Charlie Chan

I’ve been spoilt by a good dim sum within arms reach in China Town, London all my life and having relocated to the ‘shires [some weeping was involved], I was delighted to discover that there was an dim sum establishment in Cambridge, an institution in fact with history.
But sadly, it’s heydays maybe long gone, along with any semblance of ‘customer service’. I know, I know, Chinese establishments have… an ‘interesting’ take on customer satisfaction, but my experience today, took the biscuit. We queued with no greeting, no welcome, no «hold on, I’ll be with you», or «Table for 2? I’ll check for you», we just queued like turnips, no eye contact to be made by the manager or the staff. Overlooking that…
This by no mean had been my first visit to Charlie Chan and I remember the last dim sum meal was worthy of a mental note ‘ah, won’t mind coming here again’. However, the food today was passable at best and for that, it was overpriced. For what you would pay for 3 egg tarts in London, you’d get two and also the pork buns was marginally smaller.
In summary, for my next craving, I’m getting that train back in to London.

A much snazzier establishment than the street level reception suggests, I attended on date night with my boyfriend. At the end of the day, the food was great, however it was almost an hour late, and when we asked about the hold up their excuse was that it was because we’d ordered dim sum (we weren’t told this would take any longer when ordering). Service was a mixed bag, very dodgy with some of the younger staff, but maybe they cottoned on and we eventually got looked after by a great waiter.
I also wonder if our slightly casual, studenty dress had anything to do with this, as we were surrounded by lots of sequins and silk. I have friends who were very positive about Charlie Chan so I have sent them a message about this and hope I will have a reason to return and also edit my review!

Whenever I visit my brother, who lives in Cambridge, we always get ridiculously drunk, and we always come to Charlie Chan’s, whether it’s for takeout or to eat in. In fact, the first time I came here was after a day at the races in Newmarket and I was well oiled and even thought it was a bit hazy I definitely got kissed by my brother’s best mate on the way to the loo.
The décor reminds me of my bedroom when I was seven — all pink and grey and 80s, but that’s no bad thing, because it’s quite nostalgic. For me, at least.
I’ve never had to pay so don’t know much about the prices but I do know that the food has always been superb. And now I’m proper hungry for some spring rolls.

This is my favourite dim sum restaurant in the world, and I lived in Hong Kong. The buns and dumplings are flavourful little pillows of deliciousness. I couldn’t visit Cambridge without a trip to Charlie Chan, which hasn’t changed in years (in a good way).