Manchester, Chinese Restaurant Guide

Wing Shing Chu’s well-known destination in a city-centre office block “attracts the celeb set with its well-executed Cantonese and extensive wine list”. “Yes, it is more expensive than Chinatown, and if you happen to want the less salubrious bits of the various animals (which I do now and then) you do need to go elsewhere”, but both the “crossover cooking” and service are “excellent”.

“Take your taste buds out of this world!”, say fans of Harry & Bonnie Yeung’s famous Chinatown landmark, which celebrated 40 years in business this year with a refurb to bring it “bang up to date” (well nearly...). In recent years, its longstanding claim as “the best Chinese outside London” has sometimes been disputed – most notoriously in the last year by Giles Coren at the end of 2016 – but none of our reporters agree with The Times critic’s assessment that results here are “absolutely minging”, and such doubts as were expressed this year (“rather flat and average”) were swamped by a wave of positivity for its “utterly delicious dim sum and Beijing duck”. The overall verdict remains: “if you want the most innovative and creative Chinese food in the north, go to ‘Yang Sing’!”

2014 Review: The basement little brother of the famous oriental (in fact, its original premises) won very high ratings this year, for cooking that’s never worse than “reliable”, and its most ardent fans insist is “the best in Chinatown”.

This shed-like operation continues to please, even after several decades in business; “lots of Chinese eat here, especially university students and café owners which must indicate its authenticity!”

“The hottest gong bao chicken this side of Chengdu” and “delights such as pigs’ intestines and other anatomically less salubrious bits” star at this “excellent value” Sichuanese, which “is one of the more authentic options in Chinatown”. “I have not had a better Chinese meal for some time and it cost just under £20!”

“If you had your eyes closed and only opened them in the restaurant you would think you were in Hong Kong” – rather than atop the Wing Yip supermarket – at this well-known, bustling Cantonese outfit. Dim sum is the real draw, and other dishes can strike reporters as “substandard”.