Lunch in Chinatown. And, to my mind, at one of the better places. Now, I offer the caveat that if I want Cantonese food, I’d usually go to Glamorous on Oldham Road but we were just round the corner at the Art Gallery and decided to give it a go. It was full of mainly young Chinese people. Now the ethnic mix of places is no guarantee of quality – if it was then Harvesters would have Michelin stars – but it’s an indicator, at least.
So, some excellent char siu buns to start. A really light bun and a good aniseedy pork filling which I thought was bang-on but my partner reckoned was too sweet.
My partner tends to become Veggie Vera in any asian restaurant and so it was here, with a simple stir-fry of mixed vegetables with cashew nuts. Pleasant enough savoury sauce which had a goodly whack from soy. For me, a generous serving of perfectly cooked king prawns with green peppers and onions in a satay sauce, nicely spiked with slices of red chilli. Rice was as fluffy as you’d hope it will be.
You’ll find the New Emperor just next to the, ahem, “Gentlemen’s Club” on Faulkner Street.
