ALL DAY DIM SUM @ Chuen Cheng Ku 泉章居 Dim Sum Palace- London China Town

Aaaaaaah! I never realised with all the times I go to China Town that there's actually a restaurant that serves DIM SUM ALL DAY !! Both my brother and mother said to me I used to go there when I was a baby and as a child... Really?!! I don't recall such moments. It also used to be my dad's regular dim sum restaurant when he was out and about... Didn't even know that too!! Childhood stories start flooding in when you grow older... ¬,¬""

It was Mr Stingy's (my brother) birthday earlier in the week (last week), and I said we'll go and find a place to eat dim sum, so we chose this place as I also wanted to find a place that serves dim sum until late anyway (a mission I felt I needed to complete as a reader who left a comment asked about where to find a restaurant that served dim sum after normal serving time)!!

Outside Dim Sum Palace a.k.a Chuen Cheng Ku

Their menu outside

Dim sum is served until 11.30 pm

Dim sum all day!!!

Well this place has been around for so long that I walk pass it, and never think about going in there. Arrogance? No. Idiot? Yes. I think it's undergone some renovation on the outside, but it's very minor. And with its hard to read Chinese characters at the front, which looked like a few scribbles to me, Chuen Cheng Ku 泉章居 a.k.a Dim Sum Palace (Canto: chyun jeung gu; Mando: quan2 zhang1 ju1) doesn't have any real meaning to it. But when you split the characters up... 泉 = Spring (water spring); 章 = Chapter; 居 = Residence (home)... I actually don't know what it means. Could be the person's name who owned the restaurant back in 1970-something...

Inside the restaurant

Chandelier... I know...

More of the inside

This was the place to go!! :D We were greeted by a nice lady who knew we wanted to eat dim sum. I think everyone who goes there wants to eat dim sum! This is similar to New World where they serve dim sum on a trolley - Cantonese style! My brother and I ate 12 dishes / baskets all together and it cost £37.40 including a 10% service charge. Bummer. Service charge again... Average cost per dish excluding the service charge on this occasion was £2.83. Not bad!! Unfortunately I lost all those pictures whilst reformatting my phone and Kies software decided to delete my back up pictures. ¬,¬ So I went again the next day, but this time with my mum...

Picture menu

The other side

On the second occasion, the lady at the front was missing and the waiter asked us to wait outside. Realised there should be a sign outside to say wait for someone to serve you... Oh well. Lost a few marks there.

So we were seated and the trolleys started rolling. We had these first...

Tofu Skin Roll (not vegetarian) - these are actually my favourite dim sum of ALL TIME!

Beef ball dumplings

Deep fried meat dumpling (ham sui gok) - love these!!

Yam Croquette - not as good as the one in Elephant and Castle as my mum pointed out

The food

The trolleys then stopped rolling... I wanted one more dish!! The prawn rice rolls. But when the trolley finally came, there was none left. :( So sad. The waiter said he would come back when they would be ready... But nah, so I had the bbq pork one instead. Don't eat this one very often, and this was so-so...

BBQ pork cheung fun

This time the total cost came to £21. Actual cost was £19.10, but not sure if the tea was free or not. Tea or no tea, the average cost per dish was £3.82 on this occasion... Hmmm, how comes?! It should be cheap, not expensive... I looked at my pictures later and realised the service charge can be omitted if you disagree with it! Nice! Should've noticed that earlier...

The bill!

My mother said to me the food was so-so. It's not as good as it used to be. The chef has changed. The food was kind of bland and not as good as the one in Elephant and Castle... Hahahah! I actually agree!!

CCK Buffet is upstairs from Wardour Street Entrance

My geeky rating: 4/5

Good points:

- Nice spacious restaurant

- Cantonese serving style

- Cheapish, not overly expensive

- Some friendly staff... mainly the ones serving food as I spoke in Mandarin :)

- Non-compulsory service charge

Bad points:

- Trolleys need to come around more regularly

- Keep the food hot... it was a bit warm for me

- Some of the food was a bit bland according to my mum

Address: 17 Wardour Street, London W1D 6PJ; 20 Rupert Street London W1D 6DF (There's two entrances by the way...)

Telephone: 02074371398 and 02077343281

Opening times: Mon - Sat 11.00 - 23.45; Sun 11.00 - 23.15
Dim sum is served all day until 11.30 pm (and I think 11 pm on a Sunday since they close early)!! ^_^

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Noodle Oodle - London Oxford Street

On the weekend I went out with Miss Pinky AND finally we got her a laptop. She hasn't had one for years, and I have no idea how she coped without one for this long. I would just breakdown and collapse... That's how much I love computing...

Anyway, back to this review. When we finally got the laptop we did a little food shopping, but we also needed to eat as both of us hardly ever eat breakfast as usual (plus Miss Pinky is usually a late riser)... She said to me she wants roast duck and noodle soup, the most greasiest one... Ewww... Really?! So as we were heading to China Town via Oxford Street, which I haven't been to for a few months I think... Then I saw the a big sign 麵 (noodles) on top of a shop, and said to Miss Pinky let's look at this place. I wanted to try somewhere different, and I'm sure Miss Pinky didn't want to carry her laptop all the way to China Town. I had a brief look at their menu book outside, and Miss Pinky already saw what she wanted. Heheheh. 

People walking pass Noodle Oodle... Couldn't get a clear shot... Fine, people, you can be in my blog!

Noodle Oodle has been around in Oxford Street since 2006. Really? I never even noticed it until that day... I must be a food snob! No not really. I just find eating around Oxford Street a bit stressful. So many people. So many shopping bags. So many tourists! I can't even recommend any good place to eat along there except for Wasabi. Is that still there? Nope... It's all the way near the centre of Oxford Street now!!

Roast duck hanging in the window, Noodle sign and the ceiling ¬,¬"

Menu Cover

Noodle Oodle is a Shanghainese-Halal restaurant, so there's no pork, na-da (none of that stuff)! It takes me forever to choose if I've never been to a restaurant before, so in the end Miss Pinky had her duck and noodle soup and I had the meal special. Miss Pinky was watching the chefs making our food, she was even watching the guy making her noodles. I think they are made as soon as you order them! Fresh noodles!

These noodles are in fact called laai-min (Canto) 拉麵 or la-mian 拉面 (Mando), which means "pulled-noodles" as they pull the dough to make lengthy noodles.

The noodle chef in white

Service was a bit slow. It isn't one of those super speedy Chinese restaurants that you would often see in China Town. So in the mean time we were talking and observing other customers. One family was complaining that their order was wrong. Sometimes I just can't understand why people have to complicate things that's on the menu, it's food. Order what's on the menu...

My meal special consisted of a plate of pak choi, a plate of rice covered with a thin slice of omelette and beef in black bean sauce, plus a lemon tea for £11.80. 

My Special

Iced Lemon Tea - it was ok

I could see some black bits in my pak choi. Did they wash it? Or is that just the wok bits? That can happen when cooking. But I never like those bits in my food. The pak choi was ok. There was nothing too special about it.

Pak Choi

My rice and beef was ok too. The rice and omelette was probably the only good thing as it was so filling, and I was given so much rice! The beef on the other hand was kind of what I eat at home. Salty and a bit sweet, but the beef was good. Unfortunately it went cold too quickly.

There was a lot of rice underneath that omelette!

Close up

Miss Pinky ate all of her roast duck and noodles! Wow. She really liked it. The noodles were thick. I had a taste of it, and it tasted plain, not too doughy and was easy to eat. I didn't try the duck but it was good she said.

Roast duck and la mian soup

We were both so full we could hardly move! 

Overall cost came to £23.70! That included a 10% service charge... Service charge again! Doesn't anyone tip these days...? Why must there always be a service charge in every restaurant I have been to recently?!

The bill

My geeky rating: 4/5

Good points: 

- Fresh noodles are made in front of you (if your back is facing the kitchen which mine was, then turn around and have a look)

- Halal - nice to see, not all Chinese or Shanghainese restaurants are Halal
- Would go again to try out one of the noodle dishes
- Food is absolutely filling

Bad points:

- Seating arrangements are a little bit tight (you might be elbowed by someone behind you - that happened to me!)

- Service is a little slow

- Some would say this is cheap, but I think the noodles were expensive even if it is freshly made
- Service charge (uh-hm!)

Address: 50 Oxford Street, London W1D 1BG

Telephone: 0207 436 9889

Website: http://noodleoodle.com/

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Bank Holiday Yumcha at Dragon Castle 金龍堡 - London Elephant and Castle

Has it been a while since I went out to yumcha? Yep it has been a while. 

This time I went out with my mum again. And this time we dined locally at Dragon Castle which is by Elephant and Castle... Chinese name is 金龍堡 (canto: gam lung bou; mando: jin long bao) literally meaning "Golden-Dragon-Castle/Fort". You can see in the picture below that you have to read it from right to left, as it is in traditional Chinese script writing for door signs. Don't worry I get confused too sometimes... When it first opened I only went there once and bought a crispy noodle dish as a take away. It was good, but very expensive, and I never went back since then! But this time I went there to yumcha, eat dim sum and enjoy my Bank Holiday Monday! 

I can't believe I haven't dined here before! I have been telling myself to go to this place for years, and on Bank Holiday Monday I finally went!! Yipee!! I think I would have dined by myself if no one came with me...

The entrances are on either side of this red door and the two stone lions

A stone lion

The dimsum menu outside the restaurant

It is a very grand place, and it hasn't changed much in appearance since it has opened - both the interior and exterior... although a paint job of a different colour that wouldn't match the rest of the building would be preferable... A light blue building looks dull for a Chinese restaurant that serves good food (already praising the food! Dear Me!!). 

Don't like the blue exterior - needs a paint job for the restaurant section

They have a small indoor fountain / pond

So many goldfish!

Apart from the ugly paint work outside, its interior is extremely beautiful! There is a tall ceiling and there are large chandeliers hanging. There's a large bar area, I bet the owner wanted a big bar to serve many different drinks! I didn't get to see the large tables at the back as there are dividers blocking that area, but you can see them when you're on the bus. The dining tables are equally spread out but you can still see what other people are eating... We had a couple of women sitting next to us, and one of them was quite irritating and a bit rude. Not sure why. I think they enjoyed the food but didn't like the service.

Inside the dining area

Don't ask me why I always take pictures of the lights! They are so grand!

The windows are so big... cleaning must take forever!!

Ordering dimsum is quite easy, it's a bit like Ping Pong, but there are no set menus and the food is traditional stuff! Just write down the number inside the brackets of how many of the dish / basket you want. Unfortunately the menu is in Simplified Chinese, no Traditional Chinese and there's no English on the ordering paper, but there is a menu book with the pictures and English inside, which also includes the main menu (rice, noodles and other dishes)... So if you get stuck refer to the pictures or otherwise learn Chinese or dine with someone who's Chinese (like me! Invite me!! ¬,¬) or ask the staff... The manager speaks Cantonese, and the waiters / waitresses speak Cantonese and / or Mandarin. I spoke mainly Cantonese and English, and said thank you in Mandarin quite a few times...

The dimsum menu in Simplified Chinese

The dimsum menu in pictures

The dimsum menu in pictures continued

The dimsum menu in pictures... final page!

Our food came! My mother didn't want to each much, but I ate quite a bit. Heheh... I did all the food ticking (ordering) by the way, I never usually do... 

This picture doesn't feature the taro croquettes... ate those before the other dishes came...

Ate the taro croquettes first. These are very good. I felt like I've never tasted these before! They were smallish, but it felt like it melted in your mouth...

蜂巢荔芋角 (Mando: feng chao li yu jiao; Canto: fung caau lai wu gok) "Honeycomb/Beehive Nest" Taro Croquette - £2.90

This, as usual, is the shrimp rice roll. I love this stuff. I wish they sold the frozen version in China Town and other Asian stores so I can steam these at home. I know they sell them frozen worldwide, but not in the UK... :(

Simp: 鲜虾肠粉 (Mando: xian xia chang fen); Trad: 鮮蝦腸粉 (Canto: sin haa cheung fan) Fresh Shrimp (or Prawn) Rice Roll (cheung fan) - £4.00

If you don't mind eating the insides an animal, then you might like this. This is black pepper tripe. Tripe is part of an animal's stomach. And this is seasoned very well and it's a little spicy... Not sure which animal it's from though...

Simp: 黑椒金钱肚 (Mando: hei jiao jin qian du); Trad: 黑椒金錢肚 (Canto: haak jiu gam cin tou) Black Pepper Tripe - I love this!! - £2.90

This is one of my favourite dimsum's of all time! Shrimp dumplings. This has a thick, translucent wrap. The dumpling is a bit big. And I could eat these everyday if I could or whenever I can. My mum said not to order these, BUT I LOVE THESE!! You can buy these frozen in Asian supermarkets.

Simp: 笋尖鲜虾饺 (Mando: sun jian xian xia jiao); Trad: 筍尖鮮蝦餃 (Canto: seon jim sin haa gaau) Haa Gaau - Shrimp Dumplings - £3.00

Everyone likes Char Siu Bao (BBQ Pork buns), but I eat it all the time! So I went for these chicken buns, chicken and mushroom buns to be exact! It's not sweet and tastes very good. Different to the ones you buy in Asian supermarkets. There are big pieces of fresh chicken inside.

Simp: 香菇鸡包子 (Mando: xiang gu ji bao zi); Trad: 香菇雞包子 (Canto: heung gu gai baau jai) Chicken and Mushroom Buns - £2.90

Inside the bun, very fresh ingredients!

My mum wanted these mini glutinous rice parcels, well she wanted the bigger version, but they don't sell those. These look in-house made. Definitely not frozen bought. There was a big fresh prawn in there, and usually the frozen ones have a dried shrimp in them.

Simp: 迷你珍珠鸡 (Mando: mi ni zhen zhu zi); Trad: 迷你珍珠雞 (Canto: mai nei zan zyu gai) Mini Glutinous Rice Parcels - £3.90

Inside the parcels

I think all the dimsum is made in the restaurant. All of it tasted very fresh and very different to the ones in China Town. The most expensive item on the menu is a fish congee (rice porridge) costing at £5.50.

The waiters / waitresses are always there looking at you, and they will fill your tea cup even if you didn't ask for it! A very different dining experience for me. I'm sure in China Town they don't help you fill your tea cup for you! One was a little impatient with my mum but was quite nice when he got our bill... And, woah. I think they were all eyeing me taking pictures... I can't help it, I take food pictures all the time!

Total bill came to £24.90 which includes the drinks and a 10% compulsory service charge. Without the drinks and service charge, it would have been £19.60, and that averages out to £3.27 per dish / basket!! Mega cheap!! ^_^ I like this place!! I would definitely come back again!!

Our receipt

So South Londoners, if you don't think China Town is for you, or you can't be bothered to travel out to a restaurant that serves dim sum, I would definitely recommend you go to Dragon Castle.

My geeky rating: 4.9 (loses a 0.1 mark for service charge)

Good points:
- Nice, spacious restaurant
- Good service (they try their best)
- Food is nice and cheap, I like it

Bad points:
- Waiters / Waitresses are constantly eyeing you, I feel like I don't know where to look...
- There's a 10% service charge!! :( No point giving tips if there's a service charge!! (I hate service charge with a passion... see all my other reviews with service charges!)

Address: 100 Walworth Rd London SE17 1JL
Telephone: 020 7277 3388

Dimsum serving times: Mon-Sat 12pm - 4.45pm; Sun 11.30am - 4.45pm

Website: http://www.dragon-castle.com/

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