Just walking in here the smells had me believing it was going to be a great meal…read more The menu had an impressive list of authentic Sichuan fare, including the "numbing" spicy dishes so sought after. Everything at every table looked delicious, and the portions were generous but not over the top. We had the egg and seaweed soup -- good but wouldn't order again as the seaweed was very large and difficult to eat and a bit overpowering. The twice-cooked pork was great. A bit on the salty side and not as spicy as I anticipated, but full of flavor. We also ordered their version of kung-pow chicken, which was different than what I'm accustomed to and preferable. Good chunks of chicken, roasted peanuts and a tangy sauce. Be warned that like a lot of places here any rice will cost you extra, you won't just get white rice with your meal. Would definitely return here and try more if only I lived in London!

Arguably some of the best Chinese food I've had in London thus far. Hat tip to Amy A for…read morerecommending it to me. Finding properly spicy food in this country is a bit hit-or-miss to begin with, but to find really mouthwatering Szechuan cuisine (er... Sichuan?) has been a near impossibility until now. From the moment I walked into this modest-looking restaurant, I had a positive vibe. Whether it was the delicious scents wafting about, or the fact that the staff and various other patrons were speaking in Mandarin, I knew from the very start that I'd come to the right place. I'll be honest in saying that my least favourite dishes that we shared family-style (of course) were the ones recommended by the staff. Perhaps they were steering us toward things that Brits like more? But the fried potatoes were basically crispy Chinese french fries and the house dumplings, whilst they looked to be covered in delicious sauce, came out surprisingly flavourless to me. That said, everything else was superb. The smashed cucumbers went down a treat, the 'ants climbing a tree' (ma ee sang su) and mapo tofu both had that rich aromatic Szechuan peppercorn heat to them. And the twice-cooked pork dish served with steam buns is an absolute hunger slayer. Be prepared to order a couple bottles of Tsing Tao to balance out the heat in the dishes, but the mild tingling ma la sensation is a big part of the reason to come. I fully expect to work this into my regular rotation of dining destinations now that I know it's here!

The La Mian Stall is an institution and long time resident at the the sunday market at Brick Lane…read more To find them, they are near the top of brick lane market, right underneath the underpass, closer to Shoreditch High Street Station than Aldgate East. Sundays only from some time in the morning until 5pm when the market shuts down. What you will find is a little taste of Asia in the best possible way. Hand-stretched flour noodles (la-mian) made right there before your very eyes, boiled, then served in the broth and meat accompaniments of your choosing. I had one with minced pork and 'special sauce' (who doesn't like special sauce?) and it was really good. The noodles were (obviously) really fresh, the broth was decent, and the pork bits salty and flavourful. AND all for about £5 a bowl. They also have chicken, roast pork, chilli tripe, and all kinds of available versions in addtion to some wok-fried items and really tasty dim sum. The only dim sum I tried was char siew bao, and it was legit (£1.50 for two). Plus they have a plastic table-clothed table for a few people (can maybe fit about 8 or so people) and some cheap plastic stools to sit on, so it is one of the few places along the brick lane market where you can actually sit down to eat. So authentic in its practicality and function that it makes me smile. This is also a great stall because you can stare at the guy making noodles, which is a fun show in itself. He's got skills.

** IMPORTANT NOTE: I think these guys go on holidays for 3-4 months at the beginning of the year,…read moreso don't freak out like I did when I kept visiting Brick Lane every Sunday hoping to catch them! Hopefully they'll be back soon :( ** I've been extremely picky about Chinese food since arriving in London, but luckily, this little La Mian stall under the bridge at Brick Lane has got it right! Fresh hand pulled noodles (la mian), swimming in a bowl of broth with your choice of roast duck, chicken, minced pork, and a few other variations. They also serve up other small dim sum items, such as pork buns, shrimp dumplings (har gow), pork dumplings (shiu mai), spring rolls, etc. I've tried their roast chicken leg, which is very good. The broth that they use is a mixture of soy, chicken (possibly beef) bouillon stock powder, plus a few other things. I think the broth could be better, but for the quantity I get, and by London standards - there's not much else to complain about! I've also had their tan tan noodles, which came with 5 or 6 pork shu mai. The shu mai was alright, I don't think they make this, and it was in a spicy peanutty soup. I've had proper tan tan noodles before, and this kind of missed the mark. Tasty in general, yes.. but doesn't really resonate a true bowl of tan tan noodles. i think I'm just gonna stick with normal noodles in a basic broth + meat! As for seating, there's a little table with a few small stools, but good luck getting a seat unless you're on your own! There's also a huge jar of chili oil on the table too, so don't forget to drizzle some over your noodles before taking off. The cost is very reasonable, especially for the quantity that you get. I think it runs you anywhere from £5.50-£7 per bowl, and even though they don't look THAT big - don't let it deceive you, as you will literally have to roll away. In Chinatown, a crappy bowl of noodles will cost you about £6, plus their "discretionary" (translation: mandatory) service charge. However, be prepared to wait for your food! Its awesome watching the noodle man do his thang, but with everyone standing around watching, its hard to figure out where to queue, and if people are even waiting in the queue. I believe this is a 2-man show, and while I get that they are popular and I'm sure they're popping out as many orders as they can - we waited 45 minutes for 4 bowls of noodles, which is a bit ridiculous. I think if they had a 3rd person in there, it would really speed things up. In any case though, if you have a lazy Sunday, get in line :)

Take all my stars away for the food because it was A-plus without a doubt, with everything that I…read morehave tasted as out of this world, totally reminding me of home in so many ways. The taste was flavorful. The portion size was generous. The price was reasonable. The hole-in-the-wall vibe was wholesome. And the fact that they straight up started talking to me in Mandarin was like... yeah y'all are totally authentic. I don't really have stuff to say about the individual dishes because everything that I have attached to this review is a hit, and for anyone coming through, it will pretty much just be a choice of preference on the meat included in the noodles. Whichever type of meat one likes will be the noodles that one should end up going with. I chose the beef flank one, and there was just a lot of tender beef flank included in my broth and I was happily eating everything and drinking the broth ferociously. You just can't go wrong with whichever you choose. This would definitely be a place that I would recommend anyone around the area! 10 out of 10 without a doubt.

This is a very small restaurant. I found the menu somewhat difficult to understand. I wasn't sure…read morewhat ingredients were already in each dish or which ones we should add from the list of toppings. It took a while to get our order taken correctly, but in the end our group of five left happy after eating delicious noodle bowls.

A small but, beautiful dining room with sweet owners and delicious food…read more I realize I've been handing out five star food ratings while in London but, the food has been terrific and Sinh Lee is no exception. We arrived early to an open door and the hostess quickly greeted and seated us. She proceeded to close the door and turn-on the air conditioning. It was sweet that she wanted her guests to be comfortable. The food was reasonably priced, quickly served, and great. Their vegetable spring rolls were crisp and fresh. We also had chicken and broccoli and fried chicken and noodles. Both were fantastic and the gravy from the chicken and broccoli was the best I've had. Nice folks, beautiful dining room, and great food. If you're looking for Chinese Food, try Sinh Le.

Takeaway quality food at proper restaurant prices…read more Was a bit taken back that the wonton soup was £6.60 and the fried rice £11.50. Thought this would reflect in the quality of the food but no, the quality and portion size was poor. The food was at Wong Kei level for Royal China prices! Charged £1.60 for chilli oil says it all. Will never go back.

Hello other Americans, couple of things…read more 1. The Brit's don't use yelp like in America they just use Google review 2. If you go to Google reviews you will see this is an awesome place 3. Crispy beef, chicken chowmein, curry chicken 4. Better than our Chinese food even nyc. 5. Get the prawn chips, they taste like nothing, in an awesome way, even if you do not like shrimp, they do not taste like nothing.

The brilliant name of this business meant that I had to give it a go one lunch time…read more Kung Food is popular with the City lunch time crowd and offers meal deals for £5 which have nap inducing effects in the office on long afternoons.

One of the best in Whitechapel / Spitalfield area. Great flavor. Great prices. Ended up going here…read more3 times in 9 days on vacation. Best dumplings ever. Beef noodles w chili also best ever. Service was hit or miss but worth putting up with it. You won't be disappointed, really a great place.

First let me start by saying this place was so hard to find the entrance to. Between the…read moreconstruction and many many locked doors, I finally found the 1st floor entrance. Once I got there the food did not disappoint. The dim sum options were plentiful and delicious. However my fav dishes of the night, the crispy duck (life changing). Every piece has crispy golden fried skin. The buns are replaced with thin wraps and all the condiments. Next would be the drunken noodles with shrimp and scallops. Definitely worth a visit but bake in extra time to find this front door.

Excellent food, service and atmosphere. Rare 4 star from me…read more Tried the set menu and it was excellent. A lot of food though, much more than we could eat unfortunately so bear this in mind

Really affordable and delicious Chinese food here! Recommended for anyone who's craving some…read moreChinese food to go! They're quick at cooking ! Definitely be back for more!!

This restaurant isn't bad so much as it is lacking in quality and fairly overpriced. The noodles I…read moreordered were greasy and overcooked while the meat tasted very cheap, sort of like a school dinner texture. They completely destroyed the dish by covering it in chilli powder making it fairly tasteless and rather too spicy. The restaurant was very bright, the atmosphere feels cheap. For the restaurant's fairly high price point I'd give it a miss. Not worth the money or time.

This is a decent chicken joint set in Brick Lane towards the Whitechapel High St end. The place is…read morevery large thus very spacious but quite eerie as the place is never even half full. The place is based on Nandos thus has the standard chicken dishes and salads. But they also do Chinese food which gives the menu a nice variety. The food is average and the price is just like Nandos thus not cheap but not expensive either.

great food. we eat there every week. Cheaper and better than nando's. Their chicken crisps and…read morechicken noodles are the best

'Asta' (as I like to simply call it) - I have no idea of the '3' moniker, or indeed where the first…read moretwo went - is as genuine a Japanese canteen as you'll find in London. I was lucky enough to, along with a colleague, be taken here on several occasions for a quick lunch by a client (indicative of how welcoming the Japanese are!) By 'genuine' I mean no dumbed-down menus, no super-slick interiors to detract from potentially average food, and no gimmicks of any kind. The place is staffed and run by Japanese nationals as any self-respecting Japanese restaurant should be - and perhaps more importantly, frequented by them regularly, too. Service is smiling and attentive and no more that it needs to be. The food is inexpensive (~£6-8 for a bento, £7-11 for ramen, udon or donburi) and so tasty. On my most recent trip I had beef ramen with tan tan (sesame paste) soup base, and my brother had salmon teriyaki on brown rice. Both dishes had generous proportions of meat/fish, and the donburi came with a side salad and pickles. The unagi (eel) is also lovely, and the place does an extensive line in pick-your-soup base noodle bowl dishes where you have the option of shoyu, miso, and sesame as mentioned above, among others. I can't speak for the takeaway bento, but they looked pretty solid and of a decent quality. Drinks come in the familiar (Coke etc) and the more, um, 'traditional' - aloe vera juice, Pocari, cold bottled green and black teas and others. This place is rather hidden away on the fringes of the City, behind Aldgate station on the Petticoat Lane side. In many ways it's a great location as it's very much a local haunt, and in others a little frustrating as even if you're working in the City it can be a fair walk to get there and back! My advice would also be to get there early (between midday and half-past) to ensure a seat, as well as before some of the more popular items on the menu disappear. In brief summary, I couldn't really recommend this place enough if you're in the area. You'll get multi-kudos from any friends Nippon friends (or appreciators of their incredible cuisine) and have a lunch to beat the hell out of an uninspired sandwich / soft-drink combo whilst spending a similarly scant amount of your hard-earned cash. As your fellow diners would say: "itedakimas!"

I wish I could give this place 10 stars because it is simply amazing. For lunch I got a chicken…read moreteriyaki be to box. Their rice is so delicious I could eat it alone without any other dish. The chicken was tender and flavourful and I really liked the fried potato thing that came with the side. Another great thing about Asta is that with bento boxes you can pick a variety of cold side dishes. I recommend the cucumbers and the rice noodles. Will be back!!