Lu Dong — Restaurant in Gauteng

A Year ago I said: "Very dodgy setup but the food is authentic and tasty. Very good value for money and very good quality of ingredients." The food was amazing at that time.

Fast forward to today end April 2024 and under new ownership, my heart was broken. The food quality has deteriorated to disappointing. We ordered dumplings and they tasted off. We order the preserved egg with bean curd and the bean curd was old. We ordered their famous hand made pulled noodles and the noodles did not taste the same. The beef pan cake was more of a cucumber dish and only had like a small sliver of beef.

Unfortunately I was very disappointed and I just hope that they can fix their problems and get it back to where it was. This was my third visit under new management and it did...

I have always avoided the restaurants along the Van Riebeeck Rd strip as it always felt dodgy but I wanted chinese food and something different to the usual places and driving to Chinatown wasn't an option. I decided to try Ludong and boy am I glad I did. I would recommend ordering from their normal menu rather than the takeaway one. I ordered crispy prawns (in the shell), crispy bean curd, crispy spare ribs and Kung pao chicken. Just remember to order rice separately . I think the takeaway options include rice but not from the main menu. There is nothing fancy about the establishment but they are clean.

Pros: Good portions Authentic flavourd Great variety of options

Cons: Cash only no Card facilities Struggle to pre order on the phone due to...

An interesting and ultimately very worthwhile visit. A classic case of "Don't judge a book by its cover". Don't be put off by the (frankly terrible) outside appearance, or by the ultra-utilitarian interior. Apart from an already extensive menu, we were impressed that both the lady host and the chef came to speak to us personally, and whilst language is a bit of a barrier, there was enough communication for the chef to craft some dishes specifically for us, which was really cool. The menu has some unusual and really delicious vegetarian options and the food was all authentic and excellent. Leave your misgivings in the parking lot, come prepared (it's a cash-only establishment) and you will...