Name of restaurant or pub: China Palace

Location: 43-45 Oxford Rd, Reading, RG17QG

Web site: http://www.chinapalacereading.com/

Telephone number: 0118 959 6683

Date of visit: 4 October, 2009,  re visited 23 October 2009

Approx. cost per head: £15 plus

Comments on wine list/beer: Run of the mill (ethnic rerstaurant) wine list , mark up is around average

Review:
This restaurant is one of the few outside London that serves authentic Chinese Food. This is made possible because of the large Chinese population in and around Reading. They serve dim sum at lunch – right up to nearly 4pm. Dim sum are small plates of mainly pastry wrapped food e.g.spring rolls.

Just to confuse the customers there are a whole range of menus. Avoid at all costs the fixed price lunch @£7.50 and the eat as much as you like at £15 rising to £16.50 over weekends. This is “take away” food. There are two a la carte menus- a bilingual bound one and a pink sheet written entirely in chinese.
In the a la carte, go for the seafood and the salt and pepper style food.There are some interesting dishes on the “single sheet” which I recommend that you try. Get the manager (Albert) to translate.

Update : 23 October 2009

The restaurant was packed tonight as a result of a tour group from China – what they arte doing in Reading on a European Tour is beyond my guest. As aresult of this, the kitchen was under performing to night.

We asked for the salt and pepper dover sole but got something entirely different – still pretty tasty. The chicken in black bean sauce turned out to be chicken in a ginger sauce with a couple (ok, less than 10) black beans. Rest of the meal was fine. Service was good.

Eddie – eddie@bottlesandcooks.com