Eating out

Hung Tao (Chinese)

Above: Hung Tao on Queensway, where you can feast on fine food for less than £10 a head

‘Comfort food’ has always struck me as a slightly odd phrase. Who would want to eat ‘discomfort food’? In any case, a nostalgic, heart-warming dish in one culture may leave others cold. The Athenian affection for tripe soup, for example; or the Mexican mania for refried beans.Into this category must come the Cantonese craving for congee. A thin rice porridge, it can bring a wistful tear to the eye of a homesick Hong Konger. Eaten for breakfast, or as a late supper, it is a soothing, bland bowlful, mildly fragrant with shredded ginger and traditionally topped with – variously – dried fish, salted duck egg, wind-dried sausage, or other piquant morsels. Hung Tao, the mustard-yellow, restaurant on Queensway, offers a dozen or so variations on the theme. The version I tried was enlivened with little clusters of minced pork: gweilos. Many like me however, will probably yearn for a slug or two of – deeply inauthentic – chilli sauce.Not that a meal at Hung Tao needs to be bland. It is especially popular for its startlingly low-priced soups and noodle dishes, and the kitchen also knocks out some fine slow-cooked beef brisket, called ‘beef flank’ on the menu and served with rice or ho fun. Tender and voluptuously sticky, with shredded spring onion tops adding colour and bite.You might start with the siu kau soup: four generously-sized dumplings, made of crisp prawns, a little minced pork and slivers of wood-ear mushroom, drowned in an ethereal broth with the merest hint of sesame oil. At £2.50, this has to be one of London’s greatest gastronomic bargains.It is the quality of the noodle dishes at Hung Tao that is especially impressive. The trick is to achieve the right texture: the soft noodles under the sauce should be slithery but separate; the fried noodles at the edge should be brittle and slightly scorched. Which is exactly how my plate of seafood noodles arrived, topped with prawns, scallops and squid and bathed in a light sauce. This may be an informal sort of place – it is popular with Chinese students, it is unlicensed (you can bring your own for a nominal corkage charge) and it does not take bookings (unless you are a regular) – but the kitchen is serious about what it serves, and everything is freshly prepared.You should also try the roast meats: tender duck with a beautifully lacquered skin; char siu, lightly stained with red bean curd; and belly pork, edged with a perfectly crisp skin. Service is pleasant and efficient. Best of all, it is possible to feast on genuinely fine food for less than £10 a head. Comfort food for the wallet. Bill Knott

Lunch or dinner for two, with tea, around £25
Hung Tao, 51 Queensway, Bayswater, W2 4QH
020 7727 5753