14/07/09
Roast duck and cuttlefish on rice- £5.20plus tub of chilli oil
All too delicious and very good value. Have you noticed how the Chinese get away with serving the duck not pink and still excellent tasting!--------
Sibling restaurant of Hung's
Good rice and noodle dishes but Dim Sum too 'brought-in'
Scroll down for more pics.
Today is the fifteenth day of the Chinese New Year (CNY) and effectively its last day. During the past fourteen nights I’ve yet to eat a proper Chinese meal to celebrate the event. So off to Chinatown I went. Wonky (I used to come here to get maltreated but the waiters have recently mellowed much to my annoyance) was closed for a refurb and Hungs (another useful Hollowlegs recommendation) was packed, so I decided on the latter’s sister restaurant on Gerrard Street instead.
The naff name of Crispy Duck is enough to put most people off, but I was surprised that the entire ground floor dining room was populated by nearly 100% Chinese diners. Maybe the tacky name is a deliberate ploy to deter folks of little or no Chinese persuasion from venturing in.
I came to Chinatown for one thing today and that’s a meal of dumplings and noodles. I’m by choice agnostic, but the old traditions I’ve been brought up with respect to CNY are difficult to abandon altogether. The two things in question are one of CNY’s many auspicious food items that are mandatorily consumed; dumplings to usher in good fortune and noodles for long life. 
Won Ton are for the masses but Shui Kow are for the discerning lot. The main difference is the latter has a much greater percentage of prawns to pork in the filling and ultimately more delicious.
I supposed the entire bowl tasted ok , although it wasn't as good as the now extinct China China but miles better than Wonkys (which is not difficult). 
Here’s the sub bill that was buried under the final one, £4.80 for the nosh (not bad) and 60p for the weak tea is pretty fair. 12.5% service charge, as per usual was latent on the final bill. The waiters were in a good mood today so I expect they deserved the measly 60p.Crispy Duck is thus added to my list of Plan B restaurants in Soho.
7 Gerrard Street
London W1D 5PH
18/02/09
Dim Sum Lunch- average, not a patch on Harbour City.
5 comments:
Ah, that's a shame - Hung's kin prawn dumpling noodles are excellent. I usually get them half and half, with crispy belly pork...
Lizzie has been sorting me out with recommendations too! I've yet to try Hung's.
Hope you had a good CNY! I can identify with your sentiments as a lapsed catholic. Some traditions, I still really like.
Niamh
Lizzie- my word, crispy pork and dumplings; sod my arteries, Ill order the combo when I'm at Hungs next.
Niamh- Thanks, the truth is I don't really celebrate CNY nor Christmas for that matter. As long as I have a plate of something decent to eat everyday, I'm a happy brother.
Shame. I loved the shui jiao when I ate here (only once!) and have raved about them ever since. Maybe they've gone downhill since. I think I might try and make some one day! Thanks for the review...
Helen- I think I was just being too fussy with the dumplings, or maybe it was just that Monday thing with the kitchen.
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