Four Seasons Restaurant - One of the 3 must try Roast Ducks in London

Four Seasons Restaurant stands as one of the 3 kings of Roast Duck in London. Standing on the same street in Bayswater as its other two competitors (Goldmine Restaurant & New Fortune Cookie), hordes of Asians flock to these 3 to try out their famous London Duck. As of now, I've tried both Goldmine and Four Seasons.

The roast duck at Four Seasons as of now stands in the lead. Always order boneless so that you can simply bite into the heavenly fat meat. The duck at Four Seasons was extremely tender and flavourful. I liked it better than Goldmine because it was less oily and has less fatty meat. The sweet duck sauce that comes with the dish goes excellently with the duck and whets your appetite even if you aren't too hungry. Makes me wonder why don't we have anything close to these delicious ducks in Singapore. The duck is packed in a box because I ordered takeaways. I must add that Four Seasons pack my takeaway in such a neat and easy to carry manner, I'll probably have a takeaway meal each time I'm in London from now on.

The cai sim was nothing spectacular. In fact, I felt the side dishes lost out to Gold Mine.

Sweet and sour soup wasn't strong in its flavouring either. While it wasn't bad, it was very very ordinary.

Wrapping up this post, I'd say that I rather order a whole duck and have it as my meal than waste calories and money on very average sides. The duck is a true winner and you really can't stop eating it once you put a slice into your mouth. You should really try London duck in London and compare it with the roast ducks back home. It's an eye opener.

Four Seasons Restaurant
84 Queenway, Bayswater, London W2 3RL
(apparently Four Seasons Restaurant have a few branches in Chinatown, don't waste time with those. the Bayswater outlet is the real deal)

Recommended Chinese Food in London

Been too busy clearing work and enjoying my London holiday that I've been guilty to neglect my little hobby food blog lately. Anyway, living in a London apartment I can pretty much call home makes writing blogs far more enjoyable. During this short break, I've noticed a problem getting reliable reviews on good food in London. So I'd like to pretty much fill this gap as much as possible. I thought I'd kick start my writing on London by touching on the Chinese food here because I got cravings for food back home after getting a little bored with the Western fare.

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)