My recent soup noodle experiences haven't been good reaching a nadir with the shockingly awful wonton noodles at Cha Cha Moon. With that in mind, I decided to go old school with a visit to Wan Chai Corner – on the corner of Gerrard St and Gerrard Place – in the heart of Chinatown.
This place is a relatively new opening but it is a proper old school joint with a Cantonese BBQ counter, dim sum and a lengthy menu encompassing Anglo-Chinese crowdpleasers and hardcore Cantonese dishes. Granted it was the Easter school hols but the place was surprisingly buzzing at 2.15pm on a weekday. The clientele were a mix of retired Chinese, tourists, Chinese students and peeps like me taking a day off work with good intentions of doing chores (but failing miserably).
I ordered sui gow tang mein or king prawn dumpling soup noodle (£4.20) as it's called on the menu. These dumplings – closely related to wontons – were of decent quality and properly seasoned, as was the broth. The noodles had been rinsed properly and were perfectly springy. This is how it should be, as dishes as simple as this aren't meant to be cocked-up in any way, shape or form. I could've done with more prawn in the sui gow and they could've been larger but I can't really complain when the price is £4.20.
There was no way this bowl of noodles was going to sate my appetite so I ordered a portion of zhaliang or cheung fun filled with fried dough stick (£2.80) from the dim sum menu. This is one of my favourites as I love the contrast between the slippery smooth cheung fun and the crispy fried dough stick. Sadly whilst it was filling, the zhaliang here lacked quality. The dough stick was a tad greasy and it had been over fried so whilst it was crispy outside, it lacked bounce inside.
Service was pretty decent and I particularly appreciated the unprompted investigation on the whereabouts of my zhaliang. My lunch was a steal at £8.40 including tea and 10% service. I was also full unlike that time I spent £13 at Cha Cha Moon.
Verdict: Wan Chai Corner is a good Chinatown lunch option for a bowl of noodles or a one-plate meal.
Other Stuff: Their Cantonese BBQ is of a high quality if my take away roast duck (£7/half) is anything to go by.
I love a good sui gow mein and glad to see there's a place that does it well! That's also the cheapest I've seen them...
ReplyDeleteDidn't see Wan Chai when we were at Leicester Square yesterday evening. Will pop by and try out its soup noodles the next time round. Price is within the range of '1997' and 'Joy King Lau' I guess. Thanks for the heads up!
ReplyDeleteWhat a steal at £8.40! Great find
ReplyDeleteHi! I'm from NY, but I studied abroad in London back in college. I see your CHinatown has expanded quite a bit in the past few years. It was my home away from home at that time. :)
ReplyDeleteSu-Lin / LC / GC - definitely worth a try. I'd like to know what you think.
ReplyDeletethoughtfulplate - welcome! London's Chinatown hasn't really expanded but what we have seen is a proliferation of decent authentic Chinese restaurants across the capital.
A steal indeed! I can't think of a place in Melbourne where I can have similar meal for that.
ReplyDelete3HT - the pound is worth very little nowadays ! That said even by London standards, this is cheap. But if you think this is cheap, a forthcoming post features a £4 bowl of noodles.
ReplyDeleteTried it today, and their noodles is great. The other good thing is you can have Dim Sum together with noodles etc, all for a very reasonable price!
ReplyDeleteAnon - I'm glad you liked it. I've not been for a proper dim sum feast here yet.
ReplyDeleteWan chai is the only place to eat that is good food and good price, and a good cantonese restaurant. I alway go there to eat when I am up in London.
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