Royal China (Queensway)

Food was dismal. The dim sum tasted bland and slightly foetid. The fried rice with broccoli and scallops (a lunchtime speciality apparently) was bland, scallops almost non-existent in the rice. The Beijing duck roll with the Hoisin sauce had some nice touches, but was excessively greasy on the whole.

Service was surly, verging on the condescending and rude.
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Al
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 2
Saturday, April 28, 2007

I can't remember a worse meal than the one I had at Royal China. The dumplings tasted mouldy, the spring rolls were sour as vinegar and sweetened with a sickening honey flavour and the fish was old and unedible. The service is even worse than the food: waitresses dump the dishes on the table, start snorting and get annoyed if you haven't ordered after 10 seconds they have handed you the menu and clean up the table when you are in the middle of having dinner so they don't have to do it just before the restaurant closes and they can finish work earlier, I suppose. They are so rude that at some point I thought they were joking. This is definitely the worst restaurant I have ever experienced.
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Bo
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 2
Saturday, April 07, 2007

Went to Royal China for the third time; the previous two times the food was very good, hence the repeat visit.

While the food - dim sum - was still very good, the service was absolutely awful. Bad enough to put us off from going there again. The head waitress just dumped stuff on our table, after we refused her 'advice' to order mountains more stuff. She was obviously miffed that we hadn't accepted her advice. Then when it came to the bill, we asked to have the 15% 'automatic' service charge taken off - and instead of taking it off, which by law they are required to do, the head waitress first had the gall to argue, and then stomped off, returned with a menu, slapped it down in front of us and started shouting that the restaurant had been in business 15 years and it was unheard ot for someone not to want to pay the service charge. This even after we told her that we preferred to pay tips in cash.

All in all, pleasant food but a far from pleasant experience. Money-hungry.
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Food Fan - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 6
Wednesday, March 21, 2007

I was raised in Hong Kong and know exactly what authentic dim sum looks like and tastes like. I had dim sum at other Chinese restaurants in Chinatown before. To be fair, some of them are not bad but they are just not 100% Hong Kong style. If you wanna know how dim sum in Hong Kong is like, Royal China is your choice. The service, honestly, is not particularly good. Perhaps, it is because the restaurant is always crowded and it is difficult for the waiters to be very attended. Yet, considering the high quality of the food, I still find everything quite acceptable. Comparing to the price of dim sum in Chinatown, it is slightly more expensive. Still, I recommend you to pay a little bit more to taste some authentic dim sum and Chinese dishes.
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Food Fever - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 8
Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Went to Royal China for a pre-theatre meal last night and am disappointed to rate it as only very average. Whilst the service was impeccable (as always), the food was disappointing. For a restaurant that is open all day, I still expect the same high standard of food at any time of day, even if it's before the main evening rush. We chose the peking duck to start which was very dry and the accompanying vegetables were virtually inedible. Our main dishes which followed were very average also. A bottle of water and 2 glasses of wine on top and our bill came to £70 which shocked me for what was a quick & easy dinner with 2 glasses of wine(£7 each!). A shame as their dim sum is still some of the best in town. Disappointing.
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Rebecca
Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 3
Wednesday, January 10, 2007

We live in France, but come to the UK every Christmas. For the last four years, we've never missed going here for Dim Sum. We fell in love with this style of food while in Hong Kong, so we've eaten a few in our time, both there and here in London. The variety is excellent, and the food is always served freshly cooked.

While it's nice in some ways to have the food going round on trolleys, so you can see what's there, we find that having REALLY fresh food brought to you is more then adequate compensation.

The decor is ideosyncratic (black and gold with mirrors), but the tables are spaced adequately far apart, the service pleasant and polite, and we found the prices fair. I've not been this year (yet - we go on the 31st) but from memory the typical serving of 3-4 dimsum per order costs £2.25 to £3.50 depending on what you order. Excellent woo kok (yam croquettes) and divine siu mai. The tea is also of very high quality.

All in all, my first choice for Dim Sum in London and arguably as good as anything you'll get even in the "Dim Sum" in Happy valley, Hong Kong.
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Ian Hoare
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 10
Wednesday, December 27, 2006

I have been coming to Royal China for more than 10 years now since I was very young! And I have been to a few other dim sum restaurants as well namely Hakkasan, Jade Garden, Ping Pong.. and Royal China serves the best dim sum in town. The flavours all balance well, the delicacy of each dish is perfect and you will not find anything wrong with each and every dish. It's not glamourous like Hakkasan, but it's definitely authentic. It's not greasy and cheap like the dim sum you get in China Town, but you can tell they use good standard ingredients and don't cut corners. If it's luxury, one-time experience go to Yauatchua, if it's a regular good value for money dim sum, go to Royal China :D
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Kitty
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 10
Friday, November 03, 2006

I really fail to see what all the fuss is about. The service was good, the food was fine (although not outstanding), but oy oy oy when the bill came I almost tumbled from my seat in shock. £60 for a few dishes and we weren't even drinking. There's places all over London that are much cheaper and with nicer food, I won't be going back here in a hurry. All in all, an average Chinese restaurant with Abramovich prices.
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Martin
Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 2
Tuesday, August 22, 2006

I lived in HOng Kong for 30 years.

So, I know about good dim sum.

This restaurant serves the best dim sum in London.
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K. Bannister
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 8
Thursday, July 20, 2006

I would rate the Royal China as one of the best restaurants I have eaten in.

Beautiful setting and beautiful food
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Lisa Tiffin
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Friday, July 14, 2006