I've lived in Brighton for nearly two years now and, as a person who spent my formative years in Hong Kong, could not find any local Chinese restaurant that took my fancy -- until now.
As the first dish arrived, a warm noodle dish with a fermented bean sauce that I've ordered at countless Chinese resistants over the years despite repeated punishing disappointment, I was shocked to find it to be... perfect. Just the right amount of rich meat flavouring, no bitterness or cloying sweetness dominating the dish, and perfect ratio of sauce to noodles. The best version of this dish I have eaten outside of China.
Then I tried the next dish -- again a commonly available and frequently ordered seared green beans with some spice and minced meat. Disbelief began to set in -- this was the best version of this dish I had in my LIFE. I began to wonder if I had accidentally starved myself for a week to make everything taste this good. Maybe I was going insane from infrequent Chinese food consumption. Maybe I needed to eat at a trashy Chinese restaurant to make sure I was properly calibrated. How could this random restaurant on Queens road, full of eateries that don't even have to be good because they get tourist foot traffic, be blowing my mind?
We ordered yet two more dishes. The "Chinese Burger" -- our server admitted he just couldn't find a decent translation for the dish -- which consisted of fatty shredded richly flavoured meat not unlike the Chinese version of the shredded whole roast hog sandwiches that have recently joined London food markets in Southbank Centre and Borough Market. Much like my discovery of Polish lard spread with bits of bacon, the flavour put me beyond caring about the fat content. We finished with a Hunan tofu dish that, again, was stellar and for me an interesting contrast to a lot of the Sichuan tofu preparations I've tried in the past.
Unusual for Chinese restaurants in the area, the server/owner was really friendly and chatty, talking about his idea behind the restaurant and photographing the food for the pictures in the window. It was a really warm welcome and only made me more excited to return.
The only caveats are the small seating availability (it wasn't crowded -- yet -- but they only just opened a week ago) though they do takeaway, and the fact that the English menu is different from the Chinese menu, and contains an odd assortment of things mostly that people who don't really like and/or know Chinese food could order. It's ridiculous and you should order from the pictures in the window or ask the waiter what is actually on the Chinese menu. I begged them to translate it before I left.
I'm still really confused about how every dish was beyond delicious. I will have to go eat at the lowest rated Chinese restaurant on Yelp, a Michelin starred one in London, and here again before I will probably be able to truly believe this magical experience really happened and can be had anytime I'm willing to spare a 5 min walk and £15pp. You think I'm joking, but I'll report back after I'm sure I'm properly calibrated. read more