So we got all dressed up in all our hippest finery, figuring we'd go hit a hot club night in the East End after dinner... I put on my tie. Alannah put on a slinky number and heels. We wielded our Oyster cards for the Underground and got ourselves to hoppin' Soho for a fine dinner.
At the cheapest, rudest Chinese restaurant in town.
Wong Kei - at the tail end of Chinatown - is reputed to be the rudest and least hospitable restaurants in all of London. I've read tale after hilarious tale of people getting kicked out, ordered around, yelled at - you name it. If there's a transgression out there a restaurant's waitstaff can commit upon its patrons, the folks at Wong Kei have probably done it.
No matter. £12 a person for a prix fixe meal featuring a whole mess of things is a good deal. Especially when one of those things is the London Chinese specialty crispy aromatic duck. I'd pay the equivalent of US$25 for just the duck alone. No wonder people put up with the awful seating and lack of atmosphere...
Then again, our service was pretty good - no better or worse than you'd encounter at authentic Chinese spots back home.
Maybe Londoners have different standards of service. Or maybe it just pays to look sharp.
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