Michael Wan's Mandarin 上官樓 — Restaurant in England

Looking forward all week for this as read reviews and rated one of best in europe. Get in offered prawn crackers came with 2 sauces that were really tasty, ithought this is going to be good food, orderd our drinks and food.

Kids meals came out with starters which we were all going to share, ordered mixed starter which was nice. Salt and chilli soft crab which was way to salty and i order salt and chilli chicken wings all the time so not like i dont know what to expect.

Black pepper beef rolls mrs only eat half of one as could of been anything to much going on but not really black pepper. But we ordered and didnt know what to expect so our falt.

Mains came seafood chow main nothing special for price had same but better takeaways by us at less that half the price. Mrs ordered duck un do noodles, duck dry bland flavour burnt onions couldnt eat it, i kept having a waft of smell not realizing it was her plate of food next to me until i smelt plate. Mrs said just get bill dont say anything. Iv got no problem paying top price for good food as really enjoy trying different places but this smelt off.

Asked for bill and told waitress that it dosnt smell right and burnt. She said its the best dish, i said it smells off she just shrugged shoulders. I said can i have bill but tell the manager and ask to smell that as dosnt seem right. She told manager then took plate and manager owner came over with bill. I explained that to her that was burnt and smelt off. She said chefs smelt it and said thats how its ment to be. My mrs said ment to be burnt. Which she ignored i said how could the chef have smelt it when it had literally just been taken from table to which she said she was told earlier i said but iv literally only just told the waitress. She said its got a oster sauce some people like it some dont. It was a basically, tuff couldnt get payment from me quick enough. Asked if everything else ok which id normally say lovley thankyou even if i didnt think much of it but thought well il be honest. which it wasnt really kids had beef noodles which my daughters fussy so its expected her to leave, son had chicken balls with chips which i tried but was dry. Wasnt like trying to get out of paying as everything should be paid for but the dry duck undo noodles with burnt onions should of been checked and took off bill. But really my mrs should speak up straight away to give them chance to correct as only had couple mouthfuls then left plate. Paid and left disapointed.

Never left a bad review but think paying over £100 for a chinese meal excpected better than that and the fact they said chef checked it which he clearly didnt, not to impressed. Rated one of best in europe obviously havnt been trying the takeaways...

There's a reason the Mandarin has won several awards over the the 56 years they have been open, they're one of the best in the country at what they do. The restaurant is what I would consider to be an institution that has stood the test of time (whereas so many businesses fail) in this small seaside town.

My personal favourite dishes here are the wonton soup (very tasty home made wontons, I have tried to find ones that exceed or even match the excellent flavour of these, but to no avail!) in a delicious, rich yet delicate stock, flavoured with spring onion, pak choi, white pepper, and a drop of sesame oil. If I could eat only one dish at this restaurant, it would be about ten bowls of this! Honourable mention also goes to Mrs Wan's pot stickers, which are nice big pork and prawn dumplings in a crispy steamed and shallow fried light pastry (similar to Japanese gyoza), served with a ginger/vinegar dipping sauce.

As for main courses, you really can't go wrong with anything on offer here. The chow mein is fantastic, as is the twice cooked pork (usually on the specials board). Another favourite of mine is the Beef with green peppers in black bean sauce, delicious tender beef that you can tell has been prepared with skill and affection, in a tasty umami-packed black bean sauce, with a hint of that smoky, high heat "Wok Hei" that the best Chinese restaurants provide.. There are too many delicious Cantonese dishes on the menu to mention!

I must also mention the lunch menu at the mandarin, which I think is available between Thursday and Sunday, 12:00 to 13:45. This is excellent value at 8.80, and is usually the visiting time of choice for my partner and I. I have also previously visited at Chinese new year, which was a lot of fun!

In my opinion, every fan of Chinese food should give the mandarin a try, the quality is simply...

One word. Consistency. There's a reason this restaurant had been here 45+years. The place is clean, modern but with a hardback to the old days with traditional materials. I love the satin walls here- they scream touch me haha. The gorgeous plush blue velvet booths are extremely comfortable. Now for the food. I said consistency because the dishes have always been the same but improved with better high quality ingredients. The menu has expanded and gained a loving following. I had 'seasonal greens' with 'Coriander and schezuan pepper' fried rice. My partner had 3 starters. Pot stickers, Satay Skewers and a wonton soup. A special mention for the soup.. it's never changed in the 15years I've been attending. There's nothing like it. Hand mad wontons and pak choi, highly seasoned. Gosh, I can't convey how good that soup is. My main did lack 'greens'. But I notified the team immediately, and literally one minute later I had lots of wok fried pak choi extra on my plate lol. So even lil errors are rectified. And that highlights their humbleness to please the customer. Excellent customer service. 10/10. We well as ever, be back. Shame I only...