Hope everyones had a really nice festive period. x
Hope everyones had a really nice festive period. x
Member since:27.03.2004
Reviews:68
Members who trust:181
What is Wings? ******************* Wings Cottage is a Chinese restaurant located in Farnborough in Hampshire. I have had the pleasure of dining at Wings twice now and felt I'd like to bring this little gem to your attention should you ever be in the vicinity.
My partner's job means he has to work at the air show held in Farnborough for 2 weeks every other year. Without meaning to offend anyone Farnborough itself is not the height of sophistication, it's just a very normal small town which were it not for the airbase there would be pretty non descript in terms of a place to visit. When I have come to visit him on his stays we have struggled to find anywhere really nice to eat out together. Certainly not Potters International Hotel which is where the poor love always ends up having to stay.
We stumbled upon Wings in July of 2004 when his parents came up to take advantage of the complimentary tickets he can get to the air show. We all had had a lovely day at show and decided we fancied eating out. We drove into Farnborough and stumbled across Wings Cottage. The restaurant is located on a quiet side street off the main high street area of the town. From the outside it doesn't look as great as it is inside. It has a rather funny conservatory style glass front which makes it look very residential. Once you enter the restaurant though everything is very nice indeed.
The Décor ************** Much more up market than a noodle
house Wings is a proper restaurant so make sure you go accordingly dressed. We were greeted by an oriental front of house staff member dressed in a kimono style tunic. We informed them we were walk- ins, but they were able to accommodate us so we were led into the dining area. Its fairly obvious that Wings was at some point a house because you can still see it has that sort of front room backroom layout. The dining room is in the rear of the building. They have around 15 tables available, all nicely dressed with white cloths and flowers. The rooms are low lit which creates a bit of atmosphere, and all of the staff dress in the same traditional style uniforms.
The dining experience ***************************** We were seated at a round table in the far corner of the room. The tables are spacious for the numbers they seat. Within seconds we were brought copies of the menu and drinks list by the male server who seems to be in charge there.
Starters ***************** A selection of the starters available were:
Crispy Hot Platter Sesame prawn on toast, BBQ pork Ribs, Spring Rolls and Crab Claw - £9.50
China Sea Passion Two succulent Crab Claws stuffed with minced Prawn - £7.25
Scallops in Garlic Butter - £7.25
King Prawn Sahara -King Prawn in shell with garlic, chilli and spice - £7.25
Frogs Legs In Spicy Salt and Chilli - £6.75
Spicy salt and Chilli's Squid - £6.50
Bang Bang Chicken (for two persons) A dish of shedded smoked chicken served with a nutty sauce - £11.50
Spicy Loin Chop with Peppercorns - £6.75
Spicy Chicken with Chilli, Salt and Peppercorns - £6.25
Pan-Fried Pork Dumplings - £5.25
VEGETARIAN STARTERS TOP Four Seasons Crudities -Fresh Vegetables deep fried in light herb batter - £5.75
English Garden Amusement Stir-Fried fine chopped Vegetables served with Iceberg Lettuce - £5.50
Spicy Cabbage-Szechwan Style - £4.00
DUCK
Crispy Aromatic Duck
Served with Pancakes, Spring Onions, Cucumber and famous Hoi-Sin Sauce
Quarter Duck - £11.00
Half Duck - £17.50
Whole Duck - £29.50
We chose a half duck between the 4 of us to start. This was totally delicious. Plenty of pancakes, plenty of the lovely plum sauce and accompaniments like the chopped onion and cucumber. We made short work of that.
Drinks *************** In terms of the drinks menu they had a very good selection of wines from all round the world but just to give you the cost of the house wine which was either Bellefontaine Chardonnay Blanc 1998 or Bellefontaine Cabernet Sauvignon Rouge 1998 that cost £9.75 which I thought was very reasonable, I don't recall the last time I was in a restaurant that had house wine for under £10.
Mains ******************** For our main courses there was such a wide selection but again a few to illustrate would be:
Fillet Steak in Chinese Style with BBQ sauce - £10.50
Fillet Steak with Green Pepper and Blackbean sauce - £10.50
Sizzling Beef with Ginger and Spring Onion - £7.25
Stir-fried Beef with Broccoli and Oyster Sauce - £7.25
Sizzling Lamb with Ginger and Spring Onion - £7.50
Szechwan Lamb Hot and Spicy - £7.50Personally I went for my all time favourite of Singapore Noodles, then I had some of the side order of Ma-Po Aubergine, I have to tell you this dish is absolutely delicious. In fact so much so I insisted they gave me a clue as to how to make it. You may be aware that sometimes when you cook aubergine it goes all chewy and awful. The way to avoid this is to boil the aubergine first apparently. Essentially the dish is aubergine with chill and salt in a thick delicious sauce. I really love it.
The others ordered a variety of dishes, my father in law to be always loves the crispy sea weed so had some of that followed by a seafood dish and plain rice, my other half went for one of the sizzlers which came out hissing like an angry cat, totally delicious and the smells it gave off were divine. I can't recall what Mum had exactly but I think it was a meat and rice dish.
Overall ************* We must have spent around 2 hours at Wings the first time, and enjoyed a very pleasant meal indeed. The service was great, the food delicious and the décor and look of the restaurant very pleasing.
Having since returned a second time, about 3 weeks ago, I found that I can happily report the standards are exactly the same as the first visit. The Ma-Po Aubergine is still very nice indeed and I will indeed return the next time I happen to be in the area.
Cost ********************* The most recent meal we had came to £55 for two of us, that was including a mixed platter starter of chicken and rib pieces in breadcrumb with chilli and salt, a main course of sizzling beef and a Singapore noodle and of course the aubergines, plus 3 bottles of tiger beer.
Now personally I have to say that our neighbourhood Chinese restaurant Gold Lee in East Dulwich would come to around £35 for the same meal, which I personally feel is on the cheap side, not sure what exactly makes the difference in cost as both places are superb. I think that Wings pitches itself at a slightly higher end of the market, whereas with my local you could pitch up in very casual clothing and feel ok.
However I felt it was just worth making a note that Wings may be a tiny bit on the pricey side.
Both times I've been the restaurant was busy, so obviously people don't feel its prohibitively expensive.
Parking *****************
There is plenty of parking along the side roads where Wings is, but if that is full up there are a couple of car parks around the Farnborough town centre area
Other information *********************
Wings would be suitable for a disabled diner as the restaurant is all on one level. The only thing I cannot guarantee is what the bathrooms are like in that respect as I havent visited them.
I really, really love duck! It's one of the nicest food ever...now I want some, lol! Wonderful write up as per usual : ) Eleanor x
dvdsprks2 24.06.2007 15:54
I forgot the cost of the meal at the Golden Dragon was £38.00 David
dvdsprks2 24.06.2007 15:52
Very good review Shona it's nice to know about restaurants where somebody has experienced the food and atmosphere, an Architect and I had a meal at the Golden Dragon on 13.06.07 at 28 - 29 Gerrard Street, Chinatown, London, we didn't have duck but we had plenty of good food and a couple of beers one a Tiger. My friend over ordered he's vegetarian and was making sure he had enough good food, although we had a good try had to leave a dish, try it if you're ever there. I fancy trying Wings Cottage after reading your review. David
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Aug 10th, 2006
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