Mandarin Kitchen

"Mandarin Kitchen is a big, lazy susan, chopsticks-leaning-across-the-table, type of restaurant that also has a claim to fame—it’s the birthplace of ginger and scallion lobster noodles. An institution in Queensway, the restaurant’s most famous dish comes with a slice of theatre as enormous chunks of juicy lobster are mixed with bouncy egg noodles and a thick ginger sauce table-side. It’s a sensational, shell-suckingly good dish. One that will, along with everything else on your table, likely leave victorious stains on Mandarin Kitchen’s pristine white tablecloths." - jake missing, rianne shlebak, sinead cranna

"At Mandarin Kitchen, you can count on being a pinky finger away from a humongous plate of lobster noodles at all times. It’s what this Chinese spot in Queensway is known for—for good reason. Huge tables in the whitewashed room are filled every night of the week, by groups of old friends with tall glasses of Asahi, and three generations sitting around a single round table, waiting for the lazy susan to land in front of them with the salt and pepper squid. photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch The long menu might make you spiral with indecision, but know that the famous lobster noodles are all you will need. It’s the reason you’ll see seven bright orange, lobster-filled plates of it coming out of the kitchen in the space of 30 seconds and why you should make entire social plans around it. Just be prepared to shout across table to have a conversation in the roaring dining room. Food Rundown Salt And Pepper Squid It's salty squid, fried to a nice crisp. What’s not to like? photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch Ginger And Spring Onion Lobster Noodles Deep orange lobster claws and tails sit on a mountain of heavy, buttery noodles. When these arrive it’ll quickly look like your table is playing a delicious version of heads down, thumbs up. Only it’s noodles up (into your mouth). Don’t be afraid to get messy cracking the lobster shell—you’ll want every part of the light, tender meat to go with the moreish, slurpable noodles. If there’s any ginger and spring onion sauce left over, dip anything else into it. Prawns In Garlic & Chilli Sauce These prawns were a little rubbery, and the mild sauce was forgettable." - Rianne Shlebak

"Follow in the footsteps of dozens of regulars since 1978 (and Sandra Oh, Michelle Yeoh, Sonoya Mizuno, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, and Awkwafina) and book a big white table for platters of lobster noodles." - James Hansen

"As far as big occasion, big spectacle foods go, the lobster is in a league of its own. There’s a natural awe to the pinchy crustacean and it’s part of the reason Mandarin Kitchen invented (as the folklore goes) their famous lobster noodles. The old school Chinese institution in Queensway marries theatre - luminous orange lobster is mixed with noodles swiftly and precisely at your table - with the moreish flavour of egg noodles, glutinous ginger and spring onion sauce, and rich lobster meat." - Heidi Lauth Beasley

"This legendary Cantonese seafood restaurant that’s been going since the 1970s will be riding out the lockdown wave and remains open for takeaway and deliveries on Just Eat and Deliveroo. Get a taste of the ocean’s treasures with old-school dishes that’s hard to come by such as stuffed crab claws, XO jellyfish with smoked chicken and arctic clams, fried baby squid with garlic and chilli, and the all-important signature ginger and spring onion lobster, with the option to add on crispy yi mein egg noodles to soak up the sauce, which is highly recommended" - Angela Hui