94 | FOOD AND DRINK


LUNCH@ CHOP CHOP words Leila Williams T


here’s a sheer sense of pride that comes over me when something in Edinburgh is acknowledged by the national


media for its brilliance. It happened when Kirsty and Phil announced Edinburgh as the best place to live in the UK; also when hard-to-please food critic AA Gill awarded five stars and a glowing review to The Kitchin restaurant in The Sunday Times. Most recently, it was spotting Morrison Street based restaurant Chop Chop in the final showdown in Gordon Ramsay’s search for the UK’s best local restaurant.


Perhaps, quite rightly, basking in the glory of the accolades by Chef Ramsay, Chop Chop has opened a second, bigger restaurant on Commercial Quay – next door to the aforementioned The Kitchin. Come dinnertime it’s been packed since opening in May, with diners desperate to find out what it is about this Chinese restaurant that gets the celebrity chef’s seal of approval, so best to reserve a table. Otherwise pop in for


the business lunch menu, - great value at £7.50 for a choice of a noodles or rice dish, dumplings or a soup, and two side dishes.


Just because Chop Chop comes with such high credentials doesn’t mean you should expect a fine dining experience. On the contrary, the décor is sparse, the tables are bare and the dishes were a bit stained from the chilli dipping sauce. Not to worry though; there’s a buzz about the place and once the initially chaotic service sorted itself out, we settled into our surroundings and looked forward to the food.


The food here is as simple and straightforward as the surroundings but twice as pleasing. Owner, Jian Wong, uses the slogan ‘Serving the food they love in China’ and Chop Chop is a re-education in the taste and quality of the Chinese food to which the majority of British palates are accustomed. The menu is large and elaborate, perhaps even daunting to the


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