Lunch at Young Cheng

After a hard yoga workout last weekend (my muscles are still hurting 5 days later!)I really had to eat! Really, really had to...I was starving but I couldn't decide where to go. It was one of those odd weather days.... warm(ish) with lots of sunshine but with a heavy shower every 40 minutes or so. After walking aimlessly around tourist packed Covent Garden for awhile I decided to aim for Chinatown for a huge plate of rice and roasted meat. I was slightly worried that I would walk straight into the lunch crowd since it was 12.30pm but I didn't have a problem. Young Cheng(Lisle St), my restaurant of choice for lunch, only had 3 occupied tables when I got there and since there I was there alone I got placed on the large communal table right in front (right by the roasted meats, yay!). I'm never quite sure if it's comforting to eat with other singletons or be slightly embarrassed by it. I used to be a bit embarassed to eat alone but I gradually got over it. On this occassion the restaurant was quiet and I got the 10 seater communal table all to myself.

After I was handed the menu my bowl of free soup of the day arrived (long boiled pork rib soup with peanuts, carrots and other veggies - sometimes I find other bits and bobs in there..depending on whatever leftovers they throw in I guess). Within 5 minutes of ordering, a huge plate pilled high with rice, char siu (bbq pork) and soy chicken arrived. Crowning it was a mixture of minced ginger and spring onion in oil. Oh..it was really good. One thing I like about this place is the rice done just right (I'm a terrible rice cook...one thing I can never quite get right). Eaten with the meat, the sweet-ish sauce they poured over my meat, a bit of ginger mix and washed down with soup :D I left a little hill of rice on my plate but finished everything else..a happy bunny. I was, however, rather put off by the lack of tea. Usually every table gets a free pot of tea at lunch but not this time. I did think about asking but I was too happy with my food to really care.

When the bill arrived I was rather taken a back... in addition to the recent price hikes (which everyone else is doing so I can't complain) I was charged 50p more, bringing the grand total to £6! Sigh it was written in Chinese and I didn't particularly feel like arguing (which always seems to happen if you have a query about prices in Chinese restaurants). So I paid and left. I was content and it was quite worth the £6 - ahhh the good old days when I was a student and it only cost £4.50 for the same thing (plus tea!). To tell you the truth.... I'm already planning a return this weekend. It gives me something to look forward to after all that ...yoga ;)