaurants catered to Chinese people can be – if you’re Chinese, you know what I mean), and the service is decent. Just about every dish here is of good quality so you can’t go wrong. Be prepared for queues on weekends for dim sum.
Four Seasons
84 Queensway, Westminster, London, W2
Telephone: 020 7229 4320
New location: 12 Gerrard St, Westminster, London W1D 5PR
Telephone: 020 7494 0870
Roast duck heaven. They probably sell more roast duck here than all the Chinese restaurants in London combined. And for good reason – the duck and the sauce it comes with is second to none. Fortunately, all the other dishes are also done well here so you can have a full authentic Hong Kong meal for decent prices. A guaranteed queue every evening.
Angeles
405 Kilburn High Road, London, NW6 7QE
Telephone: 020 8328 3255 / 020 7625 2663
Angeles serves uncompromised Sichuan food. It’s spicy and there’s plenty of Sichuan peppercorns to make your tongue tingle and become numb. It’s a tacky looking building and if you stumble into the wrong side of the restaurant, you end up in a typical Westernised Chinese buffet. It’s easy to know which side of the restaurant serves the real stuff – look at the clientele. The only time I saw non-Chinese faces in the Sichuan part of the restaurant was when this group of white youngsters were chowing down the real stuff and speaking fluent Chinese to the waitress! |
