Fung Shing

I started eating here as a teenager, as the chef (Uncle Wu) was related to my mum, so I grew up on the food here. They specialise in seafood, so this is where I first ate lobster and scallops, served Cantonese style. Since Uncle Wu died a good few years ago, the food has never been the same and my family and I have stopped coming here. The older staff are as friendly as ever, but in terms of quality of food, it is now quite disappointing. The last time I ate here, it was overpriced and not up to the standards of the past. Still, if I had to eat in Chinatown, which I rarely do these days, I would eat here rather than anywhere else. And I'm Chinese by the way.

I'm Chinese and I must admit, trying to find a decent Chinese restaurant amongst all the indistinguishable westernised Chinatown eateries is no easy task. In hindsight I wish I had used better judgement and paid attention to the poor reviews below. Don't get me wrong, Chinatown is fantastic for quick, tasty, cheap eats and obligatory rude service; it's just harder to find somewhere that's of a slightly higher standard with more authentic dishes (Bayswater fares much better in this respect).

Fung Shing epitomises all that a good Chinese restaurant shouldn't be: the food takes ages to come, with dishes served individually and intermittently; lukewarm portions were miniscule; there is no ambiance; prices are unjustifiably high for the area. I don't mind rude service in Chinese restaurants but complete incompetence is unacceptable. Also, I'm not quite sure how they get away with a smoke-wherever-you-want policy...

Frommer's (the US tourists' bible) rates Fung Shing as the 'best' Cantonese in London, and this will ensure that naive travellers continue to flock there in droves. Without question, however, this is the worst Chinese restaurant I've been to.

Great service, great food, very clean - perfect for two or a group. Really impressed.

This used to be my favourite Chinese in London, with wonderful food and service. But things have changed and my last trip, for my mother's birthday, was ruined by badly cooked, fatty, lukewarm duck. When I complained the increasingly cocky waiter refused to accept it as a problem and just joked about it. I will not go back again. A great shame.

Always the first stop on a trip to London on Sunday evening. So what that the decor is awful - I'm not there to eat paint, and it serves the best crispy duck ever! Fung Shing is a legend.

Any bad experiences are the clear exception - this is one of the best Chinese restaurants in London.

Know Fung Shing since 1982 when there were paper table cloths and a picture of the Matterhorn as decoration.

Perhaps with my tradition I will always be treated well: never had cocky waiters in more than 20 years. Have in the past dined there with the resident cook, Mr. Wu, who unfortunately succumbed to the charms of brandies better than Hennesey XP. Have treated real Chinese Trade Delegations there, have showed up with some 30 odd people on a Friday night(!) and was extremely well attended!

The decor was never Fung Shing's forte, the prices may have gone up since 1982, but I vouch for Messrs. James & David and can 100% recommend Fung Shing!

Very expensive luke warm and very greasy food. Appallingly decorated and absolutely no ambiance whatsoever; damp and blistered walls and ceiling; cocky waiter who refused to move us when politely asked to do so.

We endured the seaweed (£4.50 a plate) even though it had obviously been cooked in old oil which had the hallmark taste of overcooked and over used oil.

When a complaint was made about poor quality of luke warm food, said cocky waiter disputed the issue and insisted that I let him put the plate on my hand in a pathetic but utterly failed attempt to show me (presumably by burning the palm of my hand) that the food was hot - the plate was just about bordering on warm but the food was luke warm at best. In the end, after much dispute and a refusal to eat the food or pay for more than the awful seaweed and water, and enduring more waiter rudeness, we escaped.

I cannot stress too highly that his was the worst Chinese restaurant experience I have ever endured.

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