Gold Mine

With glistening ducks in the window and a tiny Queensway shopfront, Gold Mine is something of a Tardis. Step inside, and what you thought was a Chinese café is a mid-range proper restaurant, tricked out in typical style with bright lighting and mirrors, plumply upholstered chairs and carpet underfoot.

Waitresses in waistcoats and dickie bows squeeze between the tightly packed tables to dish up Cantonese-leaning takeaway favourites (sesame prawns on toast, spare ribs) plus more exotic options (frogs' legs with bitter melon, or sichuan kung po eel), but results are mixed.

The signature duck was full-flavoured yet dry, and a dish of cold crunchy lettuce leaves with a warm filling of diced chicken, water-chestnuts and mushrooms could have won fans with its interplay of temperature and texture, were it not for the overpowering tang of undercooked garlic.

Likewise, tender strips of beef in black bean sauce were smothered by ribbons of white onion. Only a near-perfect dish of crispy noodles topped with succulent king prawns, squid and scallops saved the day.

Service can be brusque, but large portions and low prices have nonetheless made this a favourite with the younger section of the local Chinese community.