ARCADIAN PALACE
Yesterday (14 July 2007), Dim and I went to the Arcadian Palace in China Town. A friend of ours who loves Chinese food used to go to this place almost every week, I had a high expectation. It is a very small place and quite popular. We arrived late afternoon, so could find a table easily.
We don't expect much fron the décor, with cheap tables and cheap chairs, but it is pleasantly bright and clean. That is all what we need from a Chinese café.
This is Sweet & Sour Stir-Fried Noodle that Dim ordered. Apart from vegetable, there were shredded char siu pork and 2 king prawns, with some Chinese pickles (£4.90).
It tasted fine, but as good as home cooking goes: nothing particular for people who know the basics of Chinese cooking.
This is my Thai Style Deep-Fried Fish with Rice (£6.30).
From the words "Thai-style" I expected something cooked with Thai spices, but it was just usual sweet & sour sauce with some chili (power and fresh). This also was fine, but not exceptiona. The rice was very good.
The bill was very reasonable £11.10: very good price. We had also 2 mugs of Chinese tea, but we were not charged for them.
Comparing to the nearby New Sum Ye, the décor is better, and here you can eat with ceramic dishes. It is difficult to say at this stage which offer the better food, as I ate something totally different.
This café is good for someone who does not bother to cook, or does not know how to cook Chinese, but I don't think I return, as when I go out, I want to eat something I cannot cook at home. A couple sat next to use was eating Chinese roast; this is something difficult to make at home, but again, I don't like Chinese roast...
For a more recent visit to this restaurant, click here.
