as i drove in to the parking at kawloon, i noticed they had double parking available. assuming this was a similar set up to everywhere else i had been, that the staff park at the front and customers park behind since they aren't going to be there long, i proceeded to park behind a vehicle which i assumed was a staff car. i was soon to discover that i was wrong.
upon entering the premises, i was captivated by the lovely decor. it is wonderfully decorated with traditional chinese colours and art, and the tables are very traditional with lazy susan's in the middle for sharing. i was seated at a bench table with my 2 other guests. the menu was vast, with many vegetarian options available. they also supplied a lunch special menu at a discounted price that included a smaller portion of a main with either fried or steamed rice. there were no options for children so i struggled to select something for my daughter to eat. in the end she had an adult sized meal, which she struggled to even get half way through.
i opted for the only marked "vegetarian option" on the lunch menu which was vegetable chow mein with fried or steamed rice. this is where it all started to go wrong. i was asked to move my car as i had parked behind a customer. this annoyed me a little, but it was not going to ruin my lunch date! when the food came out, i noticed i had combination fried rice on my "vegetarian option" lunch meal. i enquired with the waiter who then tried to convince me that the large piece of pork in my hand was actually carrot. when i pulled out several pieces of meat he agreed and said he would speak to the chef. upon his return he proceeded to say that i was "confused" as the fried rice on the menu is combination fried rice. when i pointed out that the menu had that gorgeous little green "v" next to it and enquired whether he thought my "confusion" was that the "vegetarian option" was actually not vegetarian, he told me that it is only vegetarian if i ordered the steamed rice. even though, they have vegetarian fried rice on their regular menu. so that was the problem. i was confused because i assumed the denoted vegetarian option would come with vegetarian fried rice. he changed my meal to have steamed rice and informed me that he would remove the gorgeous little "v" from the lunch menu. i was very dissatisfied with this outcome. when i finally began to eat my meal, it was very average. i've definitely had better vegetable chow mein.
on the plus side, apparently the sweet and sour fish was "tender and delicious", and the chinese tea that they serve is absolutely beautiful. i drank an entire pot.
would i return to kawloon chinese? probably not. except for maybe the tea.