Tai Ka Lok

Tai Ka Lok is a solid 3.5 star establishment, but it needs some improvement get a full four star rating.
Tai Ka Lok is not at all what I expected from a restaurant in the Chinatown/​Piccadilly Circus/​Leicester Square area. This little hideaway contrasts its surroundigns of lager, one-​floor establishments, with two cozy little levels. When my mate and I arrived, the ground level was full (a feat accomplished by maybe fifteen people) so were guided to a nice little nook on the first floor.
After staring at the menu, and seeing a disheartening lack of vegetarian options (though there were several), I opted for the chinese mushrooms and seasonal greens. This came with a bowl of rice enough for two people. It was delicious. Absolutely delicious. My friend ordered the duck, and he too was more than satisfied with his meal.
The surroundings could be a little bit better, however. Tai Ka Lok was cozy, but bordering on suffocating, particularly when a couple sat down at the table beside ours, and it felt as if we were one party. Thus, I do not recommend going if you have a group of more than three people.
The one thing that this restaurant needs to do in order to secure its fourth star is to speed up its service. I ordered a diet coke, and it took nearly ten minutes for the can to be delivered to me. But, even the slow service won’t stop me from making a return visit.

Wandering along Shaftesbury and Lisle and Gerrard, I wasn’t sure what Chinese restaurant to pick (the last time I liked a Chinese restaurant in the London Chinatown was Chinese Experience, which someone told me had closed years ago. Dang.) Tai Ka Lok looked authentic to me, with all sorts of barbequed meats in the window, two certificates of hygiene that were last updated from 3 years ago, and a sign that was not written in a cheesy bamboo font.
In any case, I had a hankering for roast duck noodles, and the duck was excellent — the skin was perfectly crispy, the fat just sort of melted right off, and the meat was dense. Very different from what I’ve had in Canada. The noodles were good, but the soup was slightly bland — there was also some napa cabbage in the soup (I would’ve loved some bok choy instead, but one can’t be too picky). It came up to 5.40GBP, which was not too bad. My boyfriend ordered the garlic and ginger beef, which he enjoyed. Everything seemed to taste great, but when I got home I didn’t feel well. Hmmmmmmmmmmmm. I will try to give them the benefit of the doubt though!
Side note: the bathroom in the basement smelled exactly like one you’d find in Hong Kong — pretty rank. Be careful of the ceilings too, very low.

As you wander down the main drag of Gerrard Street in Chinatown, you’ll see many tourist traps with flashy lights and set menus designed to soak up the unwary tourisg pound.
Tai Ka Lok offers a more authentic experience of ‘proper’ Chinese food — one of the closest hole in the wall experiences you’ll find here. The main draw for me are the BBQ meats, which are prominently displayed in the shop window.
The roast duck and crispy pork on rice usually fills me up quite nicely. the service is fast and friendly — seems to be family atmosphere between the staff.

Roast duck and crispy pork over rice was ok, though the duck was incredibly fatty and there was very little meat. At least the pork crackling was crispy as advertised, though it also tasted a bit oversalted. Chinese mushrooms and seasonal veg turned out to be carrots and napa cabbage — certainly not worth 5.90 when the duck and pork was only 5.10. Cheap meal, but disappointing.

TKL is well known within the Chinese communities in the South as the best Roast Duck chop shop in town– some of my more intrepid friends even come all the way down from cambridge to get it!
So, with the yummy duck in mind, I came over to Tai Ka Lok (which in HK is a fast food chain akin to macdees by the way) when I got fed up waiting for a seat or humane treatment at HK diner.
Since it was still before 7, I was seated immediately as expected. I guess I looked a bit rushed as within 2 minutes the waiter came to ask me what I want. No menu, no pomp, no nothing. «Crispy beef and veg noodles please.» He whisks away after checking how crisp I wanted my noodles and what type of green veg I wanted, and whether I wanted some tea.
«How much would Crispy~ be?» I heard him ask someone else in the back. Evidently I ordered slightly off menu, and he didn’t even bat an eyelash. Very impressive.
The noodles were a bit burnt, but given that crispy noodles are only achieved over a long low heat, I’ll forgive them as I was in a rush. Plenty of Kai Lan and the beef was quite succulent.
A quick wave of my hand and a perfectly reasonable bill was presented and off I biffed– a quick chinese dinner achieved within a perfectly respectable and unrushed 25 minutes.
*A solid 3.5 stars but need a little less MSG to achieve that 4 star rating!

Just the best duck and rice in the world. Have been going to eat there for over 30 years and it feels like home!