Chinatown chow down

When the Blitz flattened their Limehouse homes, London's Chinese community headed for Soho, then a shabby area where leases were cheap.

The influx of Hong Kong immigrants in the 1960s and an increasing interest in Chinese cuisine gave us the Chinatown we love to hate today, but no amount of Chinese phone boxes or street signs can alter the fact that the majority of these restaurants, selling cheap food to an undiscerning tourist clientele, are not places in which any self-respecting Londoner would care to dip their dumplings.

Determined to discover whether a Chinese meal in Soho really has to involve grease, goo and a monosodium glutamate hangover, I took recommendations from fellow Londoners and ventured out to compare some of the area's most popular dishes.

Harbour City

Decor was a bit slapdash, with crazed spiral carpets, cruelly bright lighting and spare furniture stacked unglamorously in the stairwell. Service was similar: glasses were refilled regularly, but dishes took a surprisingly long time to appear and mistakes were made with both a starter and a main course - a high tally in a two-course meal for two.

Wonton soup: Unappetisingly oily and the wontons were unremarkable.

Spring rolls: Meat when we'd asked for vegetarian. Thickly battered and resplendently greasy, although the meat goo was pleasant if you battled your way through the requisite layers of hard batter.

Crispy duck: Shredded in front of us, which I always like. A little dry, but tasty, although the bowl of hoisin sauce looked as if it had been waiting around a while.

Price: Spring rolls £3, duck £7.50.

Verdict: Very average.

Imperial China

A tiny courtyard has been transformed into an alfresco dining area, which - despite closely overhanging buildings - must be nice when the weather's good. Indoors is a dark and disconcerting mix of China kitsch and 1970s London. Service is self-effacing to a fault: the table wasn't really cleared between courses and I had to hunt down a waitress for the bill.

Wonton soup: Frankly weird - more of a chicken broth, in fact, which didn't go at all well with the wontons. A shame, since they were great: firm prawns and tasty enclosing dumpling.

Spring rolls: The least greasy, though still plenty of batter. The veg inside tasted fresh, and the sauce, while slightly strange

(it tasted of Worcestershire sauce, surely not a Chinese speciality) didn't clash.

Crispy duck: Steaming hot pancakes, a beautiful ruby hoisin that looked homemade, and duck that - although shredded elsewhere - was moist and tasty. Be aware that although the menu only mentions half and whole ducks, they'll serve a quarter if asked.

Price: Spring rolls £2.80, duck £7.50.

Verdict: Pretty good.

Pale walls and tastefully forgettable pictures made this a soothing experience, although the adrenaline-charged staff counteracted this with repeated requests for our order and the kind of lightning service that makes you feel like a hanger-on in an establishment desperate to close up for the night (we weren't - it was lunchtime). Still, they kept the tea topped up and offered oranges with the bill.