[Review] Lo's Noodle Factory - Cheap Rice Rolls in a dodgy alley

As I was in London, someone asked me to get some rice rolls.
The message directed me to this dodgy alley so I thought the person was mucking me about as it looked dark and dirty.

Entered a shop which looked like a seafood shop and asked for rice rolls and the guy told me it was the shop next door so it appears I was in the right direction.
Finally found the shop with a narrow corridor that only fits one person so once you bought your stuff anyone queuing would have to give way.

To be honest, the rice rolls were really good as the texture was firm with a chew and much better than the crap in Hong Kong which is sweet by default without any sauces.

They also had buns which I didn't like much as they were hard to swallow.

Lo's Noodle Co Ltd
6 Dansey Place, London

[Review] China Garden

My experience at China Garden two years ago was not good but the experience this time was good.
As this restaurant has been serving food for the past 30 years, it is possible I may have been as a kid.
Anyway, the reason I didn't like it two years ago was that the dimsum was so oily and the quality was like the bad stuff in Hong Kong.

So on this visit, I didn't have any expectations but in general, the Chinese food in UK is much better than Hong Kong.

Moving on to the dimsum, the taro puffs, rice rolls, Singapore rice noodles and egg tarts were impressive.

To begin, the taro puffs were fried to perfection and gave a clean bite.

It was made nicely with distinct taro coating with juicy mince meat in gravy inside the taro puff.

The cup cake wrapper holding the taro puff did not have a drop of oil hence which was a good sign.

Next were the rice rolls, again perfect uniformly opaque sheets with prawn underneath drenched in delicious sweet soy sauce.

The Singapore rice noodles were delicious even though it was lacking colour and it was not too spicy crammed with fresh ingredients like pieces of charsiu etc

Finished with the Eggtarts which had a uniform pastry that was firm yet flakey.
The filling in the middle was delicious.

The only complaint was one of the waitresses that made me feel like Hong Kong, every time she collected the plates she would push me and the person sitting next to me aside.

Anyway, I will probably be back if the gang are back.

China Garden
88-91 Preston St, Brighton

[Review] London Chinatown's talk of town Wong Kei

Wong Kei is a famous restaurant in Chinatown for its rude service.
It is that famous you can google it on Wikipedia.

All that changed after 2001 when the restaurant got refurbished and friendlier waiters were hired but still there are some cocky ones.

To be honest, I am not a fan of Hong Kong style Chinese food but went because I was curious of how the restaurant was after renovation.

Not my cup of tea but it is the usual stuff you get from Hong Kong so if you miss food there, I would highly recommend it.
Saying that, I didn't order the roast duck but saw someone eating it and it looked good so I might try it next time as the famous duck nearby was disappointing.

Here were the dishes my friends had. Basically the Hong Kong fare.
Tried the flat rice noodles and tofu and it is the same but probably cleaner and fresh than the crap in Hong Kong.

Also had the beef brisket noodles which I would say taste better than Hong Kong because the beef is edible and tasty.

The broth is also rich with a hint of caraway seeds unlike the anaemic pale tasteless beef brisket soups in Hong Kong.

I would say the broth here is tasty like the one you get at Wing Kei noodles in Causeway bay while the noodles don't have that annoying lye flavour to it and the texture is much softer.

It is also recommended to ask for the chilli oil which spices things up even though it is tasty without whereas in Hong Kong chilli oil is definitely needed because the noodles and broth are seriously tasteless except for that nasty lye taste.

The only place for good beef brisket noodles in Hong Kong is Kau Kee where they also put caraway in the beef stock but their broth is weak.

I was a bit disappointed with the stir fried beef flat noodles because the strands were all broken which made it hard to pick up with chopsticks let alone a fork.

I found it bland overall.

The tea you get is also good and you can see why it is so aromatic because you get whole tea leaves.

Not top quality but better than average.

WONG KEI:
41-43 Wardour St, London W1D 6PY

[Review - 鼎·會館 Ding's Club] Shunde delight's headed by Celebrity Chef Ding!

Celebrity Chef Ding has been rocking the kitchen with his passionate cooking and recipes which are healthy and MSG free.

At Ding's Club, he is collaborating with Chef Lee Cheung and whipping Shunde Cuisine featuring the Shunde feast for six at HK$4,888 which is inclusive of 10% available now until 31st October at this early bird price. 

To start off, began with the meaty lobster which was tasty and not tenderized with cornflour so you can truly appreciate the taste of lobster.

Next was the steamed pork and mud carp patty. 

Again, you can taste the freshness of the pork, but the mud carp patty was the star of the show as the texture was springy like minced prawn patty and it was boneless which is worth mentioning. 

Of all the mud carp patties I have had, they all contain bones and fish scales but this one doesn't.

The next course was soup made of fish and shark fin. 

It was creamy yet light with lots of fine pieces of fish in it, again without any msg and artificial thickeners you can really appreciate the taste and the ingredients.

For abalone lovers, the coating for the abalone was thin and crispy with a touch of salt and pepper.

Spotted Scat served in two ways: Sliced fillet, assorted vegetables. 

Having the spotted scat slices with vegetables were tasty as there were many ingredients to go with it.



Steamed fin and head with dried tangerine peel. 

The fish was complimented nicely by the tangerine peel and sauce which made you hungrier.

Pan fried chicken fillet, assorted pepper, premium soy sauce. 

The chicken fillet was tender and coated with a nice soy sauce glaze, the only complaint would be the bones.

Wintermelon curd filled with matsutake and wild mushrooms: 

Before the noodles, had this refreshing vegetable dish of wintermelon topped with mushrooms.

Braised goose fillet on flat rice noodles: 

The star of the show had to be the noodles beneath which has absorbed all the goose essence.

Dessert finished with the Double boiled fresh milk custard and taro puree and the Traditional sugar cake. 

The milk custard was silky and the taro puree on top was not too sweet without being too starchy.

Overall, I would definitely recommend eating here because of the fresh ingredients they use and they don't use MSG.

鼎·會館 Ding's Club:
23/F, H Queen's, 80 Queen's Road Central, Central
Tel: 23271398

[乜記餐室 What Cafe] What the heck is What Cafe?

Came here randomly because the name aroused curiosity.
Inside it was just the usual cha chaan teng items but the decor was vintage with LPs and old posters etc.

Ordered the hainan chicken and the stir fried beef noodles.
The chicken was just skin and bone.



The stir fried beef noodles turned out the best and they used thin flat noodles.

After adding chili sauce, it tasted really good because the chili sauce they gave had some vinegar in it.

Plant Based dishes for less than HKD50 at Tsui Wah

Tsui Wah is a famous restaurant that serves Hong Kong style dishes.

I was really excited to find out that Tsui Wah Restaurants are serving omnipork which is the current trend for plant based alternatives.

In general, the prices at Tsui Wah can be pricier than similar restaurants so I was elated that their plant based dishes were under HKD50!!

On the plant based menu, they have the classic Baked Omnipork Bolognese Spaghetti for HKD49 and the local Hong Kong favourite, Omnipork Bolognese sauce with Fried egg over rice for just HKD45.
If you want it totally vegan, you can request for it without egg and cheese which they are happy to accommodate.

As well as main dishes, you can also get your vegetable fix with chilled okra complimented by wasabi soy sauce.

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Omnipork Bolognese sauce with Fried egg over rice:

I am so glad this is now on the menu because I loved it, bolognese and rice is simply delicious together and more nutritious with egg if you can eat it.

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Baked Omnipork Bolognese Spaghetti:

For pasta lovers, this is another good option, again you can request it without cheese.

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I will definitely be coming back for the Omnipork Bolognese sauce with Fried egg over rice because it is just comforting and filling.

For those who are new to omnipork, it is cholesterol free, lower in calories and unsaturated fats.