We came in for lunch on a Monday afternoon while sightseeing nearby, looking for some quick and tasty eats. We love Chinese food and eat it often. Friends is probably the worst Chinese restaurant we have ever been to. Didn't expect stellar Chinese food in Glasgow, and thought it was a good sign when we saw lots of Chinese students at the tables.
As soon as we were seated, the nasty waitress had to repeat everything we said about 4 times as if correcting what we were saying. "Steamed rice? Boiled rice!" Or "Noodles? Noodles!". We were scared to anger her so just said we wanted two of the same dish. Very critical to the Chinese dining experience are both chopsticks and sauces (soy, chili, etc). None for us, apparently! We saw the Chinese students did get chopsticks, so not sure why we weren't given any!
So that was the horrible service ... the food was even worse. The menu is strangely arranged (based on our previous Chinese food experience). They seemed to only allow combo ordering which meant you had to get an app and a main course. The main courses were listed as a bunch of sauces (e.g. Chicken and mushroom, beef and black bean) then you could choose noodles or rice. We ordered spring rolls which were okay. They were very miniature so the kids liked them.
Our main was chicken and mushroom with noodles. It was very surprising and strange to get the sauce and noodles *separately*. Both the sauce and noodles were way over salty. We then ordered a won ton noodle soup, hoping that such a simple and easy dish could redeem this whole experience! We were so sad that the dumplings - floating in a yellow liquid with a couple of lettuce leaves - were totally devoid of flavor! It was as if they slapped some questionable minced meat and shrimp into the wrapper without any green onions, soy sauce, ginger - or anything that provides any flavor whatsoever. The meal was not even cheap. The bill came to 27 GBP.
We felt we were missing some crucial knowledge. What did these Chinese students know that we didn't? Was there no better place in Glasgow for them to satisfy their cravings for homeland food?
As we headed back toward central Glasgow, we saw several other Chinese restaurants. I'm sure all are better than Friends, or they wouldn't be in business. read more