Restaurant Review - Chung Ying Central Birmingham

A few weekends back my parents came to visit so we all went out for food in Birmingham on the Saturday evening. We decided to visit Chung Ying Central after I mentioned that I have read many good blog reviews on the restaurant since it opened. You may have already heard of Chung Ying which is based in the Chinese quarter of town, Chung Ying Central is the latest addition from the Chung Ying restaurants who have been established in Birmingham since 1981.

We arrived at the restaurant on a busy Saturday evening around 8pm and were shown to our table quickly. I spent the first 5 minutes trying to decide which cocktail to pick from their extensive drinks menu however the same cant be said about my father and boyfriend who were less than impressed that there was no real ale at the bar! Eventually I decided on Coconut Breeze which had a great tropical Caribbean flavour to it and looked really pretty too!

Now lets focus on the food. We all opted for a dim sum and a main each. I went for the shredded squid with chilli dipping sauce and my parents went for the king prawn dumplings with mayo and the curried parcels. My boyfriend however likes to make 'different' decisions when it comes to ordering food and he went for the chicken feet in black bean sauce. Not only did his starter arrive a good 5-10 minutes after the rest of us but it was then torture having to watch him eat it and pulling tiny bones from his mouth with every bite. He even admitted he found it very difficult to eat. All dishes were chosen from the dim sum menu and were very reasonable at £4 each.

Now onto the mains, we ordered deep fried duck in plum sauce, lemon and honey chicken and two portions of crispy shredded beef in chilli sauce (Mine and my Mam's favourite) and sides portions of steamed rice and vermicelli Singapore style noodles. When the food arrived my boyfriend was left waiting for his main dish an extra 5 minutes again. The staff must've taken a disliking to him! The food was nicely presented and the portions were very generous. I have tried many crispy beef dishes in my time and I must say it was super delicious!

Service in general was ok but I did find one of the waitresses quite rude and she seemed really fed up when serving and taking our orders. They were also unapologetic about my boyfriend having to wait an extra 5-10 minutes than the rest of us on both of his courses. When we asked for the bill at the end of the night my mother paid on her card and as we had our coats on and were about to leave we were told that we had paid for someone else's bill and we actually have more money left to pay and therefore she had to get her purse out and go through the whole process again. The waitress also did not apologise for this.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my dishes and drinks and I wouldn't let the below average service that night stop me from returning again, especially as Chung Ying Central also have a two for one menu available 4-7pm from Mondays to Saturdays. The food is affordable and I think it makes the perfect place to visit after work or even for those who fancy some Oriental cuisine!

For more information, visit their website here.

Are there any good restaurants in Birmingham you can recommend for me to try?