The Place — Restaurant in London

My friend had been here a few times and said how impressed he was with this new Chinese restaurant, so we went for dinner one Saturday night. The place was very busy and we were lucky to get a table! As a starter, I had the Prawn and King Prawn Siu Mai Steamed Dim Sum (N.2 on menú). They were nice and light, very flavoursome and I could taste big chunks of prawn in them, they were a bit gelatinous as I think they were made out of rice flour, but didn't bother me as it gave them a bit of bite...so off to a good start. For my main I chose The Hand Pulled Noodles Soup with Crispy Roast Pork (N.54), but the waitress came back 5 minutes later to say that she no longer had the pork, so I went for the beef brisket instead. The broth was fantastic, full of meaty flavour. You could see the noodles were hand pulled as they were all different sizes and nice and al dente. Finally, the beef was melt in the mouth, and all the veggies, including pak choi, rounded off the dish nicely! So, overall It was a very enjoyable meal, decent sized portions, and at a decent price. The staff are always busy and very friendly and helpful. I would say that the pass where the food comes out is a bit small, and the dishes get backed up. So, why only 4 stars? Well it was a busy Saturday night, they didn't have the meat I wanted for my noodle broth, they also didn't have crispy pork my friend wanted with his rice and they served his main with the wrong rice, so he had to send it back and change it. Other than that, this is a very good Chinese restaurant, and I'm glad to have it in Sutton. They just need to sort out their availability on the menú and not get dishes mixed up. If you love a Chinese, though, then definitely give this place a go as you won't be...

This is not a review of the restaurant (which is great, you should definitely go), it's a review of a single dish.

Many years ago a friend took me to an unappealing restaurant in Manchester to have something called "water-boiled beef". I wasn't looking forward to it, because it sounds like something grey your grandmother might have served in the 1970s alongside impenetrable potatoes and sprouts that had been boiled for twelve hours.

I was wrong. It was a chicken stock which had been enriched and transformed with chilli bean paste, dried chillies, fresh chillies, chilli oil, sesame oil and sichuan pepper. Add some thin slices of beef, some beansprouts and cabbage and you end up with a glorious deep red bowl of fiery lip-smacking, tongue-numbing deliciousness that's fit for the gods. It was the best meal of my life.

Until I had it again yesterday at The Place. I've spent years looking for that dish, and have been disappointed several times, but not there. The menu calls it something like "Sichuan boiled beef" but it's exactly the same miracle that I experienced in Manchester all those years ago. It will cost you about £20. It's worth it. Share it and some rice with a friend and they will love you forever.

To the chef at The Place: thank you, you have made...

I feel like having a takeaway is probably a very different experience to dining in here. I got a takeaway the other week via Deliveroo and it was one of the most disappointing takeaways I've ever eaten. Especially so because it was £65 for two people!! One dish was missing, the pork one I chose had been replaced with sweet and sour pork which I never order as it is always bad (barely any meat, loads of batter, standard sauce). This was somehow changed on the order so my original choice didn't even show, so I couldn't dispute it. The mixed starters were pitiful (not many items and all quite small). I would have been annoyed to pay a fiver for them let alone 15 quid. The quarter duck was literally just the leg of the duck, and again didn't justify the menu price. The buns and rice were okay. I can't even remember what else we had... I thought that this restaurant would cater to the increasing Chinese population in the area and would therefore be higher quality, justifying the prices. I clearly set my expectations too high! It's a shame, I was looking forward to it and felt embarrassed to serve it to my...