Here's one of the most authentic Chinese restaurants you will find in London serving mainland-Chinese food. Having been here 3 times I can confirm that it serves consistently good quality food in big portions albeit with poor service which is typical of Chinese establishments.  Their Szechuan dishes such as the Dan Dan noodles are spicy with a pleasant "kick" rather than overpowering chilli. The barbecue skewers are good value with well seasoned meat, the Cola chicken wings were perfectly glazed and gently sweet and succulent. The steamed fish is big and ideal for sharing.  Unfortunately you may find that sometimes certain food items may not be available to order e.g. one time BBQ skewers were not available and another time the handmade foods were unattainable, but this is a good indicator that the food is freshly made and dependent on individual chefs and/or cooking methods. So whilst the seating maybe a little cramped, the decor basic and the service a little reluctant, My Old Place is a satisfying choice and certainly a favourite amongst Chinese folk in London who are "in the know". read more

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Place sucks, service sucks. I got food poisoning. Awful!!!!! Don't eat here. So gross

Well cooked dishes with right amount of seasoning and salt. Portions are decent compared to other places, you definitely get your money's with here. Waitstaff were friendly and the place is bustling during dinner time. read more

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Food: 3.8/5 Price: 3.5/5 Environment: 3/5 Service: 2.8/5 Authentic Chinese restaurant that made me felt like I was in China (Northern China), in a good way. Although the staff was not the most engaging (not there to make friends with the staff, so oh well), food was authentic and to the Northern China standard. I love spicy food a lot, hence enjoyed the spice. The seasonings were a bit heavy handed, but it is one of the features of Northern Chinese food. We ordered Lamb skewers - flavourful, juicy, spicy #lovedthem! Chilli pork intestines in clay pot - succulent, good portion, spicy Tong choi in garlic sauce - massive portion, texture just right If you are looking for good service, nice environment and beautiful plating, you would be disappointed. If you would like to try authentic affordable Chinese food at an authentic Chinese restaurant, I would recommend you to give them a go. I am intrigued to try their dumplings next! read more

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Everyone is constantly rocked by waves of FOMO because the menu is massive, the portions are massive, and everything looks so damn tasty. I got the Szechuan beef noodles and a skewer of lamb. The noodles were weak and were falling apart in the soup. Not much heat so I doused it in chili oil. The lamb skewer was tasty, but not the best I've had. Hard to catch the eye of the staff for service since they're so busy and will often be zipping towards the kitchen. Worth another visit for their other dishes though! read more

We had a tasty meal here although some dishes were better than others. The shredded cuttlefish were actually deep fried pieces of battered cuttlefish tossed with lightly sautéed onions. It came with loads of dried chilies and Sichuan peppercorns too lending the dish a lovely mixture of flavours and textures. Morning glory stir fry was a nice side veg. Nothing out of the ordinary here. We also got the dry pot chicken and chillis I liked this least of all. It was a stew like dish that didn't quite work for me. Overall, a decent meal. I'd come back and try some other dishes! read more

Decided to check this out primarily because of the brilliant reviews and feedback on Yelp! I also had a very big craving for some Pork Dumplings. Went in during lunch time with a friend and the place was full. We were asked to go down to the basement and the basement had only a large table left and we were told that we cannot sit there. After some to'ing and fro'ing we were allowed to our table. Menus came in , the place looked literally bursting at its seams. There were lot of people complaining about delay in getting the food and we sort of looked at each other and then decided to try to our luck. Got the first bad news when we placed our order for dumplings. We were told that Dumpling chef apparently is not feeling well so no dumplings! Finally when we made up our mind on alternative stuff, the waiter said that his order taking machine is not working due to poor reception and that we must wait. After 10 mins we successfully placed our order. Starters of Veg Spring Rolls, Chicken Satay and Chicken Fried Noodles and a Chicken with Chilli in Dry Pot and some Green Tea The Tea came quickly, and in a stainless steel pot. The starters came next, both were average but the Peanut Sauce with the Satay was very nice. The mains took forever, more than 30 mins to arrive. When it came, it was pretty ok. The Chicken in Dry Pot was probably the hottest chicken dish I have tasted in a very long time, it made my tongue numb! Probably because it had excessive green pepper. There as absolute lack of attention from the staff while we ere eating, we had to try hard to get the staff's attention. Being in the basement didn't help, as we got an impression that folks upstairs were getting all the attention. While we were eating, we saw once of the staff spilling green on a customers back, a group of customers walking out angrily and another one going away without even sitting. Probably all in a days work for them but I didn't enjoy my time in there. They do not have a lunch menu, the prices are bit on the higher side but the portion sizes are generous. One main can be shared by two. The mains do not come with Rice or noodles and needs to be ordered separately. I will probably go back once more just to try the dumplings but it will take me some time to get over my first experience. read more

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I am completely gutted with the way my friends and I were treated by the staff last night. We walked in at 10pm and was basically asked to leave by a staff member. She didn't tell us any reason but just waved her hands for us to get out. Confused, I asked her why? (There was another hour before they closed). Unfortunately, she did not want to elaborate. She only wanted to wave us out. As my friend and I stood at the door figuring what to do, she then came over and said you can have their seats (this other table) and order quickly. I told her yes, we will be fast, we only want to order skewers. She then said no, waved her hands at us to get out, and walked away. WHAT? Great customer service here. I grew up working in Chinese restaurants, so I can relate to her struggle. She basically wanted to close up shop on time and go home. Then she changed her mind and wanted to make a few extra £. And when she realised it was just "snacks"... she told us to go away. If I'm being completely honest, I have always found it's overpriced mediocre northern Chinese food. I can deal with mediocre food, because sometimes, you're too lazy to do it yourself. But the price I pay should also reflect the service and every time I've been here, the service has been subpar compared to anything in Chinatown. Word of advice: Don't trust what is written as closing hours because they clearly have not decided when they want to close. read more

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This is by far my favourite Szechuan restaurants in London. I have tried so many and no one place can compare to this. This place is always busy but saying that u are almost guaranteed a table within 5 minutes. The food is amazing, not to forget that they are so generous with the portion size ! My favourite is definitely the "mouth watering chicken", and the "spicy fish soup". Onto the service- in my opinion they are really under staffed. As the place is always busy a d has two floors I don't understand why they would only have four people on the shopfloor. They can get a bit snappy when it's very busy and some times they refuse to let you add more orders.....but they can be nice when it's more quiet. Overall I'm very impressed with the quality of the food and I have already returned 3 times in the span of two months. Try it out ! read more

My Old Place - Chinese Near Me - London, XGL

Probably the best in and around Liverpool Street. Though would play second fiddle to other finds in Chinatown or south London. Good effort on the spicy pork ears though lacking in point of view (i.e. not much else beyond chili oil and cilantro), and the chopped cold cucumbers could've done without the vinegar inundation. Szechuan pork knuckles were served hot off the wok and spicy in the right way; the kidneys were a tad overcooked and smothered in an overly sugary sauce to my dismay. Service was quick through and through, a plus in my book. read more

My Old Place - Pork kidney - Chinese Near Me - London, XGL

Ordered: Lamb Skewers (A MUST), Fuqi Feipian (Husband and Wife), Shui zhu yu, (Boiled Fish in chilli) Price: Between three of us with lots of beer about £15-£20 Review: If you want to feel like you are eating in Asia - this is the place to go! I love it here so much. Okay - don't come here for the service, as you aren't going to be treated like a king or a queen, but your palette will be treated like a king or a queen, without fail! I come here predominately with guys as it is so tasty, don't want people to see you eating like a growing teenager, drinking beer like water. Truly makes me feel like a kid again. Hint: I know the person who managed to make a crack in the window and the window is now tainted with a MASSIVE Hello Kitty sticker ^_^ read more

My Old Place - Chinese Near Me - London, XGL

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I always see this restaurant popping up on the internet for one of the best Chinese in London so I thought I'll give it a visit. The place specialises in Northern Chinese food such as Szechuan but does the few typical Cantonese dishes as well such as the sweet and sour. The place is big with plenty of seating and I love the decor being very reminiscent of China with it's red against cream walls hanged with the typical open out paper fans. Tables of solid dark walnut oak tables neatly lined gives this place a slight olden day feel.It's kind of cheesy but I have always associated that with Chinese restaurant. I don't think any other cuisine can get away with having Christmas balls across their wall all year around like they do. It's also the sort of place where service is fast and efficient but just don't expect any courtesy as they barely smiled during our dining time here. Sea whelks, peanuts end cucumbers in black vinegar This wasn't marinated long enough to allow the vinegar or garlic to pickle and infuse with the cucumbers. I took it home and had it the next day and the flavours were much more apparent. The whelks were also far too chewy and tough and probably weren't very fresh. I did enjoy the crunchy textures in the dish though with the peanuts which added a nice saltiness and nuttiness to the dish. Braised pig's feet. If you like your gelatine jelly like texture like me then this is the dish for you. Generous portion of soft bouncy pig's feet that effortlessly comes off the bone as soon as you bite on it. It was slightly on the salty side, going overboard with the soy sauce. But I still very much the rich sticky marinate especially when accompanied with rice. Beef and potato stew. Deliciously braised beef and sliced potatoes until the sweet soy braising mixture reduced, creating a thick sticky paste around the meat and potatoes. The flavours were very intense, full of depth and flavour. Once again it was slightly on the salty side but with rice it was okay. Broad clear noodles with chilli oil This was too bitter of a peppery herb for me (I'm guessing it was Szechuan peppercorn). It also had a weird sticky sap sensation which I didn't quite understand and made eatong hard. It lacked that balance in flavour, needed to be more sweet and sour. Wasn't for me I'm afraid Fried mixed spinach, preserved egg and ham The answer to a cold day. Cooked in broth it became like soup dish. The spinach were fresh, silky and juicy, seasoned nicely, full of depth and umami from the roasted whole cloves of garlic, chicken stock, preserved eggs and spam meat. It was a pretty simple dish but wholesome and delicious.We finished this dish completely. I did enjoy My Old Place. It's refreshing to open up a Chinese menu and see some new and unusual dishes. At first prices don't appear any cheaper than Chinatown restaurant but the portions are almost double the size. Very generous and great for group sharing. Some of the dishes were a bit too generous on the salt though but mostly forgiven from the rich flavours produced in the dish. Every stewed dish was lovely and soft which shows this place gives time and patience to it's food. Will aim to return but maybe with a bigger group so we can order more stuff to try. read more

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My Old Place dishes up the most authentic Chinese dishes I have ever tasted in London. Take it from someone who knows, this restaurant cooks up food that is the closest to Chinese home cooking as most would ever get. Here, the Szechuan chicken is really spicy as it is cooked with loads of dried red chillies and peanuts just like it is supposed to be. Not chicken in sweet orange gloop as it usually comes as in other places. It is delicious here. The barbecued meat dressed in Xinjiang herbs and cooked on hot coals brought back memories of my travels to Kashgar. Seriously, it's the same. I know I'm banging on about the authenticity, but it's so hard to find proper tasting Chinese food. The food is really really good and the portions they serve are huge. It is best to go in a large group because then you can try loads and still have boxes of leftovers to take home with you. The service, I don't recall being spectacular but then maybe I was too busy scoffing my face or reminiscing about my trips to China. Who knows. All I know is, the food was so good, I didn't care about the service and that usually never happens. read more

Having been born in Taiwan and growing up/traveling throughout China for the majority of my life, take my word that this is a legit place to have Chinese food. I am so picky with Chinese food and I have been far from impressed with the majority of things I've tried in China Town, but this place is worth your time and money. You also know it's legit because it's filled with chinese people, and is run completely by chinese people who actually dont seem to speak English all that well. Each dish on average is about £7 or so (meat and veg, seafood will bump you up to £12-14), and is enough to split between two people for a full meal with rice. They have a really good selection of classic chinese dishes, and also regional szechuan dishes and xinjiang skewers. read more

Better known as Lao Di Fang among the Chinese, this is an authentic Northern Chinese place which serves amazing Szechuan & Xinjiang dishes. It's a regular joint for me and a few of my Chinese friends and, perhaps, because I have always been there with native Chinese friends, I have not had to face indifferent service mentioned in some of the other reviews. That said, service is functional and efficient at best and doesn't attempt to be overly warm. Once you go there, however, it doesn't take long to realise that service and ambience be damned, the food is gooood. Spicy, flavourful, doled out in massive portions and most inexpensive - could it get any better? Highly recommend the chicken and lamb BBQ skewers at a quid each. I would encourage people to be a tad experimental and try out the cold meats - not something typically associated with Asian cuisine - the 'husband & wife' (a white meat & red meat dish) preparation is succulent and satisfying. Very rarely does a vegetarian dish excite me as much as the potato-peppers-aubergine dish that seems to be a staple on every table. The vermicelli & meat dish is another recent discovery I liked. The fish soup in a ginormous bowl comes with a fishing net, amusingly enough. The double-cooked spicy pork belly is yum, to say the least. As an accompaniment to these spicy dishes, I would recommend a beer or the aloe vera drink. This place has only one dessert - caramelized fried potatoes, a unique and delightful preparation, even if a tad on the heavy side after a big meal. Honestly, I struggle to think of any preparation here that I did not like! That said, there are several items on the menu I am yet to try out - I see myself going back there several times for a long time to come. After stuffing yourself silly with such good food, what could be a better sight than a bill that amounts to just about 10quid/head for food? Ah, bliss! Carry some cash along with you when you go, this place doesn't take cards, or at least, prefers not to. This is a good place to go to in groups of 4-8, I can imagine 2-3 people struggling to get through a moderate selection of main dishes! As an added bonus, being a fan of this place will automatically make you very popular among your Chinese friends :D read more

I love Gourmet San, its amazing. The relevance of that statement to My Old Place may seem limited but that is because you don't realise they are part of the same chain (if a chain can be considered two Chinese restaurants serving Sichuan cuisine). This is the same food as Gourmet San. That is a good thing. You might not recognise a dish but just order a load as (i) they are cheap, (ii) one in three of the dishes will just be far to native or foreign for you (think chicken's claws) and you will hate it, and, (iii) the good ones are awesome and you will want to stuff yourself. My Old Place has the disadvantage of being in the city and not in the trendy locale of Bethnal Green Road. However, that is all good as it just means that despite being the original you can get in much much easier. The downsides of My Old Place are what you would expect from any authentic local restaurant; you won't understand the menu, the service can be dismissive/ unhelpful/ rude/ forgetful (or the whole lot at once) and you will just be a bit lost. However, I always quite enjoy that and see it as part of the experience. It doesn't hurt that the prices are 'local' as well. Top tip - get the barbequed stuff. It is like a Turkish one, but Chinese and better/ different. read more

Let me guess - the chef is from Northern China. 3 stars for the Northern style cuisine---the lamb skewers were indeed quite good. 1-2 stars for the "Sichuan" dishes. Based on the reviews I have read on Yelp and elsewhere, I expected this place to be a restaurant specializing in Sichuan food. False, but that's probably my own fault for not doing enough due diligence on the other reviewers. Don't come here to eat the Sichuan dishes. I ordered my usual favourite, Mouth watering chicken, and they doused the thing with sesame and peanut sauce. Oh no no no, that is NOT how you make Mouth-watering chicken....unless you're a Northerner. (Northerners and their sesame...) If I come back here, I will try to order some more Northern specialties.... i.e. carb-based dishes like noodles or dumplings. If you're looking for Sichuan dishes---hit Chilli Cool instead. read more

Authentic, perfectly acceptable service, and a location near Liverpool Street and Bishopsgate. Northern Chinese, I gather. Excellent vegetable dishes (why are Chinese spinach and Chinese broccoli SO MUCH BETTER than their western counterparts?!?!) A bit on the slow side, and the atmosphere is good but not 5-star good. read more

One of my earliest childhood foodie memories when I lived in Wuhan, China - was eating scalding hot spicy lamb skewers - when my mom and I were walking around eating street food for breakfast or as a snack. I would come to My Old Place just for the lamb skewers alone because they taste exactly like I remember them from when I was young. This is very authentic. The rest of the food is also delicious. We got pickled cabbage and pork soup, baby bok-choy stirfried with garlic sauce and fish fragrant pork (Yu-shang pork). Lets break it down one by one: 1) pickled cabbage with pork soup - broth is very flavorful, but not as tangy as one would expect from pickled cabbage. The soup is boiling hot (AWESOME!), the cabbage crunchy, and the pork relatively tender. The only negative is that the pork slices were sometimes skin, sometimes fat, and sometimes meat. I happen to like that, but it might be a bit odd for someone not expecting it. 2) baby bok-choy with garlic sauce - this is pretty standard fare, but the sauce was very velvety, coated the veggies well, and the amount of garlic was just right. 3) fish fragrant pork - excellent if eaten hot. The sauce was just the right amount of savory, sweet, tangy, and spicy. They are generous with the pork as well. If you let it get cold, though, the sauce congeals really fast - so eat quickly! The sizes of the portions are quite large, each dish is easily shared between two people. My dining partner and I thought that we would have leftovers - but as we found out - two hungry Chinese people can demolish 6 lamb skewers (we ordered 2 more after we ate everything else), 1 huge plate of Bok-choy, and a gigantic platter of fish fragrant pork. I definitely recommend going here, though expect that the service is a bit slow at times and that the food comes out when they are done - not at specific times. You may get your main before the skewers and sometimes you may be done with your one of your mains before the other one comes out. As long as you keep this in mind - I'm sure you would enjoy the food! read more

Since I work in this area I am always looking for new restaurants to try out and walked past this the other day. Finally decided to try and first of all the environment is disgusting. When I sit down I immediately smell something weird but have no idea where it is coming from. The table is still wet and the staff hurry us to order food without even giving us the time to read the menu. Food are generally overpriced in this place. I ordered a special fried rice which is oily and nothing special. I bet 99% of take away will be much better than this place and please do not even bother trying. read more

Bring a Chinese friend, you're life will be much easier. This place is alright. People seem to rave about the lamb kebabs from here, but I didn't think those were that great. Most of the food here seems to be on the spicy side, though that could be attributed to my friends' orders. Business is very good here, so they must be doing something right. Though I can't tell what it is, based on the food and service. read more

As soon as you walk in, the aroma of legitimate asian food smacks you in the face. You know you're in the right place. The decor is bare minimum with wooden tables and wooden benches, and giant chinese vases - quite a old school chinese feel. They serve a lot of szechuan style food, although they are a north-eastern rstaurant, and a lot of non-western type of ingredients - cow tongue, intestines, pig's blood, liver, kidney, etc., etc. - and cooked so well! We had a cold dish that marinated slices of beef and beef tongue, cabbage stir-fried with vermicelli (AMAZING), and twice-cooked pork. The dishes aren't cheap, approximate 8 to 10 quid per dish, but the portions are pretty big! the dishes i mentioned above, together with two bowls of rice and a beer worked out to be about 37 GBP. We had some leftovers and walked away with full belly. The service is pretty typical chinese - but nothing to actually complain about. Some of the ppl who work there are really nice but they just dont provide you with the western service you expect with a lot of smiles and making sure you are happy. You will need to insist on paying with card because they prefer cash. Definitely worth a trip here if you are craving legit chinese food. read more

Here's the thing. The food is "authentic" but the service is so horrible that it isn't worth the trek all the way to Spitalfields. I spent a year living in London and my building just so happens to be right down the street from this restaurant. One day, I stumbled upon this place wondering why the place was packed with Asians (mostly Chinese-speaking people). So I decided to give this place a try. I've order the cold cut pig ears combo, the sichuan stuffed eggplants, dumpling soup, various noodle and stir-fried dishes. Based on my visits, I've giving this place two stars for the following reasons: Pros: 1. Very close to Liverpool Street tube station, about a 5 minute walk -- starting from Bishopsgate, walk left toward Dirty Dicks pub (yes, it's really called Dirty Dicks!) across the street and then make a right onto Middlesex Street. Keep walking until you hit the end of the road and then make a right (with the Japanese Canteen on your left hand side). Walk about 1 block and there's the restaurant. 2. The food is made to order; it isn't pre-made like some of the other Chinese restaurants (take-out) in the area. 3. The food is authentic. When you order it "spicy", it really is SPICY and I'm talking about spicy for someone who grew up eating spicy Asian and Mexican food !! The seasoning is generally good BUT I do think it's a bit on the sweet and sour side sometimes (which is really annoying but I understand they have to cater toward the White folks). Cons: 1. When you get take-out, they put the food in plastic boxes. Talk about BAD FOR THE ENVIRONMENT! They need to get their act together and figure out how to package food in paper boxes. Maybe take a hint from other restaurants? 2. The waitstaff is R-U-D-E. Simply rude. They barely speak English and they completely ignore you when you walk in unless if you literally SHOUT AND POUND the table for service! 3. The menu is entirely in Chinese -- and it's Simplified Chinese, so if you're from Hong Kong or Taiwan, don't bother. Just bring a Mainland Chinese person with you. They do have an "English menu" but LOL that is NOT the real menu! 4. This is really the thing I hate most about this restaurant -- it's CASH only. Really? Are they living in the 1950's or do they think they're still in China? I'm sorry but it's a bit ridiculous when I buy 30 GBP worth of food and they still act like I'm ripping them off when I offer to pay with my DEBIT card. Word to the Wise: DON'T COME TO THIS OLD PLACE. Just not worth it. read more

My Old Place is a favorite of my colleagues and I. The service is exactly what you could expect from a Chinese restaurant (a bit grumpy, a bit negligent after your order has been placed) and the downstairs seating area could use a little pizzazz, but the food makes it all worth it!! The sweet and sour chicken is the best I've ever had! A London MUST! read more

Authentic ambience but not so authentic food - the flavours felt dimmed, not spicy / authentic málà flavour you'd expect from Sichuan dishes. read more

Now that's one large Kung Po chicken... No small portions here, and the waiters are almost as brisk as they were in Won Kei's. Think the food is better here though. I also had to sample a lamb bbq skewer... Which was indeed tasty as others have said. read more

My Old Place - Kung Po chicken & egg fried rice - Chinese Near Me - London, XGL

My friend was so enthusiastic about this place - after weeks of recommendations, she brought us here for lamb skewers. Wow! Totally blew me away - we had some great northern Chinese cuisine - skewers, prawns, chicken wings, vegetable stew... It's perfect for a cold winter's day. The place was really busy - we had to wait about 20 minutes (I don't think they take reservations, like all good Chinese restaurants!), but the table turnover is really quick. It's a bustling, no fuss type of place, which suits me really well. This place is really well hidden, but the food is really worth the trek! read more

The only regret I have is that I walked in here after two while years of living in London. Which means that for two while years I lived without knowing the joys of their fabulous braised and poached beef in hot chili sauce. There are other gems on the menu, like the lamb skewers, dumplings, aromatic duck pancakes, but nothing comes close to the beef with a little bit of jasmine rice. I'd drink bowls of that hot sauce, even if it meant my that my insides would be on fire for the next few days. An absolute must try. read more

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Loved it. One of the best Chinese meals I have had in London. The beef in chili oil is insane. The salt and pepper squid was the best I have ever had. The spicy pork belly was amazing. read more

I like to call this "Moldy Place" but not because its moldy, just because thats what i thought the sign said when i went. I think you can consider a place legit if its filled with Chinese people and the hostess greets you in chinese. Luckily i had some asians to order everything for me. Everything was delish. I really liked the green beans. It was around 10 to 15 each (but we did order a lot of food!). read more

well I'm quite happy this place has crap service. Because if it didn't I'd never get a table. Food is excellent, deserving of 5*, service possible negative stars! A previous reviewer's comment that the menu is entirely in Chinese is total rubbish, I've been coming here for years and that's never been the case. It can be difficult to choose what to eat though as descriptions don't exist, so it's a bit trial and error. But as a restaurant owner myself and someone who grew up in Asia eating Chinese food, this is excellent (but expect the waiting staff to be rude) :-) Place is full of Chinese and regulars. That should tell you something. read more

It's been a long time since my previous review although I've been eating here on and off ever since so it's about time that I updated it. First off, they accept credit cards now! Yes, the sign in the window announcing their card machine is broken is finally down. I'm not sure I thought I would ever see the day, but you no longer have to nip into the Co-op down the road to get cash before you eat here. The food here has continued to be decent and generally tasty, and, as a few people have mentioned, the portions are massive. There have been some duds that we have added - the deep fried aubergine doughnuts and the plate of sweet corn fried with pine nuts which turned out to be an plate just full of corn (way more corn than even this corn lover could take) - but there's a higher probability of getting something that tastes nice. It's a bit of a lottery for us as we like to order at least one new dish each time, and we have found that it is the vegetable section that seems the most fraught with misunderstanding. There have been a few hiccups here and there which haven't detracted from our generally good experiences here. We found a slice of pork which had made its way into our seafood fried noodles on our pescetarian day. It was not a biggie as we spotted it before someone ate it, but, still, the dish was not supposed to have meat in it. Recommended dishes include the pork dumplings (slightly pricey but delicious nonetheless), the lamb skewers (which have improved over the years), and fried beef with cumin. Service, believe it or not, has improved over the years as well. The servers now speak English (more or less) and can occasionally be open to a bit of banter (usually when paying the bill). It is a Chinese restaurant though, so, as others have mentioned, it can be hard to get their attention given how busy they are. read more

Came here cos I heard from my friends (who coincidentally came with me that night) about how popular the place is among the crowd at Liverpool St. However, after a dinner here - I dont think I'm coming back any time soon. I initially thought that their specialty here is Szechuan cuisine, but now I know otherwise after reading the reviews below. Don't think I'm a fan of Northern Chinese cuisine after all! First off, the kou shui ji (cold chicken in szechuan chilli sauce/saliva chicken) was doused in peanut sauce and not chilli oil - absolutely weird. Next, their shui zhu yu (water-cooked fish) has probably an entire kilogram bag of peppercorn in it, as well as bean sprouts. It was disgustingly oily (even if water-cooked fish is supposed to be oily) and I really didn't like biting into the peppercorn which emitted a strong minty taste in my mouth. The lamb skewers (supposedly one of the sought-after food items here) was only so-so, and nothing to rave about. The other dishes we ordered whose names I cannot recall were absolutely dubious looking and unappetising. Fair enough, some dishes such as the long-beans were quite delicious, as well as the Chinese home-styled tofu (jia chang dou fu) but overall, the quality of food was below average. Service here was less than satisfactory as well - we ordered tap water but the waiter surprisingly said that they didn't have enough glasses. How is that possible? if you can serve hat many people in your restaurant, you should be able to have the equal (if not, more) amount of glassware!! In the end, the waiter promised 8 glasses of tap water for our group of 13, but in the end, failed to deliver ANY of them. My friend had to fume at them to get some glasses of water over. And when they did finally deliver some glasses of water, one of them actually looked soapy/bubbly on the side, which is REALLY DODGY-looking for something that is supposed to be only water. None of us attempted to drink the water (or liquid) in the glass that was served. In conclusion, below average food, less-than-satisfactory service. I guess that's why the price was actually quite affordable and there are so many customers on a weeknight. Not my kind of restaurant and I wouldn't recommend it for anyone looking for typical Chinese cuisine or Szechuan cuisine. read more

I went to this place with my friend because she had recommended it to me. Located on Middlesex street, really close to the Liverpool underground station, this place looked incredible with its design. As soon as you walk in, you find this Chinese inspired decorations, from big vases to beautiful chandeliers, this place felt great. The staff, while being respectful and friendly, weren't that talkative. I expected a courteous treatment from smiling to asking if we needed any help, but that's a minor thing to complain about. We ordered rice, plain noodles, spicy beef and chicken that came in a bowl over a small fire. I love spicy food and so the spicy beef was a good treat. It was, however, a bit too oily for my taste, but other than that it was a delight. The plain noodles were... Well, plain, but that's exactly what I wanted. My friend had the rice, so I wouldn't know how it tasted. As for the chicken, it wasn't bone and skin-free which was a bit surprising for me. My friend had explained to me that there is the bone and skin free variety which we could have ordered. Now to the prices. The prices were high on the average end. Meaning, most dishes cost around 8 pounds and you'd have to order everything separately. Like the beef costs 8 or 10 and noodles cost 4. So expect to pay something from 10-20 pounds per person. I did notice they had set meals which could be a better options for those watching their wallet's diet. All in all, I found the place nice and it's definitely worth a visit if you haven't tried it before. I think I will try it again in the near future! read more

Food is amazing. Chong Qing chicken, chilli & sour spiced potato and the aubergine dish we tried were great.

I am lucky enough to live nearby a decent Chinese restaurant. The specialty of this restaurant is Northeastern food. They do a good job of those dishes that you normally wouldn't find in other restaurants in London, like Northeastern clear noodle, stewed Potato, Green Pepper and Aubergine, and spring chicken and mushroom. They also have fresh noodles and dumplings made onsite, which are well known in Northeastern food. BBQ is not from the Northeast region, but it is very popular in Northwestern part of China and can be found in almost all night markets. BBQ lamb skewers here are great. Of course, you can find some typical hot and spicy Sichuan dishes here as well. I especially like Ma Po Tufu and Poached Sliced Beef in Hot Chili Oil. The restaurant is not somewhere you want to linger and the services are not the best. However, if you are in the mood for some good Chinese food, give it a try. read more

This is probably the most authentic Szechuan food I've eaten in London! Hidden away on a side road, the restaurant spans two floors. The decor is very minimal, having a feel of a cheap Chinese canteen rather than a proper restaurant. The staff do speak English, but one gets the feeling that the usual customers are Chinese-speaking. The majority of the diners when I was there were of Chinese origin, a testimonial to the authenticity of the food. Furthermore, one of the menus is fully in Chinese, and although I think all the dishes on it are on the English menu too, it might be best if someone in your group knows Chinese or at least knows what the dishes are. Its a perfect place to try ma la dishes, which is a numbing sort of spicyness only found in Szechuan food. Prices are very reasonable with massive main dishes costing £7-10. The 4 of us hungry young adults who went there managed to spend only £40 in total (excluding drinks), and there was so much food we couldn't finish it all. The food is probably not to everyone's taste and has not been Westernized, but for those seeking an authentic Chinese, or more specifically Szechuan experience, this is the place to go! read more

One of the best Chinese restaurants in London, miles away from the westernized Chinese food so common these days. Portions are huge (you can ask them for a doggy bag, no worries) and it's really cheap. Staff speak english but if you can, bring a Chinese speaker along with you (it would be easier to order / ask for specific requests plus the Chinese menu is better than the English one) Worth a vsit, good Szechuan food, fresh and tasty...spice lovers will enjoy this place read more

I went expecting a bit of a wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am chilli punch to the head, but chose the wrong dishes. Eating the well-cooked and tasty, but ultimately frustratingly tame tasting tender beef, i got a major case of dish envy as chilli laden plates went wafting by in an eye (and mouth) watering waft of spicy aromas. The lamb skewers were good, although our second two were much better in terms of spicing than the first couple - although like @raistlyn below, my companion said they were much better at Gourmet San. never the less, these were a treat, particularly for those of us unused to the Xinjiang cuisine of China's western regions. The Chef's Special Curried Crab happily tempered a bad case of the green-eyed-monster and pulled my attention back to the food in front of me. Strongly flavoured in a tongue-tingling way without overwhelming the flavour of the crab, this was a great dish. The moral of the story? Be brave and dive straight into the chilli laden dishes with the higher spice ratings because they're the ones that will blow your socks off. And go in a group, because as noted below, the dishes are huge and two mains and a 'side' of veg is enough to fill two hungry bellies. read more

If I'm in the city for meetings, this is my go to place for lunch. Authentic northern Chinese cuisine, spicy & full of flavour, great change from Cantonese. Try the various dumplings made on site & the spicy french beans, there are also some funky offal dishes that may scare Westerners, but this makes it all the more authentic. Do not go there ordering your usual chow mein/sweet & sour/sweetcorn soup as you will be missing the point & don't expect great service, it's just the way they are. read more

My Old Place - Dumplings - Chinese Near Me - London, XGL

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