Chung Ying

1 Reviews on “Chung Ying”

• Dine Birmingham

  Birminghams popular Chinese restaurant group Chung Ying has opened the doors to its newest addition, Chung Ying Central, located on Colmore Row in the business district. Drawing on years of serving authentic dishes in Chinatown, the new venture promises fifteen-minute meals for local workers from its lunchtime express menu, including dim sum and a special twist on a range of cocktails.AtmosphereUpon arrival, we were greeted by a friendly young waitress who seated us very quickly. First impressions were of a lively atmosphere as there was a huge booking being attended to. In contrast to its sister restaurants, the interior was surrounded by gold and black checked walls, featuring vibrant blue lights from the bar panel and dimmed lighting elsewhere to give the restaurant a chilled and relaxed ambience.FoodA great thing about dim sum, being small tapas-style dishes, is that you can order lots to share. We had traditional starters and opted for sui mai (steamed pork and prawn dumpling). The minced pork was succulent, and the finely chopped prawns were wrapped up in a wonton parcel.This was followed by steamed king prawn and chives dumplings, a decent portion of small chunks of prawns mixed with the smallest amount of chives which gave it a boost of flavour. You have got to try the deep fried baby octopus with garlic. These bite-sized pieces of baby octopus in a crispy, golden batter were perfectly complimented with a sweet and sour sauce.For the main we ordered four dishes accompanied with steamed jasmine rice. First to arrive was fried king prawn with garlic and fresh chillis. This dish had an intense flavour of chilli oil, tailed by a kick of fresh chilli. Next were fried scallops in hot and spicy sauce: a generous portion of thinly sliced scallops fused with chunks of red and green pepper, and onions toned with a rather sweet sauce than on the spicy side.I was slightly disappointed with steamed sea bass fillet with ginger and spring onions, as I had expected it to be traditionally presented on the bone. However, the sea bass was fresh and matched tastefully with ginger-infused soya sauce. Commonly, Chinese people have a side dish of vegetables with dinner, so I decided on the mixed vegetables with garlic and chilli. It had a super mix of broccoli, water chestnuts, baby sweetcorn, beansprouts, and pak choi for a small dish, it definitely delivers! I was surprised at how spicy it was I would have preferred my vegetables less on the spicy side. DrinksThe cocktail menu had an impressive variety of signature classic cocktails, and an interesting assortment of oriental twist mixers. Prior to our starters we went for Singapore Sling and Pineapple and Ginger Daiquiri, both of which had a fruity and sweet mix along with a good kick of liqueur.Their new cocktail menu, launched for Chinese New Year, features cocktails representing all twelve signs of the Chinese zodiac. Velvet Horse (Year of the Horse) comprises Absolut Mandarin, raspberry liqueur, cranberry juice and a hint of lemon juice. Sweet, exotic and easily addictive. My guest went for the strong yet manageable cocktail Scooby Snack (Year of the Dog) a shot of Midori, Malibu, Bacardi, pineapple juice, frothed up with a bit of milk, shaken with ice and served with a mock Scooby snack. Pricing Dim Sum = 4 eachSteamed Rice = 3Fried King Prawns with garlic & fresh chilli = 12.00Steamed Seabass fillet with ginger & spring onions = 15.00Fried Scallops in Hot & Spicy sauce = 15.00Fried Mixed Vegetables with garlic & chilli = 8.00Cocktails = 5.95 each (Two-for-one 5pm-7pm) OverallFlavoursome dishes and great variety catering to vegetarians. Chung Ying Centralis reasonably priced, with a decent assortment of cocktails. Contemporary atmosphere in comparison to the sister restaurants, delivers the standards of authentic Chinese cooking, and an intriguing menu of Far-East-inspired cocktails to try. dinebirmingham.co.uk

  September 6, 2014, 4:32 pm

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