New Oriental Kitchen

We went there Saturday afternoon round 1.30pm, very quiet. Waitress was friendly, nice quick service since after we arrived 2 other parties joined. I had the prawn toast - delicious, packed to the top with prawns. I asked the waitress for a recommendation she suggested the Ran Noodles with minced pork. It was so good, spicy but not too hot and flavoursome. The pak choi needed some seasoning, but mixed with everything else it was fine. My first had the crispy chicken with spicy Noodles.

Wow! The real deal here. Had the sea bass hot pot; spicy & numbing from the zingy Sichuan peppercorns, tofu & veggies in an umami-rich broth. Just perfect for a cold day. Got talking to the friendly and helpful staff and their other restaurant Chilli Cool in Euston (which I had visited and found really good a couple of years back) has more choice and some gluten-free options. Not cheap, but done properly. You won’t find many Anglos in here as it is not your usual UK ‘’Chinese” fare. Highly recommended if you are adventurous. Going back for crispy fried stuff!

This is probably one of the best Chinese restaurants I have eaten in the food is fresh, the service is well timed, and the food is delicious and authentic tasting. This also has to be one of the most peculiar restaurants in terms of how it operates. Right now it is temporarily closed, and I genuinely hope it really is temporary. I was fortunate to eat there once, once lockdown restrictions has eased sufficiently. The restaurant does not do delivery, so you do have to go in. For a while they only ran a lunch service, closed in the evenings. I hope to see it's return, because I really want to explore its menu further, the food was faultless.