Of Wontons and Brownies

4 months of repetitive dining hall food has put me on a rampage across Edinburgh to find good grub, savoury snacks and delectable desserts at student-friendly prices. Here are a couple more comments on eats around the city.

1. The Lee On, 3 - 5 Bruntsfield Place

After visiting Chop Chop I knew I had to come here if only to compare the Chinese cuisine! At the same time, I also wanted to test an online review I'd come across before which bemoaned the sorry state of East Asian cuisine in Edinburgh.

The Lee On has apparently been serving Cantonese-style dishes for 40 years now! That's a mark of amazing longevity, and I had the opportunity to check this place out on Tuesday.

The shopfront is a distinctive red, with a series of port-holes revealing Chinese-style lanterns hanging from the ceiling inside. An English-language menu displayed on the window also serves to entice hungry travellers inside.

Surprisingly, the main dining area in the restaurant is situated all the way down in the basement. It's a little subterranean network of rooms, all of which are well lit and neatly furnished with (what else?) cheerful red table cloths. I dined in a room which included two other French men sipping red wine, and a group of Scottish regulars discussing Britain's Got Talent over vegetable spring roll starters.

After being handed a menu written in Chinese, I requested to see the English one which had been displayed on the storefront - I already had my eye on a particular dish, and wasn't sure what it would be called in Mandarin. However after some hesitation, the Chinese waitress admitted that the two menus are actually different - apparently the Chinese menu contains dishes aimed at a specifically Chinese clientale. Some of these options are not available on the English menu. This was quite interesting and I told her I would consult both menus before deciding!

Strangely enough however, the dishes on the Chinese menu appeared the pricier of the two. I had expected the reverse to be true, but oh well.

In the end, I submitted to my craving for comfort food and ordered a wonton noodle soup off the Chinese menu. The noodle dishes on the English menu appeared limited, and were mostly of the fried 'chow mein' variety - didn't see any soupy options sadly.


First off this is some pricey noodle dish - the stated price in the menu was about 8pounds if I remember correctly. You can get the same dish for a fraction of that in Singapore - though admittedly not in a restaurant setting. However that said, these wonton noodles were good - about as close as you can get to the ones back home. Nice springy noodles with a good 'bite,' fresh leafy vegetables (yum! The right kind as well.) and best of all, delectable won tons with silky smooth skins. And to Lee On's credit, there were a lot of wontons - I counted at least eight of those pork, chive and mushroom dumplings. It's nice to see a restaurant that doesn't sting on the good stuff!

Other little things made my experience at Lee On a pretty good one: firstly, I was immediately handed a huge pot of Chinese tea the minute I sat down. This turned out to be complimentary, which I felt was pretty generous seeing how I was a solo diner. Strangely enough, I did not notice any pots on the neighbouring tables - hmm.

Secondly, got a pleasant surprise when I received the hand-written bill. For some reason they had knocked off a whole 1.50pound from the meal. I'm not sure why. In any case, I wasn't complaining at all. Perhaps they liked me hehehe.

I think it helps to converse with the predominantly Chinese staff in Mandarin - even inexpertly, like myself. I have a feeling it helps break down barriers and open some doors, if you know what I mean.

One downside about dining in Lee On - as mentioned earlier, most of the seating area is located in the basement. Throughout my meal, I heard thundering footsteps on the wooden staircase as waitresses zipped back and forth, welcoming new guests and showing them down to the tables. A little distracting - definitely not the right place for a quiet date. But otherwise, was pleased overall with The Lee On. The noodles at least have gotten my stamp of approval!

2. Back yet Again! Brownies at the Fruitmarket Gallery Cafe

The chocolate craving finally hit as I knew it would someday. So it was off to the Fruitmarket Gallery to sample their brownies this afternoon!

It's not the best brownie I've had, but it is still good. The brownie has a thick, slightly crunchy crust ontop, and the rest of it has a chewy, almost fudgy texture. It's my personal preference for brownies to be more moist, however I really enjoyed this one all the same! Nevertheless I think it's hard to top the Fruitmarket cafe's rhubarb tart - it ranks as one of the best sweet treats I've had in a long while!

In any case, after three good experiences here this month, two of which pertained to their lip-smacking desserts, I have nothing but praise for the Fruitmarket gallery. Come here to view the art, browse the bookshop, or just head straight to the cafe for cakes or lunch - their meals look great as well. I'm tempted by the crayfish and avocado salad, and the Seafood platter! Mmmm. So much good food, so little time.

Going Northern Chinese: Chop Chop

Never mind the slightly cheesy name. .Chop Chop on Morrison Street was voted the Best Chinese Restaurant in Scotland (2008). With credentials like that, I would be crazy to give it a miss especially when I'm currently pining for good Asian cuisine. So having finished my exams, I decided to treat myself to a Chinese lunch at Chop Chop!

They do business lunches which go at a very, very reasonable 5.50pound. For that amount, you get a bowl of noodles, two side dishes and a serving of their famous dumplings which are distributed throughout Sainsbury's.


So I've posted two pictures to be fair. The first is a shot of my 2 side dishes (beansprouts, fried potato things) and egg noodle soup. The second picture features the dumplings which came halfway through my meal after I had already plowed through the noodles - hence their rather messy and unphotogenic state.

Well there is no comparison to the Chinese food you get in Singapore. But then again, I really have no right to be a food snob and pontificate about Chinese food in Scotland! After all, I'm sure my friends from mainland China have their own grouses about Sze Chuan and Shanghainese food in Singapore (and indeed, some have expressed them). Likewise, I was surprised when I discovered that "Japanese" food in Singapore is pretty different from the kind you actually get in Japan. So hey, I'm probably not even the best person to judge Chinese/Asian food because the versions we get in Singapore are not necessarily "authentic" either.

So I'll restrict myself to saying that all things considered, Chop Chop serves decent and acceptable Chinese fare. At the same time, don't expect it to be the same as Chinese food you get in Singapore (or China). In all, be prepared for differences and go with an open mind!

The noodles were not too bad in terms of their texture and feel - I really do like my noodles in general. The dish came with a very generous sprinkling of vegetables including diced capsicums (unusual) and Chinese parsley. I wish they had been more generous with the soup though. The egg itself formed a fluffy layer ontop of the noodles and it had some mirin in it I believe - it's done in the style you get when you order Katsu-don from a Japanese restaurant. This was a little odd to me initially. But whatever - Asian is Asian, and I'll accept anything after 5 months of sausages and stews at Pollock halls!

As for the fried dumplings (pork with chives), they were okay. I've had better, but at least the skin was crispy and not soggy. The filling was quite acceptable I felt. The dumplings also came with condiments including vinegar, chilli and garlic...although I must say that it's more common for me and my friends to douse our dumplings in vinegar with strips of ginseng rather than garlic.

The side dishes were so-so in my estimation. The bean sprouts were okay if a little sweet, but the fried potato things (I'm not even sure what they were) were just weird. More like...oily, deep fried crisps. I didn't like it too much. I really cannot think of an equivalent dish back home in Crystal Jade or any other of my favourite Chinese restaurants. Plus it didn't even taste too good, or go with the noodles and dumplings.

On the bright side, had a good experience with the service at Chop Chop. The very earnest waiter advised me on the correct proportions which go into making the perfect dumpling dipping sauce (1 part vinegar, 2 parts soy sauce, garlic, chilli). Again I have to admit that the Chinese food snob in me reared its head - I know how I like my dipping sauce, duh. But the waiter was so friendly that I felt kind of bad for thinking that.

Upon chatting with him, I found out that my waiter hails from Lithuania! Possibly the second Lithuanian I've come across in my life actually! He reckons that there are probably only 100 other Lithuanians in Edinburgh, which is quite a small number. I told him that he should consider himself special which he agreed with in a mock-serious tone. Haha.

So overall I think Chop Chop is good value for above-average Chinese food in Scotland. Time-willing, I will sample the Chinese restaurant on Bruntsfield place as a form of comparison! Now that one has been there for about 40 years I'm told! Sounds promising indeed...my chinese palette always seeks out greener pastures...mmm...