Wong Kei

"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

"A Classic order: Roast duck on rice 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. The cash-only Chinatown Cantonese canteen is a sanctuary for everyone. The miserable and the happy, the alone and the raucous, the roast meat and rice lover, the noodle soup and chilli oil worshipper. Nothing costs much over £10 and it’s rare you’ll spend longer than your self-allotted hour or so here. " - jake missing, heidi lauth beasley, rianne shlebak