Fortune Lane Chinese Restaurant — Restaurant in Terrigal

As a regular holiday location for over 25 years, Terrigal is a place my wife and I love coming to every year. Fortune lane was recommended to us by a family member. We had a terrible experience there. We ordered Half Peeking Duck and Shang lao bao for starters. The steamed fish and gai lan for mains. Starters were ok, 3/5, and the only reason food is 1 stars, not zero. The dumplings were ok as well, though they lacked some flavour. The mains were terrible. The fish came out, one side, face up, was cooked but was raw from the middle down (Picture bellow). It arrived without the chinese broccoli. I called the wait staff and explained the situation. They were very appologetic and said they would get us a new one from the kitchen. I also asked if we could get that and the Gai lan together when they were ready. Some 15 minutes passed (I was not too worried about this as I expected the process to take time). I want to say that up until this point, the whole experience wasn't that bad. I mean, most restaurants have some quality control of food leaving the kitchen, but mistakes do happen. It was the next steps that were, in my opinion, unproffesional, pathetic, and self-serving. The fish dish, as picured, after 15 or so minutes, came back out, looking exactly the same. It wasn't removed from the plate it was in. It wasn't even moved on the plate itself. Part of it was now cooked and even rubbery, the other part still raw. (Pictured). The height of disdain for the customer, who is having a bad experience with a nearly $40 dish, is to send it right back after putting it in the microwave, 15 minutes later, and not even having it cooked through, turning it rubbery. Terrible way to treat your customers. Oh, the Gai Lin showed up 3 or 4 minutes later. To add insult to injury, i went to get the bill settled, we were table 3, and instead of the bill, I was offered the tap and go machine, which read, $208.40. What!!! I then asked the staff member to please give me the bill. As he did, there were 9 or 10 items on the bill. I told them I only ordered 4 dishes, and we had very bad issues with the fish and left it half on the plate. A fuss ensued for 5 or so minutes with several different people asking what I ate and quizzing me on whether i had the Rainbow steak ( we hadn't). In the end, after almost 10 minutes and one empathatic staff member, we arrived at the correct bill, with a deduction of 50% for the steamed fish ( i presume because half of it was inedible). I never fuss over paying, so I just did. Almost $100 for two people. If there were zero stars as an overall rating, it would be zero. I guess 1 star remains for the final staff member, who, unlike the rest of the staff or the whole experience, was the one person to truly appologise for the experience.

Recomended to no body who values good cooking...

Fortune Lane left me feeling rather disappointed. While the Shanghai dumplings were a saving grace, offering a burst of flavor and satisfying texture, the rest of the meal fell short of expectations. The chicken and corn soup, while not terrible, lacked the wow factor I usually associate with this classic dish. It was just average, nothing to write home about.

The beef in black bean sauce, priced relatively, unfortunately arrived on the smaller side. Though it packed some flavor, it left me wanting more. The real disappointment came in the form of the fried rice. At $15, I expected a generous portion, but what I got was a dry, tasteless, and downright boring rendition. It was a struggle to even finish a few mouthfuls.

To add to my frustration, the pot of tea I ordered, meant for two, was served with just one cup. The service was minimal, lacking the attentiveness and care one would hope for in a dining experience.

Overall, Fortune Lane fell short in delivering a satisfying and memorable dining experience. While there were glimpses of potential in the Shanghai dumplings and the beef in black bean sauce, the lackluster chicken and corn soup and the disappointing fried rice left me feeling unsatisfied. With room for improvement in both the food and service department, I left the restaurant hungry and...

Make no mistake, the food was ok, but this is not a fine dining Chinese restaurant. We sat for lunch, 2 adults and 3 children aged 5, 4, and 2. Ordered Dan-dan noodle soup, Singapore noodles, Chicken Fried rice, Satay Chicken and rice, Steamed Chinese broccoli and Salt and Pepper squid.

The food was brought to our table after 15-18 minutes which was good, however the quality is what you'd expect from a shopping mall food court. The noodles, rice and broccoli were mediocre, and the squid was fresh however quite salty. In fact, the food was without flavor and heavy on the salt. The portion sizes were fair and staff service was good.

We paid $125 including 4 bottles of water, which I thought was over priced for what it was. It might be the cost of everything has risen dramatically over the last 12 months, so I suppose we'll keep looking for quality food on the...