Goldmine Restaurant is known for their duck dish. Basically in London, the 3 popular duck restaurants are Four Seasons, Gold Mine and New Fortune Cookie. Given that my stay is limited, my very limited research led me to conclude on trying Gold Mine for this visit.
Vain Pot and I ordered half a duck and my gosh, this is by far the most value for money half a duck I ever had! Half a duck, no bones all meat and so tasty! We devoured the generous slices of meat with relish. The balance in flavour is awesome with the tenderness of the meat and the juiciness from the fats just beneath the duck skin. Vain Pot asked me if this is even better than the Kam's Roast Goose we fell in love with in Hong Kong... and I kinda felt that Roast Goose still wins at its best but Goldmine is far more consistent in terms of food quality based on the reviews and my own experience.
We tried a couple of other dishes at Goldmine and I felt while decent is nothing to rave about. Stick to the duck when you come here.
Goldmine Restaurant
102 Queensway, Paddington, London W2 3RR, UK (nearest tube: Bayswater)
The second unexpected discovery was at Ma Po. It's a restaurant walking distance from where we live and that day I was craving for some Chinese fare but didn't want to take the tube. Vain Pot recommended I try this place.
I ordered stir fried chicken with ginger and onions as well as a hot and sour soup. Both dishes were awesome and prices were reasonable. The rice cost me 2 pounds though... I felt the best thing about eating Chinese dishes with rice when you are away from home is the warm and fuzzy feeling it brings you. It helps that the chicken was tender and honestly I've eaten this dish many times elsewhere and I thought this is one of the best versions. I'm certain I'll definitely have at least one meal here each time I'm in London.
Ma Po
176 Lower Road, London SE16 2UN, UK (nearest tube: Surreys Quay)
The final place I'm featuring this visit is Lin's Restaurant & Bar. The weather was too cold, I skipped the photo-taking of the shop front. I found this dish on Instagram and literally walked in showing the photo to the host and told them I wanted the exact same dish. Turns out there're two similar dishes so it's difficult to tell which was which. Apparently, there's a Chongqing Noodles and a Szechuan Noodles and the key difference is the sauce. For this visit, I tried the Chongqing Noodles which I can vouch taste very authentic. The mala effect was so strong it literally numbed my taste buds for most of the meal.
I heard 2 Chinese girls next to me asking the waiter for the spiciest dish they got to offer. Lin's Restaurant & Bar is known for its spicy authentic Chinese food that caters to the Chinese community in the city. I was generally satisfied with my experience even though the noodles were a tad too spicy for me. I'd like to give them additional points for the hospitality and excellent service while I was there.
Lin's Restaurant & Bar
134 Southawk St, London SE1 0SW, UK (nearest tube: Southawk)