 Wing Wah 
Wing It Down To Wing Wah!
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Recommendation added: 21/10/2006 10:10
By: dewberry (YSUK rating +1061)dewberry has been thanked 7 times for this contribution
"During a recent visit to Wing Yip Chinese Supermarket, we decided to treat ourselves to a buffet meal in the adjacent Wing Wah restaurant. Being big fans of Chinese food, I was curious to find out how this restaurant compared to its cheaper counterparts.
It's fairly pricey to eat here, but I find you get what you pay for when it comes to Oriental restaurants and don't mind paying extra for a more special meal. A buffet meal for an adult costs £13, while it is £9.50 for a child's meal. This price will allow you to eat as much as you want from the extensive buffet area and you can go up as many times as you like.
The buffet area is well laid out and very easy to find the particular dish you're looking for. Starters and nibbles are in one section, main courses are grouped together along with rice and noodles, with salads and desserts being stocked in a separate chilled area. All the foods are clearly labelled so no mistakenly adding banana fritters to your curry thinking they're chicken balls! Plates and cutlery are stacked alongside the food and you're encouraged to get a clean plate each time you go up to the buffet area, chopsticks are available for the more adventurous amongst us although I went for the good old knife and fork. I did enjoy eating my Chicken & Sweetcorn Soup with a traditional Chinese ladle though!
The food was, without fail, delicious. Good quality ingredients are obviously used in the preparation of the meals in Wing Wah and this is reflected in the freshness of flavours in each dish. Everything I tried (plenty!) was perfectly cooked and tasted wonderful, I found the food had a distinct lack of grease which is a nice change from our local Chinese takeaway! The rice was lovely and fluffy despite the fact that it had been sitting in the food warmer, and the noodles were to die for.
The choice of nibbles is fantastic. Chinese chicken on skewers, battered king prawns, spare ribs, prawn toasts and lots more was readily available along with several choices of dips and sauce to compliment these wonderful finger foods. The king prawns were fabulous; large juicy prawns encased in a delicate crunchy batter which literally melted in my mouth. The spare ribs were meaty with no gristle or fat to choke you; these are drizzled with some kind of fruity sauce which was really unusual and very tasty. I also enjoyed the crispy seaweed as it wasn't at all greasy and have a lovely texture which went from ultra crispy to melting in my mouth as I chewed.
Any main dishes you can find on a Chinese menu are available in this buffet area and no corners have been cut, meaning the buffet meals are just as good quality as if you'd ordered from the menu. I ate Chicken & Cashew Nuts with noodles which was delicious; generous chunks of chicken and large juicy cashew nuts smothered with a nutty sauce which had a nice tangy aftertaste. I also had Cantonese Style Sweet & Sour Chicken; very lightly battered pieces of chicken in the nicest sweet and sour sauce I've had in a long time. The sauce included large pieces of pineapple and plenty of sweet peppers and onions – ultra tasty.
My partner ate special curry with egg fried rice and he enjoyed this dish so much he had three helpings! There were huge slices of beef, pork and chicken in the curry and lots of large prawns. The sauce was a wee bit too hot for me but then I'm not a big curry lover anyway, Mark absolutely loved the spicy kick in this curry and mopped up all the sauce with prawn crackers and his body weight in rice!
The salads and desserts are fresh and tasty. In an effort at calorie counting I had a green salad with my nibbles and all the items I tasted were fresh and crisp with plenty of flavour. Salad dressings are available, both the usual Cesar type and also more unusual (and more tasty) Chinese salad sauces. A gorgeous one I tried was a thick, nutty sauce which coated my salad in an almost Chow Mein flavour.
For dessert, calorie counting out of the window, I had a slice of strawberry cheesecake and a bowl of lychees. The cheesecake was perfect; a gorgeously crunchy biscuit base with the cheesecake itself being rich and creamy, dotted with real fresh strawberries. I could have eaten half a dozen slices of this, but didn't want to be too much of a pig so settled for two generous portions.
While enjoying all this wonderful food, you'll want a drink to wash it down. The bar in Wing Wah serves all the usual lagers including Carlsberg, Stella Artois and Carling and also has a small selection of Chinese beers for you to sample. All the top brand spirits are available and there's a very good wine list if you're looking for an accompanying drink with your meal. I drank a couple of liqueur coffees; a good quality rich coffee with a dash of brandy, whisky or Tia Maria, topped with squirty cream and dusted with cocoa. Delicious and so warming on a cold October day.
Wing Wah is a beautiful restaurant. It's a lovely calming place to eat, filled with authentic Chinese sculptures and water features. The décor is light and airy with the entire building seemingly filled with light from the large windows; I particularly liked the way plants have been arranged around the walls which softens the view beautifully. The tables are nicely laid out with lots of room so you can travel back and forth to the buffet area without bumping into other diners, there's a good selection of tables to suit any size party and the flowers on each table is a nice personal touch.
This restaurant is completely suitable for wheelchair users and families with pushchairs because the aisles are wide enough to get around and there are ramps installed where there would otherwise be stairs. The self service buffet area would probably be too high for someone in a wheelchair to help themselves, but staff in Wing Wah are extremely helpful and I'm sure someone would help you get your food.
Another thing worth mentioning is the fact that Wing Wah has a buffet takeaway service. You're given a large polystyrene container to fill with food and charged just £5.50 for however much you can cram into it. Not much more expensive than a meal in McDonalds and much nicer, so next time you need to grab lunch on the hoof head here rather than your usual fast food choice!
Wing Wah is easy to find, located in the Nechells area of Birmingham. From the City Centre simply get onto the main A38 and follow the numerous signs to Nechells. You'll find yourself on Lichfield Road (A5127), drive for half a mile until you reach a small roundabout. Turn onto Thimblemill Lane and take the next left onto High Park Street, Wing Wah is at the very bottom of this road on a large Chinese themed estate. There are plenty of parking spaces in front of the restaurant, as well as several disabled spots directly in front of the front doors.
Wing Wah Chinese Restaurant!"
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