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    Kowloon

    2.8 (60 reviews)
    InexpensiveChinese, Bakeries, Buffets
    Closed 10:00 am - 11:00 pm

    Kowloon Photos

    KOWLOON ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Classy
    Very loud
    Good for groups

    Recommended Reviews - Kowloon

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    Reviews With Photos

    Ambrose C.

    As a non-European visitor to London, one of the most frustrating things about visiting this amazing city is finding an decent and inexpensive place to eat while on a tight budget. Fortunately, London's Chinatown seems to be the neighbourhood my family and I turned to whenever we did not want to spend more than £7 on a dish. I came to this Chinese bakery recently with my friend and we got a few snacks. We got some Daan Taat (egg tarts), Gai Mei Bau (Cocktail bun), and some Coconut tarts. Each piece was around 90 pence, which is fairly inexpensive for an expensive city like London. The Daan Taat was pretty good, tasted almost exactly the same as some of the best Daan Taat in Boston's Chinatown. The Gai Mei Bau was also pretty good and a couple pieces could make a filling breakfast. Inside was fairly sweet and the bun itself was soft and chewy. It tasted almost exactly the same as some of the best Gai Mei Bau in New York's Chinatown. As for the Coconut tarts, they were also pretty tasty, and I enjoyed the sweet coconut flavour. I also came back for a second visit to get a Cha Siu Bau (Roasted Pork Bun). It was probably the most expensive version I had to pay for it (about £1.70), but this is London. However, it was fairly big compared to the versions I had back in Boston and about the same size as the ones I had in Toronto and New York City. The bun was pretty tasty, soft and chewy on the outside, and meaty and flavourful on the inside of the bun. Overall, this is a pretty good place to get some inexpensive Chinese bakery staples in London's Chinatown, and I would probably come back again if I do not want to spend more than £4 on breakfast or lunch.

    Qype User (Timina…)

    Kowloon Bakery is an institution, and the frenzy of the queues of people - Chinese and other - trying to order some pork buns and sweet lotus cakes are proof of it. They make all manner of pastries, sweet and savoury. Slide in the front door, try to keep your place in the group of customers yelling out orders and pointing at the shelves, and you'll leave with some exceptionally tasty treats. They've recently renovated and expanded the bakery.

    Jed C.

    Well I promised my girlfriend I would cook her dinner tonight. However, what with alot of recent excitement in and around my flat, I didn't actually find the time to shop for delicious fresh food for my delicious fresh girlfriend (forgive the crass analogy, just turning phrase for your pleasure!) so after we did some shopping in Chinatown, I said I would take her to an all you can eat buffet. What followed was a dark chapter in my life as a restaurant connoisseur. Chinatown is an exciting place, especially for a first timer like me, but I was insistant on finding myself an all-you-can-eat as opposed to other restaurants where I couldn't eat myself to insensitivity for relatively cheap prices.. I eventually came across this place for £8.50 a meal and I was, as I usually am, easily satisfied. Pulling my girlfriend in, I asked for a table for two and was led to a table for eight and just placed there. Slightly perturbed, I took my seat but was told to in fact sit in a specific two-person bit of this eight-person table. Interesting... So I sat down. I was immediately asked what I would like to drink and I waited to see what my girlfriend wanted - simply because of the unwritten rule I employ when dining with a girl.. always let them order drinks first. I always get tap water (restaurant drink prices are just criminal) so that it doesn't make me look cheap when I order tap water after they order themselves something exciting.. however, at this restaurant, they told me that tap water wasn't an available service.. the menu listed everything from water to fizzy drinks at £1.50 and I thought Christ, that's expensive. I decided (unwisely, as it turned out) to order the same as my girlfriend, Green Tea. It also was £1.50 but had free refills so i thought, awesome! So before I went and got myself some food from the buffet, my tea was on my table but too hot to drink.. Green Tea Temperature : Piping Hot So I went and helped myself to some food. I was looking forward to this bit but I ended up feeling quite disappointed. They had alot of choice for the little commodities like prawn toast, seaweed, prawn crackers etc but as for the main food I am sure other places in the past have offered me at least double the amount that the Kowloon Restaurant does. With three types of staple (thinner noodles, normal noodles and rice) I chose my usual.. normal noodles with lots of meat. I was tucking in with my girlfriend when she, in her beautiful way that means she cannot be horrible about anyone or anything, said 'these noodles are a bit.. special' and laughed. She was right on the money.. an odd, almost soil like taste followed a mouthful of these noodles. I was a bit perturbed but the texture was still like normal and mixed with meat, it was bearable. The salt tally on my body was increasing sharply though so I turned to my drink for refreshment but.. Green Tea Temperature : Piping Hot This situation had become a bit too annoying for my liking and, gasping for appropriate refreshment, I was backed into the corner of getting myself some mineral water. Expensive, I thought, but the perfect accompaniment to this salt festival in my mouth. What I ordered and what they bought me though appeared to be very different things. I expected half a litre of nice cold mineral water. What I got was a warm bottle that had less liquid in it then a can of coke does. It managed to fill a single cup to the brim and that was it. Having drank this (it took me all of 6 seconds to do so) I turned to my girlfriend and asked her where the rest of my god damn water was! She didn't appear to know either.. so through a series of events, I was pretty fuming. In the end though, it did manage to get slightly worse. Green Tea Temperature : Piping Hot Having finished my meal, I reclined my chair with a full belly and was slightly less peeved then before. My girlfriend thanked the waitress in Chinese for her meal and luckily she didn't catch my glowering glance as I let her and the waitress know exactly what I thought of the meal. The waitress, in turn, was disappointed in me for taking some duck meat off the bone from the buffet cart and not managing to consume the bone itself.. for this I was so sorry, I must have left my shark dentures at home! I was charged £2.10 for leaving these bones on my plate and instead of arguing like I wanted too I just left so that I could tell my girlfriend, and anyone within about ten feet of us, what I thought of that restaurant. If you couldn't quite hear me, I was the one with the air turning blue all around me! I am not coming back to this place... I recommend that you don't either. Green Tea Temperature : God knows because I didn't get to drink it!

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    Page 1 of 2

    Kowloon Reviews in Other Languages

    Review Highlights - Kowloon

    It was probably the most expensive version I had to pay for it (about £1.

    Mentioned in 4 reviews

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    Yauatcha - Soufflé Pancakes

    Yauatcha

    4.0(552 reviews)
    0.2 miSoho
    £££

    Yauatcha, why did you make me eat so much?! This was so good! This is officially my new favorite…read moreLondon restaurant (and my daughter agrees)! Everything was so delicious, and there were several other dishes I would have loved to have tried. I wish I had taken pictures of more dishes, but they all looked so good that we all just dug right in! Our server highly recommended the shrimp bean curd dish, and I am so glad she did. That's not something I would've ordered on my own, but my husband & I agreed it was our favorite dish of the night. My daughter's favorite (and my 2nd favorite) was the wagyu beef puff. I also loved everything in the steamed dim sum platter. The only thing that was mildly disappointing was the softshell crab. Softshell crab is usually one of my favorites, but it was just sort of bland. But overall the food was amazing. I just wanted to keep trying more & more things, even though I was stuffed! And the service was incredible -- really could not have been better. As a wine nerd, I have to say I don't love their wine service. You can't order a full bottle, only 500 ml or less, which means you're never presented with the bottle, so (in theory) you're never really sure you're actually getting what you ordered or getting a bottle that wasn't opened days ago. That being said, I have no doubt that the wines we were served were correct and relatively freshly opened, but I still would've appreciated proper bottle service. (On the other hand, being forced to buy only 500 ml at a time meant we could try two wines instead of sticking with just one bottle.) The ambiance was lovely -- spacious, sleek, classy, modern, with gigantic aquariums. This restaurant will be at the top of my list to revisit next time I'm in London!

    Really enjoyed dinner and drinks here for my girlfriend and me. Definitely recommend it.read more

    Photos
    Yauatcha
    Yauatcha - Lunch Set Menu

    Lunch Set Menu

    Yauatcha - Steamed Dim Sum

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    Steamed Dim Sum

    YiQi Pan Asian Cuisine

    YiQi Pan Asian Cuisine

    4.8(20 reviews)
    0.0 miChinatown

    My brother and I were visiting London and we had heard great things about Chinatown in our tours…read more We walked across the town to Chinatown and we were overwhelmed with options. I looked on reddit and a few people gave some positive reviews on this restaurant. I guided my brother here and we were immediately impressed with the service and how comfortable the environment was when we entered. We ordered a few items to share and it was plenty between the two of us. We have some local favorite items from home that we tried out here, and this restaurant does each of these pieces exceptionally well. Highly recommend to anyone who is in the area looking for a restaurant in Chinatown. The cuisine is southeast Asian and each of these items on the menu tell you where the item is from. There are also pictures on the menu, but they do not do the food justice as the food came out so well prepared and complimented our day in London. I will be sharing with anyone who comes!

    Discovered this place when we were exploring London's China town. Plenty of seating over three…read morefloors and they have a menu not found many places. Singapore and Malaysian flavors. We ordered the wings, Singapore seafood noodles and the Mongolian beef. I do wish the dishes or waiter explained what ingredients went into the dish. I was not prepared for the sweetness or pineapples on my beef. My seafood dish had very little seafood and the wings were fine...the green tea was great. Lots of other great places to explore. If I return I Would try the Malaysian crab. The table next to me ordered that and it looked great!

    Photos
    YiQi Pan Asian Cuisine - Dining area

    Dining area

    YiQi Pan Asian Cuisine
    YiQi Pan Asian Cuisine

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    The Duck and Rice

    The Duck and Rice

    4.0(80 reviews)
    0.2 miSoho
    £££

    Duck & Rice, Soho, London, England -- April 5…read more Our family of four with two kids ages 9 and 10 made our way to Duck & Rice after walking through the Chinatown area, which was absolutely packed and fun to explore, and we were looking for something lively with shareable dishes, and the overall experience felt energetic with some real highs and a few misses. Arrival and First Impressions The space has a strong personality with a mix of pub and restaurant energy and it felt busy from the moment we walked in, matching the chaos outside in Soho, but still relatively well controlled with a steady flow of service and a constant buzz that made it feel like a place always in motion. The Highlights Food came out quickly and leaned into that comfort style Chinese menu with a mix of dumplings and larger plates, and the soup dumplings were the clear favorite for the table with both kids fully on board which is always a win. The crispy duck with pancakes was also solid and more in line with what we expected, and overall the variety kept everyone engaged even if the kids stayed mostly in their comfort zone. The Challenges Portion sizes were a bit tricky for a family of four with several dishes coming in sets of three which meant ordering extra just to share evenly, and a few items missed the mark including shu mai that felt a bit dry. The duck and rice being served closer to room temperature was intentional to keep it tender but still felt a little off from expectation, and surprisingly there were no chili oil or similar condiments for the dumplings which would have helped quite a bit. The overall noise and energy level can also be a lot after a full day out. Final Thoughts This is a lively spot that fits right into the Soho and Chinatown energy and works well if you are looking for a fun fast paced meal with shareable dishes, but it is not without a few quirks and inconsistencies. We are glad we tried it and there are definitely things worth ordering, but with so many strong options nearby we would probably explore elsewhere next time, making it worth it for the experience but not a must return.

    One of the few restaurants that open later in London (midnight #swiftie), and it happened to also…read moreserve of the best Crispy Duck in town too! It's definitely a young crowd/scene haha plenty of people on Friday evening and luckily were able to get seating upstairs Beautifully decorated but it'll be hard to hold a conversation since it's pretty noisy lol Pretty good variety of menu items, lots of Asian fusion dishes SO and I opt for their Crispy Aromatic Duck, Prawn and Chinese Chive Dumplings and Scallop Siu Mai Their Crispy Aromatic Duck was 5/5 -- crispy and not overly fried, great flavor too, SO and I really enjoyed it, funnily they bring it to you for display... then take it to the back to deconstruct, and then bring it back to you for grubbing afterwards haha Scallop Siu Mai and Prawn with Chinese Chive Dumplings were great too, a good filler for dinner, wishing it came with 4pc vs 3pc but I get it haha A pretty penny (or rather, pound heh) but it's London Worth a try if you like Crispy Duck!

    Photos
    The Duck and Rice
    The Duck and Rice
    The Duck and Rice

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    Haidilao Hot Pot London - The veggie spread

    Haidilao Hot Pot London

    4.1(24 reviews)
    0.1 miLeicester Square

    Fun hot pot spot to try with a large group while visiting London! We were a group of 8 and there…read morewas perfectly sized tables for groups of this size where we wrap around and are close enough to talk to everyone. Sharing hot pots are divided into four quadrants - we got half and half mala spice and the mild but super savory mushroom broth. Very different but both excellent! Individual dishes are ordered via iPad. We got a large selection of meats, veggies, noodles, and some more unusual delicacies like beef cheek and colon(?). There are self serve stations for sauce making, and some small sides and desserts/fruits. I LOVED the seaweed salad there and got three helpings... not sure what goes into this but it was so yummy. Tissue boxes at the table are a nice touch for runny noses with the spicy broth! There's a bit of a show that comes with ordered hand pulled noodles! A staffer comes out and pulls and spins and dances with the noodles table side. I think they also sing for birthdays (seemed to be a couple of those around us). For tourists, this is located in a nice area for a bit of a site walking tour before or after dinner! (To either work up an appetite or walk off a bit meal.) We strolled - Trafalgar Square, Big Ben & viewing Parliament/Westminster, St James Park, and Buckingham Palace.

    I'm a huge fan of Haidilao as a chain restaurant concept. I've experienced it in China, Queens, and…read moreLondon, and it has always been consistently excellent, maintaining that signature Haidilao charm and outstanding customer service. This visit was no different. I came here with a friend during Chinese New Year week, and everything we ordered was extremely good. (Yes, I meant to say that twice!) The only thing worth noting is that the prices have definitely gone up since my last visit--especially for the hot pot base. Still, the quality and experience were top-notch, and I'd absolutely come back again!

    Photos
    Haidilao Hot Pot London
    Haidilao Hot Pot London
    Haidilao Hot Pot London - Sauce bar

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    Sauce bar

    Kowloon - chinese - Updated August 2026

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