Xiang Gong Chinese Restaurant — Restaurant in Paphos Municipality

We visit Paphos around 3 times a year but had never tried this restaurant. After seeing the reviews, we were looking forward to trying it out and had pre-booked a table for us. It wasn't a good start when we arrived as we were stood waiting to be seated for 15 minutes, even though we could see what we assumed was out table ready and waiting - yet several members of staff saw us and didn't even acknowledge us. We gave them the benefit of the doubt thinking they were really busy - however it would have taken 10 seconds to seat us with a menu. Eventually, someone did show us to the table but didn't offer us a menu or take an order for our drinks and we had to sit and wait for another 15 minutes before this was offered. We did notice another couple having the same issue too. We ordered our drinks and meal at the same time as thankfully we'd already looked at the menu outside. We ordered the set menu with the duck starter and it did come out in a timely manner, and was very nice too. However, we then sat for ages waiting for our main course - and by ages, I mean over an hour! I had spoken to a member of staff after 35 minutes and was told they had a large table booking to deal with first. We eventually received our dishes from the set menu after another 30 minutes wait. We were supposed to receive Schezwan Beef, Sweet & Sour Chicken and Crispy Thai Chicken - along with pilau rice. What actually turned up was 3 dishes in exactly the same base sweet & sour sauce - apart from chopped red chillies had been added to the supposed Crispy Thai chicken, and the chicken was not even a crispy version! The Schezwan beef was again clearly the same base sauce but with soy sauce, chillies & veg added. They all tasted very sickly sweet. I asked a member of staff if the correct dishes had been brought out as there was nothing Thai or crispy about the supposed Thai dish, and the beef one tasted the same only hotter? I was told they were correct. I explained to him that I thought the same sweet & sour base sauce had been used in all 3 dishes and asked where were the Thai flavours for the Thai dish and he said 'the chillies'. After explaining again how they all tasted the same, he admitted it was the same sauce! There was no explanation as to why the chicken wasn't crispy. I said there was no way I could eat these 3 same dishes and he actually said I should have called him over as soon as I wasn't happy! Which I absolutely did and pointed to my plate which I'd had 3 mouthfuls from - but it had taken some time for him actually come to our table when I had first beckoned him over! We got up to leave and I said I wasn't happy about paying the full price as we'd barely touched the 3 main dishes - yet he offered only a €6 discount off the full bill. I told him we'd pay for the starters and drinks as that's all we'd had and that the service had been appalling.

I find it hard to believe that our experience was so bad after reading the reviews, and maybe it was because of a very large table booking, however it was just not acceptable and felt like we'd just been served a concoction of what was left at the end of the night. This is the first bad meal we've had in Paphos after coming here for 26 years. Thankfully there's an abundance of other...

Booked a table for two using the online booking system having read rave reviews about the food.

Received email confirmation of the booking so I responded saying how much I was looking forward to my visit and asking if traditional veg such as Pak Choi and Choi sum would be available.

I received a reply to the request saying that those vegetable were out of season (untrue) and the only traditional veg would be beansprouts. That should have set my alarm bells ringing.

We arrived for our booking and began by ordering duck pancakes, spare ribs and tempura prawns as starters. All arrived warm and cooked well enough - if a little bland.

The next course should have been wan ton soup but as soon as the bowls arrived I didn’t even have to taste it to see it wasn’t as it should be.

The soup was the consistency of jelly and a dark brown colour, just like a thick English gravy. My partner confirmed this by dipping in his spoon and confirming it did actually taste like bisto!

I called the manager over and explained we wouldn’t be eating the soup because wan ton soup is suppose to be a clear fresh broth. The Greek manager looked at me like I was in the wrong and said ‘soy gravy soup’ but he did remove the bowls from our table.

The main dish was suppose to be a street style noodle dish but I’ve never eaten in a Chinese that serves smoked bacon in noodles!!

Thera nothing (from the staff to the food) that is remotely authentically oriental about this place and the whole experience was a disappointment from start to end. One I won’t...

I recently visited Xiang Gong Chinese Restaurant, and unfortunately, the experience was quite disappointing. While I was looking forward to an enjoyable meal, both the food quality and customer service fell short.

Most of the dishes arrived cold, which immediately took away from their appeal. The spaghetti was soggy, lacking the right texture, and the corn and chicken soup had barely any chicken—more like a thin corn broth than a proper soup. It was clear that little effort was put into ensuring the food was properly prepared and served at the right temperature.

What made matters worse was the service. One staff member—who appeared to be the proprietress—was particularly rude and off-putting. When we politely raised our concerns about the food, we were dismissed and given the impression that we should just accept it as it was. This kind of attitude is unacceptable in any restaurant that values its customers.

Overall, Xiang Gong left a lot to be desired. A restaurant can survive average food if the service is excellent, but when both fall below standard, it’s hard to justify a return visit. With some serious improvements in both hospitality and food quality, it might have potential, but based on this experience, I wouldn’t...