The Wong Kei

SPECTRUM001

Just had some Chinese food delivered. Hmmm ; shredded chilli beef, chicken fried rice and seaweed (cabbage).

Which got me thinking about The Wong Kei in Wardour St.

I miss it - being shouted at, moved from the table, refused cutlery and general life threatening abuse. 

Definitely the best noodle soup in London.

axisus

went there way back in the 80s. Personally I think it's a crap selling point, never went back. 

sev112

Does that still exist?  Again, also went there a lot in the 80s.  Don’t treat it as a restaurant. It is good takeaway food, and they have benches to sit on with everyone else.  You don’t go up west to spend load of money and all your time in a restaurant.  It was in and out  .  Liked it a lot

SPECTRUM001

It is one of the worst places to eat in London, but I still frequently went there. And you can get a wholesome bowl of pork noodle soup in three minutes flat.

Definitely trading on the experience as a tourist attraction. A friend was over from Prague in the nineties (when the Czech crown didn’t go very far), and I think he went almost every day.

I was in it when it burnt down. An off duty policeman stood up and told us the restaurant was on fire and we had to leave. A waiter then told us to sit down, finish our food and pay the bill !!!

danishbacon

Ah I do miss it. Aromatic duck is delicious. 

rogd

Things go Wong Kei after a whlle.

goldtop

Yup - definitely an experience. Once.

Kebabkid

I've had many an after work dinner there before a night out on the town. Good food and the most surreal service.

It was always great bringing someone new to the place with you and saying to them 'We need another chair. Grab that one from over there and bring it here' Or/ 'Are you not used to chopsticks? Ask for a fork' and chaos would descend!

SPECTRUM001

Yes, ‘an experience’ definitely sums it up. I think I learned what dishes were the good ones, and which to avoid.

I took Mrs 001 there on one of our early dates. She was vegan at the time, and was quite unimpressed !

When they re-opened, and in an attempt to actually have a conversation with one of the waiters, I said how good it was that they survived the fire. The waiter replied with ‘what fire ?’. I said - ‘the one last year’ and he looked me straight in the eye and said ‘there was no fire’.

I wasn’t going to argue !!

munckee

I’ve frequented a number of back street noodle bars in London. I went to one before a work meeting near the theatres and just as I was about to eat a large chopsticks full of noodles Christian slater walked in who was in a play nearby. I lost my concentration and dropped noodles all over my shirt. Had to keep my suit buttoned up in the meeting on a hot day  

breezytele

Avoid live music nights
Everyone invariably plays in the Wong kei

sorefinga

Personal favourite moment: my girlfriend and me where second on in the queue. Waiter pops his head round the corner and asks "Table for two?" The women in front of us are engrossed in conversation and don't hear him.

He yells "Oh, fuck off! Too Slow!" and drags us in instead. 

boogieman

At work we once had an overnight job in Lisle Street in Chinatown. The street was literally running with rats. I was very reluctant to eat anywhere in the area afterwards. 

drofluf

One of our party asked the waiter what he would recommend teh reply was "I don't know. You the f%$king customer. You decide!"

RobDavies

I thought this thread was a casually racist comment on an Asian guitarist playing in C when everyone else was in A. 

Edit: and now I’ve read the entire page and seen someone else has already made that joke.  Sorry. 

axisus

I went once when they were opening up for the day and all the staff were standing outside, they couldn't get in the locked door. Someone bought the Wong Kei.

Sassafras

We had an excellent take-away that was unfortunately taken over by a new crew who probably trained at the Wong Kei.
They're spectacularly rude and their food is like greasy turds.

PhilW1

SPECTRUM001 said:

 I took Mrs 001 there on one of our early dates. She was vegan at the time, and was quite unimpressed !

Mrs 001!!..how many are there?

Jalapeno

Didn't enoy being shouted at and treated as Quai Loh, there's plenty other good & cheap soup/noodle places in Soho.

SPECTRUM001

PhilW1 said:

SPECTRUM001 said:

 I took Mrs 001 there on one of our early dates. She was vegan at the time, and was quite unimpressed !

Mrs 001!!..how many are there?

Ha ha - only the one !

But given I am well out of my league, and also suffer from Imposter Syndrome, it is probably only a matter of time before she sees sense.

dazzajl

The good dishes were good and the staff always seemed to know who wanted the ‘schick’ and who just wanted to eat. Downstairs in the canteen section was always my favourite. Happy and much simpler times eh.