The definitive taste of Chinatown: Wong Kei : Eating Cheaply in London: Part 4

The definitive taste of Chinatown: Wong Kei

41-43 Wardour Street, London, W1D 6PY

Telephone: 020 7437 8408

Wong Kei or “Wang Ji” in London’s Chinatown has acquired a sort of cult status in London. Shocked by how shocked our friends were when they found out that we had not eaten there yet, we dutifully went there during our Saturday Chinatown shopping trips.

Wong Kei has three floors. And according to our friends who are regulars, getting allocated to which floor is a lottery.

We went in, told the waiter that there are two of us and was promptly shown to the basement. I feel like I walked into a “Cha Chan tang” in Kowloon. Basic furnishings and very efficient waiters who spoke in Cantonese! The moment our bums reach the chair, a pot of hot Chinese tea with two tea cups were on the table, along with two red menus.

My impression of that place?

1. Feng-shui-ed! A big fountain, pouring in water from the ground floor entrance to a pond in the basement!
2. CHEAP FOOD!!!!
3. Huge portions!!!!

I ordered a Won Tun noodles for £2.80, while hubby order fried hor fun with beef (£3.80).

I must say that the Won Tun only had bits of prawn, like the Singapore/Malaysia/Thailand versions, and too much pork to make up the size! I felt like I was eating pork ball-wrapped in wonton skin. The noodles were ok and the soup was not too bad (better than most Malaysia/Singapore hawkers, not as good as what you would expect from Hong Kong!). It is definitely a steal at £2.80, but definitely not as yummy as that in the Dragon Inn (12 Gerrard Street) which was very Hong Kong-ish!

My hubby’s hor fun was very yummy, with generous amounts of beef, although they over-cooked the beef slightly. Large portion- this is the first time a big eater like him packed the left-over home!

Verdit:

Price? One of the cheapest in Central London! The tea is free! Three of us had to pay £4.00 for a pot of low quality tea (very very bad, definitely “recycled”) when we had lunch at the Big China near South Kensington Tube! WYSIWYG- no extra charges apart from the already low prices on the menu. No service charge!

Service? We did not experience any of the legendary rudeness, probably because I speak Cantonese! They were very efficient, and friendly if you speak Cantonese, and did not expect you to tip!!! (The guy at Dragon Inn was hinting for me to tip him even after paying service charge!!!) They also did not expect/pressure you to order more! NO grumbles when you want to pack your left-overs, and there was no extra-charges for packing.

Taste? The Wonton is a let down. My hubby’s hor fun was yummy, and people around us seemed to be enjoying their char siu and other roasted meat.

Location? Chinatown London.

Will I go again? Yeah, definitely! That place got "atmosphere", and I want to go on a Sunday morning to see the full "glory" of Wong Kei's dim sum hour!

If you are in the Chinatown area, this is definitely the place to fill up your tummy or have a taste of Chinese in London! If you order “dry” stuff, and you are not a very big eater, you can easily pack your “dinner” when you take your lunch! (£3.80 for 2 meals is a steal, right?)

This restaurant is frequently mentioned in guidebooks. However, remember that this is not the best that London had to offer in terms of taste, but it is more like a glimpse of Chinese “culture” in London!

P/S: To see how "cult"ish it is, read the pages and pages of reviews when you google "Wong Kei"! Here is on example of reviews

and compare it to my all time favourite: Yummy duck- Four seasons at Bayswater
(FOUR SEASONS is a must go. It is a very "sinful" place, tempting people away from their religious practices with those juicy BBQ meat! If you are "lucky", you will see tables of Malay and Indonesian speaking people devouring their char siu, and I once seen another lady with a head scarf there...I tried hard not to *laugh wickedly*)

Other related posts:

Cheap eats for London: Part 3 (supermarket options)

Cheap eats for a short london stay: Part 2

Eat well, eat cheaply in London: Part 1

London is expensive? The insider's guide to do it in a cheap way.