GOLDFISH CITY (City-Bank)

Category: Bistro (££)

Goldfish City might have a rather funny name for a restaurant but it serves surprisingly delicious,non-greasy Chinese food. Why surprising? Chinese is the cuisine I have been probably the most unlucky with over the past years and only recently I have discovered a range of Chinese restaurants where I actually LIKE the food. Maybe I finally broke the Bad Chinese Food in London spell?

We went to Goldfish City making use of a Taste London 50% off offer but even without the offer the food would be worth its price. Having said this,they also have a 50% off the food offer if you  book on the Goldfish City website…

At around 7:30 on  Tuesday evening the restaurant was basically empty. While we were eating some more customers appeared but even at the ‘peak’the restaurant was not even a third full. Surprising actually,considering it is in the middle of the city,the food is very decent,the atmosphere really rather nice and there are these half price offers around. Bad marketing I wonder?

I usually not keen on starters in Chinese restaurants. Everything is fried and I like fried food only on very rare occasions. Goldfish City however has a very attractive list of starters containing a mixture of traditional Chinese dishes and of more modern/fusion ones. The Signature Crispy Duck Salad (8.00) was fresh,tasty and light. Even though I would have liked to see a bit more mango (the mango was ripe and tasted of mango by the way) and the duck was a bit overcooked,  it was overall a successful dish with loads of fresh herbs and a pleasant combination of duck and the sweetness of the mango and the dressing.

One of the ‘I don’t like fried food’exceptions is all kinds of variations of salt and pepper squid,especially with a lot of chilli. The Deep Fry Soft Shell Crab with Garlic &Five Spice Salt (6.80) could have been a bit less greasy but was otherwise perfect. Light batter,the right amount of chili and garlic and an unique taste that must have derived from the 5 Spice Salt.

I thought it was a nice touch that,after we had finished our starters,the waitress asked us if we were ready for the main and respected our wish to wait for about 10 minutes (mind you,otherwise we would have been out of there in barely half an hour). The Chef’s Signature Steamed Seabass (15.50) was sublime. The fish was perfectly cooked and tender swimming in a light soy sauce full of delicate flavours and topped with grated ginger (15.50). As you can see,the portion was very generous indeed.

The Stir Fry Prawn in “Kong Po Style” (10.80) could not have been more different to the seabass but also this dish worked very well for me. The sauce was thick and full of bold aromas and did not have any of the stickiness that you often find in mediocre Chinese restaurants. I loved the smoky flavor and again they were not stingy on the dried chillies.

The Asparagus (6.60) was a bit boring compared to the other dishes but I nevertheless liked it very much as it was cooked exactly the right amount of time for the asparagus to be perfectly crunchy and it felt very healthy.

The service was extremely attentive and polite. They seemed a bit bored though as they were just not enough people there to keep them occupied. I would suggest you go there and give them something to do!

• Food: 7/10
• Ambiance: 7/10
• Service: 8/10
• Value for money:8/10 (with 50% off) 6.5/10 (without offer)
• Chances of returning: 20%
• Verdict: another really nice (and non-greasy) Chinese

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