Wong Kei

"Wong Kei is one of London’s great time capsules. A reminder that cash can still be king and that great service does not always need a smile. An always-welcome Cantonese restaurant for the solo diner wanting to slurp on wonton soup, Wong Kei is Chinatown’s great sanctuary. This is a place for everyone. The miserable and the happy. The alone and the raucous. The labourer and the accountant. Wong Kei’s front sharing tables—a mixture of bowed heads and balanced phones—is London’s purest form of canteen eating. photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch Everything here is in and around £10. It’s rare you’ll spend longer than an hour, but there is space for larger groups at the back or upstairs. Of Wong Kei’s many dishes (circa 150, plus off-menu orders) there are two classic standouts we always revisit. A bowl of plump wontons in wishy-washy broth with noodles is a regular winter pick-me-up. Not least with a spoonful of homemade chilli oil. While an irresistible pile of cold roast meats on hot rice, slathered in an umami-ish BBQ sauce, is made to be shovelled. video credit: Jake Missing video credit: Jake Missing video credit: Jake Missing video credit: Jake Missing Lots has been made of Wong Kei’s historically blunt service. For us, it’s something to be admired. Word salads aren’t welcome here, and anyone who sits down expecting The Ritz is plainly an idiot. Within seconds you’ll have a complimentary pot of Chinese tea and minutes after ordering, an enormous bowl or plate of food. This is Wong Kei's charm. It doesn’t pretend to be anything other than what it has always been: a restaurant that people rely upon. (N.B. If you’re looking for a heroically thorough rundown of Wong Kei’s menu, then let us prod you in the direction of this Wong Kei blog. Hats off to whoever authored the project. We'd love to speak to them and, moreover, eat with them.) Food Rundown Wonton Noodle Soup Out of all Wong Kei's many one-dish wonders, their pork and prawn wonton noodle soup is the most reliable. Ask for crispy pork as well if you're that way inclined and, most importantly, some chilli oil on the side. photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch Mixed Barbecue On Hot Rice You will find juicier roast duck, more tender char siu, and crispier roast pork in Chinatown. But, to get all three of a very decent quality alongside a slick and savoury BBQ sauce on a bed of rice for less than £10 is extremely good. Prawn-Stuffed Tofu & Aubergine One of a few black bean sauce hits, this prawn mince-stuffed aubergine and tofu can also be ordered with rice as a one-dish number. The engineering involved to pack prawn mince inside slices of aubergine and tofu, or also in the crevices of a bell pepper, is quite ingenious. Dry-Fried Beef Ho Fun The quality of these slippery and sloppy noodles (as with many dishes at Wong Kei) varies. But when the noodles have caught the wok and given them that caramelised wok hei, they're pretty good." - Jake Missing

"Wong Kei doesn’t care if you need a wifi password. Chinatown’s most infamous Cantonese canteen is a beautifully scruffy time capsule that’s unashamedly stayed put in more ways than one. It’s an ode to food as fuel, cheap and cheerful wonton soups, and ladles of gravy on top of roast pork and rice. Of course, there will be plenty of people on their phones or plugged in over Wong Kei’s two floors. But that’s a choice. If you suspend your disbelief, bring a book or, better still, spend your time observing and slurping, you’ll easily forget anything that’s going on online." - heidi lauth beasley, jake missing, rianne shlebak, sinead cranna

"Without Wong Kei and its slapped-on-your-table wonton noodle soups and roasted meats bathing in sweet, shining, umami gravy, London would be a much poorer place. The Cantonese institution in Chinatown isn’t somewhere you come for the finest hand-pulled noodles or the most carefully simmered and deeply flavoured soup. But it is a place for everyone who knows the value of a steaming hot meal for under £10." - jake missing, daisy meager, sinead cranna, rianne shlebak

"The Chinatown Cantonese institution has a brisk and blunt approach to service and treats everyone the same: whether you’re dining solo, piling in with mates, or terminating the bond with someone you once thought was the love of your life. We find slurping wonton noodle soup is always a good, if entirely inappropriate, tactic during difficult conversations. Should things get really bad, know that Wong Kei is cash-only. So come prepared and you can throw down a £20 note (plenty, including tip) once the deed is done. It doesn’t feel great, but maybe you just went heavy on the chilli oil." - jake missing, sinead cranna, rianne shlebak

"Look up, high above Wong Kei’s sign and you’ll learn that before it was the Cantonese canteen and Chinatown institution it is today, it was home to a renowned Victorian wigmaker. This was a noteworthy building then and it’s a noteworthy building now. Without its slapped-on-your-table wonton noodle soups and roasted meats bathing in sweet, shining umami gravy, London would be a much poorer place. Not least for those who know the value of a steaming hot meal for under £10." - heidi lauth beasley, jake missing, rianne shlebak, daisy meager