Gold Mine Chinese Restaurant, London

Sunday, April 25, 2010 at 2:10 PM


If you stay in London long enough, chances are you would know or heard of the mighty Four Seasons that serves really good roast duck. After hearing good reviews of its arch nemesis, Gold Mine, I decided to give it a try. As there was five of us, we ordered four dishes and a pot of Chinese tea. Note to self: the portion here including rice is HUGE, remember to order accordingly. 


Waiting was long just like all the other places in London although it was a Thursday night. Our first dish was Special Roast Duck Cantonese Style (£9.50). We ordered half of it.


To be honest, I can't really tell the difference between Four Season's and Gold Mine's. Both are equally good, I think. I can only say that Four Season's one has a thicker layer of fat whereas Gold Mine's version is skinnier. 


This was Braised Bean Curd with Minced Pork, Diced Chinese Mushrooms & Radish (£8.50). A very flavourful dish indeed and goes well with rice. 


I love brinjals. This Braised Aubergine with Minced Pork in Hot Pot (£8.50) was good either on its own or with some rice. The aubergines was soft and a little bit spicy.


This Spicy Kung Po Diced Pork (£7.50) was fried with huge chunks of onions, spring onions, cashew nuts and red chilies. The pork was soft on the inside and crispy at the outside. Total bill came up to just a little over £50 including complimentary fruits just like what Four Seasons has. It was not bad at all and I might just come back for more.



Gold Mine Chinese Restaurant (Open Daily)
12noon - 11.30pm
102 Queensway Bayswater,
London W2 3RR
Tel No: 020 7792 8331

London Revisit

Thursday, April 22, 2010 at 9:56 PM

I like to come to this humble little shop called Far East Restaurant in Chinatown whenever I come to London. You can read my first visit here. This time I ordered Szechuan Chicken Fried Noodles and Szechuan Chicken Fried Ho Fun. Both cost £3.50 each. 


The noodles was really good. It had a good amount of "wok hei" and was not oily at all. Chicken pieces were succulent and crispy. The noodles was cooked with Szechuan chili oil hence the name. However, it was not very spicy. I might ask for extra hot next time. I think the chef may alter the level of hotness to suit the taste here.


The ho fun (flat rice noodles) was cooked exactly the same style as the noodles above. The only difference here is the type of noodles used. If I have to choose, I would go for the noodles because it complements the chili oil better than the ho fun. Somehow the ho fun didn't go well with the chili oil. 


I went back to Four Seasons to try its roast duck rice. Besides that, I too ordered a plate of Fried Ho Fun with Sliced Beef (Dry) priced at £5.50.


The only thing that came to my mind when I sank my mouth into this dish was its oiliness! Other than that, it was pretty good. The beef was well cooked and marinated. It was tender enough too. 


I also got the chance to dine at the good ol' canteen of Malaysia Hall London. Do not expect fancy cutleries or nice ambiance. It is a no-frills setting which looks like just any other government department's canteen back home in Malaysia. I had a plate of Nasi Lemak Ayam (Coconut Rice with Fried Chicken) and a side dish of vegetables for breakfast. It costs me £5 in total. 


And I would say it was a pretty decent plate of nasi lemak. Tasted just like what it should be back in Malaysia. The fried chicken was a tad too small for me though. This is a nice place to get your Malaysian food cravings satisfied. It has a variety of Malay dishes like curry chicken, rendang and many more. Drinks like teh tarik and Milo are also available. 

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