 | |  | | | Sweet Mandarin Chinese Restaurant Manchester - reader comments |  "I visited Sweet Mandarin on a lunch time, and opted for the £5.50 lunch time deal. Although everything was fairly pleasant and £5.50 hardly breaks the bank, when considering there are some decent Chinese buffets in the city for around the same price, with a lot more choice, I probably wouldn't opt for this again. The starters were simple and pleasant. For main we ordered a dish each and shared. The 'Famous Chicken Curry' left a lot to be desired, it was quite bland and small, but the Sticky Schezuan beef was absolutely delicious. If you work near to the restaurant and are after a simple, quick lunch, then it may be worth a visit, but I probably wouldn't go again." - claudia, manchester - TRUSTED REVIEWER (8/4/09 visited on a thursday lunch) |
| | "Sweet Mandarin has friendy staff, nice ambience, is well located, offers excellent food, and is good value, especially at lunchtime. Ideal for catching up with my busy teenage daughter as it was not too noisy, so we were able to chat without too much chaos." - barbara, didsbury 7/1/09 (visited on a thursday evening) |
| | "Sweet Mandarin is one of my favourite restaurants with superb food, a relaxed modern dining area. The staff are friendly and I love the Northen Quarter - it's alive during the weekends and a great place to entertain guests and colleagues. My only gripe would be that they don't deliver to Didsbury." - barbara, didsbury 7/1/09 (visited on a thursday evening) |
| | "We asked for a highchair, which I must say was not that clean and there was dead flowers on table, but the waiter, a fairly pleasant young man, tried hard and our starter was out within seconds. The spareribs were very dry whilst the other food was OK, but we have had better and cheaper. Once service charge was added the bill came to over £54 for two (only one starter, two main meals and a bottle of wine), so I don't think we would have a return visit to Sweet Mandarin." - susan wardley, manchester 26/10/08 (visited on a sunday afternoon) |
| | "I took my boyfriend to Sweet Mandarin for a surprise birthday meal. I thought the restaurant was beautiful and the food and service were excellent. I would definately recommend it to my friends. Loved the cake too for my boyfriend's birthday." - Laura, Stockport 27/9/08 (visited on a Saturday evening) |
| "Sweet Mandarin has really made a name for itself. Owned by the Tse sisters, the Manchester born and bred grand daughters of Lily Kwok, famed for opening Lung Fung in 1959, Manchester's first Chinese restaurant and one of the first in the UK. Her death in December 2007, aged 89, was recorded with full page obituaries in all of the national broadsheets and, it has to be said, Helen, Lisa and Janet are not exactly media shy either. There's been TV shows documenting the restaurant's life, reviews in national newspapers, appearances on Newsnight and their Portico Prize nominated biography of their grandmother (also entitled Sweet Mandarin), which was even dramatised by the BBC. The restaurant itself was good value for money, the 2 courses for £5.50 special offer would certainly be hard to beat anywhere in town (even if the portion sizes are slightly smaller than the normal a la carte versions). As you'd expect from the third generation of restaurateurs (following on from their mother Mabel), the food is really tasty and our Crispy-Chewy Sichuan Beef was certainly worthy of note - very nice indeed.
We also tried Mabel's Claypot Chicken (£9.50); tasty tender chicken aparently cooked in an earthen claypot (although served in a metal one) with Chinese sausage, straw mushrooms, ginger, garlic and spring onions adding a delightful flavour. Despite being a little bit oily, it's certainly a dish worth trying - as is the famous Lily Kwok's Chicken Curry (£10.20), which surely is the restaurant's most popular dish
All in all, Sweet Mandarin offers great value for money Chinese cuisine without being over complicated or pretentious. Service is friendly and the modern welcoming decor sits nicely in the Northern Quarter. We'll certainly be returning soon for the unlimited dim sum offer. Can't wait!" - restaurants of manchester 24/9/08 (visited on a weds lunch) |
| | "Loved the Lily Kwok's Chicken Curry and Mabel's Claypot. I will be back to Sweet Mandarin for sure. Best Chinese in Manchester" - David, Manchester 30/7/08 (visited on a Thursday evening) |
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