Being a newbie blogger, I’ve decided to play it safe and start with an old favourite, wonton noodles served at an old favourite, Hung’s on Wardour St (near the Chinatown arch). This is also the first instalment in my series of reviews on the London soup noodle scene.This place is my regular Chinatown haunt and it has barely changed in all the years I’ve eaten here despite a refurb and name change (it used to be called Crispy Duck). It might look tiny but it’s on three floors so don’t be put off if it seems full. Service is efficient rather than friendly although I swear I got a smile out of one of the waiters sometime in 2005.
Whilst it won’t change your life, Hung’s wonton noodles (£4.50) tick all the boxes. The wontons have the right mix of prawn and fatty pork, they use the proper fresh egg noodle (san mein in Cantonese) and the broth isn’t MSG laden. It’s not a big bowl but compared to the miniscule portions that you sometimes get in Hong Kong, it's a supersize portion. Anyway, you get your money’s worth with six wontons.
The photo is of their king prawn dumpling soup noodles (£4.80) which I returned to try a week later, these dumplings are bigger than their wontons and have more king prawn. They're known as sui gow in Cantonese or shui jiao in Mandarin. In my opinion, these are tastier than their wontons !Verdict: Stump up the extra 30p and go for the king prawn dumpling soup noodle. Good for a light lunch or big snack when shopping in and around Chinatown.
Other Stuff: Check out the window display of Cantonese BBQ - roast duck, cha siu (honey roast pork) and siu yuk (crispy belly pork) - ideal for takeaway.
This has been on my list of restaurants for ages, so I'm hoping to go in the next few weeks. I love king prawn dumpling soup noodles even more than wontons!
ReplyDeleteAs always, I'll be interested in what you think. I'm on my soup noodle tour at the moment and there'll be reviews of prawn noodles at Rasa Sayang and pho at Song Que in the coming weeks.
ReplyDeletePlanning to go on Wednesday for lunch and think I will go for the sui gow dumpling noodle or beef brisket. Getting all excited already!
ReplyDeleteHung's is my favourite Chinatown gaff, and that of Clarissa Dickson-Wright's too. She shared with me some of her stuffed bitter melon when I looked at it with hungry eyes...
ReplyDeleteMy usual dish is a king prawn dumpling and crispy belly pork combo noodle soup. Mmm.
Lizzie - Another Hung's fan! You choose well as king prawn dumplings and Cantonese BBQ are their signature dishes. I always take some Cantonese BBQ home with me.
ReplyDeleteWhen i went to Hung's earlier this week, the menus that the waitress gave us said 'Crispy Duck' in front! Are they related?
ReplyDeleteVix - Hung's was originally called Crispy Duck. A branch of Crispy Duck then opened on Gerrard St and for a time, there were two branches. However, a few years ago, the Wardour St Crispy Duck became Hung's. To this day, I think they are under common management as very little changed post-name change.
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