Chung Ying — Restaurant in Birmingham

The decoration is nice and they had the Euros (football) playing on a projector.

The "hot and sour soup" will be very unsatisfying to those who grew up with the authentic dish: it's not "hot" - the soul of the dish is black pepper and there is not enough; it's not "sour" - there is not enough vinegar, another core ingredient; it's not "soup" - there was too much starch, it had an uneven and gloopy texture. The bamboo shoot and beancurd in the dish is good quality though, so there's no problem with the ingredient sources.

The staff, although friendly and having removed the dish from our bill - for which we are grateful - seemed uninterested in faithfully reproducing the dish from home: they explained they were just catering to British preferences. This is fair enough, but I believe they would be able to attract even more repeat customers by, for example, making it clear (e.g. in Chinese) when a dish is substantially modified, so that everyone can come home happy with their full stomach, no regrets, and understand what they are ordering.

In order to improve the service and leave customers feeling better about their experience, I suggest Dale Carnegie's "How To Win Friends And Influence People"; the manager was friendly and polite, but the waiter who handled our case was a little defensive and upset when we made complaints about the hot and sour soup after we had eaten a moderate part of it. It was not that we wanted it to be refunded or redone - we just wanted to let you know our thoughts in case it could help you improve the dish - but I think the waiter received only the former impression and reacted sharply - while I understand their feelings in that moment, it is better for the customer experience to have staff listen to the end of the statement before responding.

The crispy pork belly was alright - it is of the typical quality that can be found in a medium cost lunch in Hong Kong - the only order size on the menu is a...

I've been coming to Chung Ying for over 30 years and my family for many years before that and in the past have always received excellent, friendly service and quality food at reasonable prices. I remember as a young child some of the waiters taking the time to teach me and my sister how to count to 10 in Chinese and some of our best childhood memories were made in this restaurant.

It has been a few years since my last visit (and even then it wasn't as good as previously) and unfortunately this time was even worse.

Like others have mentioned, the staff are quite rude and abrupt, and when I tried to order a variety of steamed dim sum, (the same stuff I have been ordering all my life) was told that they don't serve steamed dim sum after 5pm whereby the waitress pointed to the menu that says 20% off dim sum between 12pm and 5pm. Nothing about not serving it after 5pm.

We instead ordered some fried dim sum, which I suspect some of it had been previously cooked and re-fried as it was a dark coffee colour and dry, not golden brown. The chicken in blackbean sauce was as good as ever but this couldn't make up for the rest of the mediocre meal.

At the end of the meal we saw some other tables were given complimentary mints or chocolate which we weren't. I know it's only a small gesture, but it's the little details like that (giving it out to some customers in front of others) that are the difference between what used to be an quality restaurant to now just another Cantonese restaurant.

I'm sure they will continue to survive, but unfortunately it will be the end of a 30 year...

ONE ROAST DUCK IS £50 One of the worst dining experiences I've ever had – completely overpriced and dishonest.

Today, I went to Chung Ying restaurant in Birmingham to buy a roast duck. They charged me £50 for one duck, which is by far the most expensive roast duck I've ever purchased!

When I got home, my wife was shocked and said that must be a mistake – £50 for one duck? So I went back to the restaurant to ask.

An older man came out and asked me what the issue was. I asked to see their menu. Instead of showing me the menu, he asked what I wanted to order. I told him I wanted to know the price of a whole roast duck. He said it was around £30. I then showed him my bill and asked why I was charged £50.

He looked at the bill and said it was because they charged me for two half ducks at £25 each, which somehow made it £50 for one whole duck! I told him clearly that when I ordered, I said I wanted a whole duck, not two halves. He then pulled out the menu and pointed to "Half Duck – £25", and claimed that "two halves make £50" – that’s just how they do things there.

I’ve never heard of any place charging more for two halves than a whole duck. This just feels dishonest and sneaky. On top of that, the duck was not even good – the taste was disappointing and not worth the price at all.

Avoid this place. Terrible value, dishonest pricing,...