Long Fang Kitchen
About
Chinese
Price Range : Under $10 (£)
Location
Adress: 144 - 146 N Rd, Cardiff, CF14 3BH
Phone: +44 29 2062 6660
Work Hours
Business info
- directions_carDeliveryYes
- accessibilityGood for KidsYes
- groupGood for GroupsYes
- tvHas TVYes
Reviews
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Clarissa Y.
I'm 2nd generation Chinese-American who grew up on the amazing Chinese food that California had to offer.
Basically, since I've moved to Wales my partner's probably sick of my complaints on how much I miss X dish my grandma makes. I'm boycotting this mysterious "chop suey" I've heard of that looks absolutely disgusting and sweet and sour from jarred premade sauce I won't touch with a 10 foot pole.
I've tried to preach to everyone I knew to order the "good stuff" but I noticed a lot of people seem hesitant about branching out and eating things they're unfamiliar with, even if it's not offal. Long Fang Kitchen to the rescue!
- Char Siu Bao -
BBQ pork buns. Really delicious and tastes just like my local yum cha restaurant makes from back home.
- Xiao Long Bao -
AKA XLB aka Shanghai Soup Dumplings. This is literally my favourite dish in the entire world so I've eaten A LOT of it. If you don't know what they are, it's basically minced pork with broth wrapped in a parcel. It's hard to explain what the wrapper is made of as I don't think they're a Western equivalent, but it's nothing strange and very tasty. Absolutely divine and a lot of restaurants straight up specialise in this one dish such as the legendary Din Tai Fung from Taiwan.
Upon seeing Long Fag's interpretation, I could immediately tell that these dumplings were handmade. Huge respect for that because they are VERY intricate and difficult to make (trust me, I've failed attempts at trying to make them at home). Although Long Fang's XLB weren't the best I've had, I do appreciate that my bar has been set very high since I've always went out of my way to find the best XLB in the world. However, these ones were still great and I would definitely order them again.
- Custard Buns -
Every Chinese child loves these as it is literally custard in a fluffy bun. What more can you ask for?
- Beef Ho Fun -
I adore ho fun, it's probably my favourite type of noodle. It's a rice based noodle that's flat so it absorbs a lot of flavour and ho fun has a LOT of flavour to be absorbed. I normally go for beef as that's my favourite but you can choose what meat you like. Really delicious here!
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Overall, if you're looking to broaden your horizons a bit, please consider my recommendations instead of just going for the Westernised Chinese food. I'll say it once and I'll say it again, it's like if you only ever ate McDonald's and think that's all Western food has to offer when there are luscious roast dinners to be had. A lot of Chinese takeaways have compromised themselves to fit the Western palette and I'm really glad Long Fang hasn't gone down that route. I think I finally found a Chinese takeaway in Cardiff that'll remind me of home! -
Angela M.
Good Chinese place! The food was good - got the coconut chicken. The food was plentiful. The only thing is you have to pay for your plastic utensils...
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Rachel W.
Long Fang Kitchen, (formerly China Diner), is a Chinese take-away on North Road in the Maindy / Gabalfa area of Cardiff. Positioned amid a cluster of local businesses, including Dianos take-away, (offering Kebabs, Pizza and fried chicken), Subway, (serving nutritionally bereft baguettes of the blandest variety - but hey, I didn't need to tell you that!), not to mention The North Star gastro pub, which opened up in October of last year, and also does take-aways... the competition for the student dollar just got a little more fierce in this part of town.
Mixing it up, the traditional Chinese menu extends to cover currys too, and closing time was recently extended to midnight in an effort to attract new customers, and to keep the old ones happy as well.
Some of the local Chinese order take-outs from here... so I could wax lyrical about how great the food is from here... but in reality, there's no better commendation than that! -
Bobby N.
So I first discovered this place when leaving Cardiff as I used to get called out there alot for work. In my town we dont really have any great takeaways so I thought what the heck give it a try.
Well it was mid afternoon and there were already a few customers, but I got served straight away. The dish i wanted was not actually on the menu so after describing what it was i wanted the lady at the counter knew straight away and considering the place was pretty busy I had my food, with starters all within 10 minutes.
I have continued to go to Long Fang Kitchen for nearly a year now, and i love the food from there so much I usually take a whole load of it at once back to my town just so I can fridge it and warm it up another day.
Would highly recommend this place, great service, menu has improved a lot with some specialty dishes you wont find anywhere else. Also if you get there when it is not too busy you may get to talk to the lovely Mrs Long who runs the takeaway and she is always happy hear feedback.
Five stars from me for what is five start quality food -
Jessica C.
This place feels like home.
I'm Chinese and I've grown up on Chinese food, so I think I have a relatively sensible palate when it comes to judging food deemed Chinese. Fortunately, Long Fang indeed provides authentic Chinese food, usually between 4-6 quids a meal. I usually get the mapo tofu (spicy tofu) with rice or braised beef with rice, and on hungrier days, I also order a soup for an additional 2 quids (usually wonton soup for me) and a sweet warm taro tapioca dessert (or the warm red bean dessert) for another 2 quids. Since I'm a smaller-framed girl, their meals are usually big enough for me to split into two portions (so I save the leftovers for the next evening).
If there's something specific you want but you can't find it on the menu, just describe to them what you want and they can most likely make it. If you're not quite sure of what you want, they can make suggestions that fit what you normally like to eat. They do have all the other stock you can't typically find in small Chinese diners/takeaways, such as zong zi (Chinese sticky rice "tamales" wrapped in bamboo leaves), Guilin noodles (noodles from the province of Guilin), ba bao fan ("eight treasure rice" that can be eaten as dessert and has medicinal purposes), and much more.
This is set up more like a takeaway, but I usually eat there; they have two tables inside with four seats each in addition to windowsill benches. There's always TV playing in the background, typically of a 90s Chinese film that brings me back to my childhood (e.g. Jet Li and Jackie Chan films before they were exported to Hollywood). Given I've only moved to Cardiff for two months, this place certainly gives me a sense of home. A lot of fellow overseas Chinese-speaking students also eat or buy takeaway from here.
The couple who owns the place is very nice and hardworking--they typically open every day from noon to midnight, or until there are no more customers in the night. Since I live ten minutes away from the restaurant, I usually call them to place an order and eat there upon my arrival; they also do free deliveries.