Chinese at Kings Hill, WEST MALLING

[GJB]

After being warned about food hygeine in March 2010 the owners ended up in court at Sevenoaks and were fined nearly £13,000

Eaten there twice and the food was horrendous. How do these places stay in business?

[crmcatee]

You didn't learn your lesson after the first time ?

[172ff]

Highly recommend the Crown City in Teston for a good Chinese!

I did see the pictures of that place in Kings Hill in the KM

[DamienCBR]

I always thought the Imperial Dynasty was good in West Malling.

[BLUETHUNDER]

The whole Kings Hill development puts me off.Let alone going to a chinese there.What a souless place.Couldnt wait to leave.

[GJB]

DamienCBR said:

I always thought the Imperial Dynasty was good in West Malling.

It used to be good but has gone downhill rapidly. Now rate it about 3 out of 10.
Last time I went there I got food poisoning...stays in the memory for a while!

Now refer to it as the IMPERIAL DYSENTRY.

[GJB]

crmcatee said:

You didn't learn your lesson after the first time ?

First time we went was just after they opened their doors. It was abysmal and they didn't even have proper furniture or a drinks licence. So after a couple of years we thought we'd venture through the doors again...what an idiot...it actually was worse and just total slop.

[DamienCBR]

GJB said:

DamienCBR said:

I always thought the Imperial Dynasty was good in West Malling.

It used to be good but has gone downhill rapidly. Now rate it about 3 out of 10.
Last time I went there I got food poisoning...stays in the memory for a while!

Now refer to it as the IMPERIAL DYSENTRY.

Wow, that is worth bearing in mind. Always rated it, not been for about a year. It is a trek for me.

D

[Denis O]

GJB said:

DamienCBR said:

I always thought the Imperial Dynasty was good in West Malling.

It used to be good but has gone downhill rapidly. Now rate it about 3 out of 10.
Last time I went there I got food poisoning...stays in the memory for a while!

Now refer to it as the IMPERIAL DYSENTRY.

I was very surprised to see this kind of comment about ID but had not been for 3 years so couldn't comment. Perhaps a change of ownership or management I thought. However, thankfully this did not put me off and I went last night.

I am happy to announce that the ID is as good as ever. Same owners and food was superb as usual. Soft shell crabs are still to die for and a thouroughly good evening had by all. The place was packed as well with everyone enjoying a great time.

If you got food poisoning GJB then I understand your issues but please do not consider that is the normal standard for this eatery. It isn't. I've been there 100's of times over 20 years and never got food poisoning.

So rest assured people, all is still well for chinese in West Malling.

[Oldred_V8S]

Denis O said:

GJB said:

DamienCBR said:

I always thought the Imperial Dynasty was good in West Malling.

It used to be good but has gone downhill rapidly. Now rate it about 3 out of 10.
Last time I went there I got food poisoning...stays in the memory for a while!

Now refer to it as the IMPERIAL DYSENTRY.

I was very surprised to see this kind of comment about ID but had not been for 3 years so couldn't comment. Perhaps a change of ownership or management I thought. However, thankfully this did not put me off and I went last night.

I am happy to announce that the ID is as good as ever. Same owners and food was superb as usual. Soft shell crabs are still to die for and a thouroughly good evening had by all. The place was packed as well with everyone enjoying a great time.

If you got food poisoning GJB then I understand your issues but please do not consider that is the normal standard for this eatery. It isn't. I've been there 100's of times over 20 years and never got food poisoning.

So rest assured people, all is still well for chinese in West Malling.

Sorry but I do not think I will be risking it, especially with so many other good ones in the area to choose from. So you have been there many times over the last 20 years, which presumably included the period during which it was operating in the state that we saw in the Kent Messenger; you either have a cast iron constitution or have been very lucky. It must take a lot to pull a business around after being let go as this one was.

Edited by Oldred_V8S on Monday 22 November 14:59

[GJB]

Denis O said:

GJB said:

DamienCBR said:

I always thought the Imperial Dynasty was good in West Malling.

It used to be good but has gone downhill rapidly. Now rate it about 3 out of 10.
Last time I went there I got food poisoning...stays in the memory for a while!

Now refer to it as the IMPERIAL DYSENTRY.

I was very surprised to see this kind of comment about ID but had not been for 3 years so couldn't comment. Perhaps a change of ownership or management I thought. However, thankfully this did not put me off and I went last night.

I am happy to announce that the ID is as good as ever. Same owners and food was superb as usual. Soft shell crabs are still to die for and a thouroughly good evening had by all. The place was packed as well with everyone enjoying a great time.

If you got food poisoning GJB then I understand your issues but please do not consider that is the normal standard for this eatery. It isn't. I've been there 100's of times over 20 years and never got food poisoning.

So rest assured people, all is still well for chinese in West Malling.

We have been back to ID this year and still rate it below average. Bland, sickly, overly sweet, sticky and vivid colours don't make for acceptable food to me. I have eaten good chinese food but certainly not close to home. This is just our opinion so the views of others are always welcome to balance things out. Maybe we need to get rat-arsed before we go next time.

As for the Chinese at Kings Hill, wild horses wouldn't drag us back there. Why is it places that sell such poor quality food get away with it. We eat out on average twice a week so feel that we have a pretty good idea on what our expectations should be at any given price point.

[GJB]

GJB said:

Denis O said:

GJB said:

DamienCBR said:

I always thought the Imperial Dynasty was good in West Malling.

It used to be good but has gone downhill rapidly. Now rate it about 3 out of 10.
Last time I went there I got food poisoning...stays in the memory for a while!

Now refer to it as the IMPERIAL DYSENTRY.

I was very surprised to see this kind of comment about ID but had not been for 3 years so couldn't comment. Perhaps a change of ownership or management I thought. However, thankfully this did not put me off and I went last night.

I am happy to announce that the ID is as good as ever. Same owners and food was superb as usual. Soft shell crabs are still to die for and a thouroughly good evening had by all. The place was packed as well with everyone enjoying a great time.

If you got food poisoning GJB then I understand your issues but please do not consider that is the normal standard for this eatery. It isn't. I've been there 100's of times over 20 years and never got food poisoning.

So rest assured people, all is still well for chinese in West Malling.

We have been back to ID this year and still rate it below average. Bland, sickly, overly sweet, sticky and vivid colours don't make for acceptable food to me. I have eaten good chinese food but certainly not close to home. This is just our opinion so the views of others are always welcome to balance things out.

As for the Chinese at Kings Hill, wild horses wouldn't drag us back there. Why is it places that sell such poor quality food get away with it. We eat out on average twice a week so feel that we have a pretty good idea on what our expectations should be at any given price point.


Also recommend that before eating out it's often worth checking on-line reviews such as this.....

http://www.yell.com/reviews/imperial+dynasty-1831h...

Edited by GJB on Wednesday 24th November 17:10

[GJB]

For anyone who likes eating out there's a web site that covers the important points and isn't `fixed` by spurious comments from unidentifiable/unbiased sources.

It's here...http://www.scoresonthedoors.org.uk/council/tonbridge-and-malling-borough-council

other councils also appear but for this particular topic this is the relevant one.

IMPERIAL DYNASTY is listed. You just enter IMPERIAL DYNASTY and WEST MALLING.

Hygiene and safety comes in as FAIR and this equates to - "Some non-compliance with statutory obligations and industry codes of recommended practice. The premises are in the top 50 per cent of premises and standards are being maintained or improved."

Across the road is PAD THAI and they show that it is possible to score 5 stars...

Try the web site and comment here.

Edited by GJB on Monday 29th November 11:08

[BBS-LM]

GJB said:

After being warned about food hygeine in March 2010 the owners ended up in court at Sevenoaks and were fined nearly £13,000

Eaten there twice and the food was horrendous. How do these places stay in business?

What I do not understand is why did you eat there twice.

[GJB]

BBS-LM said:

GJB said:

After being warned about food hygeine in March 2010 the owners ended up in court at Sevenoaks and were fined nearly £13,000

Eaten there twice and the food was horrendous. How do these places stay in business?

What I do not understand is why did you eat there twice.

Easy answer

When we first went there it had just opened. They didn't have a drinks licence, decor was very basic and food was so, so. We didn't go back for a couple of years and cusiosity got the better of us. Drinks licence...check, decor...improved. Food was pretty poor.

Sometimes I get the impression the chinese restaurants buy everything from the same supplier in bloody great frozen bags. It's cheap, tasteless gunge mostly. We like chinese food but the only time we tend to eat chinese now is when we go to Wing Yip. The fact that the restaurant there is often populated by a high percentage of chinese people is a clue.

[Denis O]

I assume you mean the Wing Yip on the outskirts of Croydon. If so I totally agree and the food is wonderful. They also have more variety of Dim Sum than you can shake a stick at. It's actually quite hard to get Dim Sum in regular chinese eateries.

Strange how we can agree so wholeheartedly on Wing Yip and completely disagree on ID, which in my view is pretty close to Wing Yip.

[GJB]

Need to make sure that people reading this are aware that the Chinese restaurant at Kings Hill and ID (Imperial Dynasty) are two totally separate restaurants.

I really like Chinese food but struggle to find a good Chinese restaurant where the majority of the food is cooked fresh rather than out of a box from the freezer.

Years ago I went to a restaurant down near Guildford (with friends who lived at Runfold). The food was cooked in Woks in front of us so we new it was about as fresh as it gets. If I ever went totally crackers and decided to open a restaurant this is what I would do.

Also note that the `Scores on the Doors` system has now started to work its way through West Malling. Pad Thai has 5 stars. Once ID has 4 or 5 stars I'll give it another go.

Most times we've been to Wing Yip virtually everyone in there has been Chinese which has got to be a clue as to the quality of the product. Would love to see ID raise the bar a bit higher. Happy to pay a bit more for really good cooking and fresh produce.

Going to try the Sun Do in Sevenoaks as that has been recommended by customers of mine who just happen to be.....Chinese.