Wong Kei

Went with three good girlfriends on 15/01/10. I'd heard rumour of basic surroundings and infamously rude waitors. Well waiters were suprisingly pleasant but above all super efficient. We were immediately shown to a table upstairs and a complimentary steaming pot (canteen style stainless steel) of delicious Jasmine tea on the table in seconds. We ordered mixed starters and five main dishes with noodles and rice to share. All delicious but special mention for the chilli beef and Prawns with chilli and black bean. Generous portion that even we could not manage to finish. Crockery is plastic but somehow seems very appropriate. Leave the teapot lid open and a fresh pot appears at lightening speed, With soft drinks bill came to a embarassingly cheap £45. Can't fault and will definately return. Can't think of anyone who would not enjoy the experience apart from crockery snobs.
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9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10
Sunday, January 17, 2010

We visited Wong Kei Chinese restaurant, Soho, on new years day 2010

Let me set something straight. If you're looking for silver "Is everything aright sir?" service, this restaurant will not work for you. However, if you have a big family, or a big group of mates, and wish to get great quality (and quantity) food and clinical service, Wonky is for you.

Wong Kei as an experience is unmissable, it really is the concentration camp of Chinese cuisine. When we arrived, the linoleum floors and over-bright lighting grated on our eyes. A brusque, petite Chinese man barked "Dowstair" at us, and ushered us to our table, only to dart right back upstairs and do the same with another couple. Be prepared to be sat next to another (probably Chinese, as they make up the majority of customers, good sign!") group, however we were lucky as a table for 3 was going free.

Now for the food. We ordered the set menu for three, an incredible 12 pounds, I suspect unbeatable price in central London, unless you fancy KFC. The starter was decent, seaweed perfectly cooked, fried chicken, spring rolls and prawn toast. Then the duck arrived, this was the best which I have ever had. Perfectly cooked, not to greasy and at the same time not dry. The main courses are really tasty and are of great quantity for your money.

So if you ever want a laugh with a group of drunk friends, or you are feeling lonely, or if you just want some really good Chinese food, Wong Kei is for you.
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Jodimaggio
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Tuesday, January 05, 2010

Wong Kei is a force of nature. It's a law of physics. It's a... well, you get my drift.

I don't know how long this place has been existence, but it's possibly longer than I have been. I've been frequenting this place for over 15 years at the time of writing this and intend to continue doing so. All through this time I've not once had a bad experience.

I've marked this place highly for the very simple reason that I'm reviewing it for what it is. The staff only say two words to the customers - upstairs and downstairs. And since they do this quite well, I can only say that the service is therefore very good. They're not trying nor intending to be polite, so there's no point reviewing them on it. I've never had the words "upstairs" and "downstairs" spoken to me in quite the same way as in Wong Kei. They really do it quite well.

The food is great. I'm half-asian so feel qualified to make this statement. And if that's not good enough, the place is always full of Chinese people, so conclude from that what you will.

Atmosphere... well the roof doesn't leak, but it hardly has an ambience. A fair 5, I think. But then one doesn't go there to look at the place. One goes there to order food, eat and leave.

Price-wise I feel they will continue to be among the cheapest in Chinatown for some time to come.

Although I recommend Wong Kei's, I acknowledge it won't be to everyone's liking. It is, however, to mine, which is why about 10% of my body weight was gained here.
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Alan Ingham - View all reviews by this user
8 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 10
Tuesday, December 29, 2009

We went on saturday afternoon. Was fairly busy but not full and we were seated and orders taken fast. It is not easy if you dont know the place to choose what to have as it is not the typical UK chinese menu but we had a lovely Won Ton Soup starter and then very nice sweet and sour duck and singapore noodles main. The free tea is good. The price however is excellent, £20 for two. Not a place for romance or impressing guests but for good cheap fast food it is hard to beat in central london.
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Treflesg
6 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 10
Tuesday, December 22, 2009

i am a chinese, i love wong kei. been living in london 8 years.never stop going there.. it is good food with very reasonable price.. you wont have a 2 course meals for 2 for under 15 pounds elsewhere.. lots of chinese people love eating there, it means that the food is nice, if you are looking for a romantic dinner, or perfect customer service, look other places , this is not for you...if you want to have a big family meal with good food, low price, then it is for you.
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cui
9 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 10
Thursday, December 10, 2009

The staff were rude and the sweet and sour vegetables were neither sweet nor sour, merely watery and bland. The spring rolls were burnt and the sweet chilli sauce came a good five minutes after the rolls did, but the teapot was efficiently kept full. The only nice thing about the experience was that we didn't feel obliged to leave a tip, so we didn't.
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Francine D.
0 Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 1
Thursday, December 03, 2009

I've written quite a few reviews of Wong Kei here before - Plus most of the Wikipeda entry on it - On reading a few of the most recent ones here - I'm reading that some people think the quality of the food is adequate only - Now take their Signature dish - Won Ton Ho Fun Noodle Soup (the Soup I imagine the customer eating on the T-Shirt image) - These Wontons are superb - They are like no other Chinese Restaurant I've been to - Large - Good Pork / Prawn Combination and the Wonton dumpling wrap itself is perfection - Also turning to the Ho Fun Noodles, I defy anyone to find better Ho Fun noodles in any Chinese Restaurant.

Don't even get me started on the Beef Brisket with Chinese Vegetables on Ho Fun with extra Sauce - This dish cannot be bettered anywhere in my opinon - OK, I admit there are some duds on the Menu - For example I'm not too keen on the Singapore Fried Noodles (had much better elsewhere) or the Sesame Seed Prawn Toast (Its good but again not up to the standard of the other Menu items) - Anyway to recap this is a great restaurant, but you've got to know their Menu well and more than that know how to order as many dishes can be modified to your liking - which I've never seen the Waiters complain about . .
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Michael H
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Monday, November 30, 2009

I've been going here for years. Great for a quick work lunch, equally great for a top up after a beer-filled evening and even better for a Saturday afternoon lunch with wife and kids.

As per previous posts, they do certain foods very well and other food can be a disaster. Recommend any of their noodle soups, oysters with roast belly pork and their crispy aromatic duck. Would avoid most of their all-in-one rice dishes, especially if involves egg as these tend to be very gloopy.

Staff are certainly different to other places in Chinatown, but unless you want to pay high-end prices (in which case you'll get more delicate food and friendlier staff) Wong Kei's is better than any of the other cheap or mid-level restaurants in Gerrard Street - and I've been to every single one!

Meat is served on the bone, so some people I've been with have been a bit frightened by it's earthiness, but the place is the real deal., as evidenced by the high proportion of Chinese patrons. Just be careful what you order!
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ENTJ
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10
Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Love this place! Quick service, free tea and plates always full to the top. You must know what to order though, because I came to love this place only after a few "failures" due to my ignorance of how the meals looked and tasted like, so if they placed pictures of the meals would be nice. You will save money there, but don't expect waiters ennoingly approaching you every minute and asking if you were ok and if you wanted to order anything else...this place is full of energy and people of all backgrounds and you will always find it busy there.
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Ioannis
9 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Friday, November 13, 2009

I have no objection to the rudeness of the staff or the dodgy decor, but, even though a meal might cost £5, as far as I'm concerned it's too dear for the fare served.

Verdict: NOT TASTY.

Ask yourselves who you normally see eating there: any Chinese??!
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A Shin
1 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 1
Tuesday, November 10, 2009