Old school Chinese seafood joint
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| Steamed brown crab with rice wine and egg white |
Located just outside of Queensway tube station, Mandarin Kitchen is perhaps one of the most popular Chinese restaurants in the area. This classic Cantonese cuisine based restaurant is all about seafood, and it's signature lobster noodles dish has somewhat become such an iconic dish that you would see most tables order it. You would also find many classic Chinese seafood dishes on the menu, such as eel cooked in black bean sauce and steam whole fish. This is a really popular restaurant, so be sure to book ahead.
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| Salt and pepper soft shell crabs |
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| Steamed razor clams |
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| Steamed scallops |
For my meal, I opted for some steamed razor clams and scallops as starters. Both were done in a traditional Cantonese method, I enjoyed the sharpness and saltiness from the garlic and soy sauce mix. The brown crab was cooked in chicken oil and Chinese rice wine. The temperature was perfect, however, I felt the chef used too much sesame oil and somewhat overpowered the crab. The hero lobster dish was stir-fried with spring onion and ginger, very tender and the smoky wok aroma was fabulous, as was the blending of the sauce, it was easily the best dish of the evening. The none seafood items were less impressive, I found the mushroom stews lacked the soy and earthy flavours, and very under seasoned.
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| Mushrooms stew wrapped in lettuces |
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| Oyster omelets |
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| Stir fry lobster x2 in spring onion and ginger |
Mandarin Kitchen delivered a classic Cantonese seafood meal, nothing was creative or unusual, just classic cooking done in a very solid manner. I can understand why the local Chinese community is such a fan, it was authentic cooking at a very reasonable cost. My meal came to £38 per person and that contains dishes such as a whole crab, two lobsters, plus softshell crabs, oysters, scallops and razor clams. For something similar in a British restaurant, that would easily set you back close to the £100 mark. For great value for money seafood in London, it is hard to think beyond Mandarin Kitchen.
Food 3/5
Average cost without drinks and services:
£30
14-16 Queensway, Bayswater, London W2 3RX
https://mandarinkitchen.has.restaurant/
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