LongJi

We heard great things about this play so we gave it a go, worst decision! When we were seated it took an age until they came to take our orders. We ordered actual drinks but also added a jug of tap water and I have not seen so much eye rolling or tutting, from there on the service we received was just plain rude so decided to leave. Not too sure if the food is great or not, but not worth finding out!

I wanted a HK style dinner before heading to a show at the local jazz lounge. This joint looked decent & the selections on the menu posted on the window had some items I wanted to try in we came. This is a 3 storied restaurant with a server posted on each floor. The server on my floor spoke Mandarin, accented Cantonese & English. We were directed to sit anywhere we liked. The place was pretty full at 7:00 pm which is a positive sign. I grabbed the menu & got down to business cuz I was hungry. We haven’t been eating veggies on this trip so I was going to correct that tonight.
So I thought the dishes were pretty salty & that has been consistent with my experience with Chinese food so far… must be a Brit thing. The food was indeed HK style, especially the roasted meat platter. I think I drank the entire pot of hot tea by myself trying to dilute the rich food. The prices were reasonable. Service was no frills & quick. Yeah, this place ain’t bad at all.

If you’re looking for a quick HK-​style café (茶餐廳), avoid HK Diner and go to LongJi. One of the few non-​touristy restaurants in Chinatown, and decent at what they do.
My go-​to dish here is the baked seafood fried rice with a side of BBQ duck. Their cart noodles (車仔麵) and beef brisket noodles are also good. The wonton noodles and beef ho fun (乾炒牛河) were not great. Sad for a HK-​style café to fail at staples.

I have been coming here for years for their Hong Kong tea, which is excellent. Today I went in for noodles as well, and it has completely spoilt my view of the place. The food was fine, not bad but nothing to write home about either. When it came to paying I noticed an extra £0.50 added to the food which was stated very clearly on the menu as £6.50. When asked they pointed to another menu (dishes are under a completely different name as well) saying they always charge 50p extra for that.
I would have very happily paid the £7 for the noodles if they did not try to do it so sneakily.

I only tried the bubble tea here, the yakuit. Service was quick. I wasnt sure what the yakuit was but I think it’s that yogurt flavored drink they sell at asian supermarkets. banana milk? something like that. The tapioca was soft though. Price was a little steep for me but hey, this is london!