Swan Peking
Restaurant - Chinese in Pinner
322-326 Uxbridge Road
Pinner
Middlesex
HA5 4HR
Contact Numbers
Reviews
Really excellent place
I must say I had a delightful meal at the Swan. I have been going there for more than 20 years and it has seen off all competition. Why it because it continues to adapt and innovate. It recently underwent a renovation and it now looks magnificent - chic and sophisticated. The food continues to be excellent and the gourmet dishes are a brilliant new addition to an already vast menu - try the wasabi prawns. My favourite is the whole steamed sea bass. Also they are offering some crazy discounts and I got a whopping 20% off my meal. Nice!! Will definitely go back
A User - 03/06/2009 | report this review
Oh Dear!!
We went here as locals and will never be back. The portions for four came as the smallest ever! A portion of veg for two was the same as a portion for one. We asked for more and were met by a rude waiter who q uestioned us loudly and commented that it was fine!! Dumbstruck by his arraogance others joined in and supported out complaint. In HAtch End the standards are good to very good. Pray tell me why is this place trading?
A User - 03/06/2009 | report this review
Upmarket Elegant Chinese - Good For Birthdays
www.swanpeking.co.ukAs you see in my recent picture, the lions outside the door are guarding the restaurant for good luck. You meet the same pair of lions outside oriental temples. One lion is male, the other female. Look at the claws to see what they are holding. How else would you tell the sex of a lion? You can see both lions in my old picture. It shows the restaurant before they re-decorated in 2007. MENUI've been going there for years. They used to have a chef who cut raw vegetables into fancy shapes like flowers. The menu is huge and you can pick up a leaflet from the restaurant. Or stand outside and read it in the frame outside on the left of the door. The front is now floor to ceiling glass picture windows which creates a light airy feel. Diners are not overlooked. A sofa facing the window is for people waiting for take-aways.When dining in they serve a plate of large white prawn crackers. I'm allergic to shellfish so even though the fish content is probably minimal I won't take the risk. I wish they would offer an alternative. Soups include chicken and sweetcorn. Starters include chicken satay skewers.My favourite main course is Peking duck with pancakes. In China you are served only the duck skin and the soup comes last. But in the UK we order soup first and get lovely duck meat. You take a pancake out of the woven bamboo container. Spread the dark brown 'plum' sauce on the pancake. Add the shredded duck and shredded cucumber and spring onion. Roll up the pancake, munch it up and enjoy. My duck was not very hot. I have family who live in Singapore and frequently travel in China on business. They say that eating hot food is not a Chinese custom, only important to Westerners. Hey - this is the west and in cold December I want hot food. We also think that food not heated sufficiently has not killed off germs. We had enough duck left over to ask for it to be wrapped up to take away. We were saving space for the next course and dessert. On the menu I also noticed duck with beansprouts, or pineapple, or orange or mushrooms. Chicken with ginger and spring onions, or lemon, or orange or cashew nuts or sweet 'n' sour sauce.My puritanical health conscious family would not let me order the sugary sweet and sour sauce. Instead we had the fish with ginger. What a great choice. I love ginger. Brilliant flavours. Other set menus do not include desserts. Vegetarian options include seaweed starter, mange tout, asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower and soya chicken, with options such as cashew nuts. We ordered mange tout and asparagus. The menu says their dishes are free from added MSG. DRINKSDrinks include Japanese sake. We ordered the half bottle. It is served in a wine cooler but, instead of ice, it's in hot water. You only get a couple of small cupfuls but it's strong stuff, enough to widen my smile. Granny sipped freshly squeezed orange juice.DECORDecor is smart with pristine white walls. White cloths cover smart black tables. Black high back chairs have solid backs which are very comfortable. Flowers in small oriental vases decorate the round tables.Pretty framed pictures show oriental girls. One is playing a musical instrument. A big board with lovely gold Chinese lettering guarantees the establishment good luck. The air conditioning must be an advantage in summer. We were momentarily cold when seated under the cooler. We pointed this out and they said it was blowing warm air. Afer that it was okay.ServiceOver the front door a sign says Haka. We later looked that up on the Internet in Wikipedia. Staff are very smiley and willing and help with ordering. The owner's two sons seem to be running the place. According to the tall girl who served us.She said she has a Haka granny and understands her granny's and parents' haka but cannot speak it. (This inspired my ironic thought: Yes, most English people speak English - but cannot speak it.) She slopped around in flip flops which made an irritating sound - very common in Singapore and China. But she was very efficient.A finger bowl of water with lemon was handy to clean fingers when eating the duck. After the main courses we were given heated wet wipes.Desserts I was shocked to see another of those laminated dessert menus offering umpteen kinds of bought-in ice cream. Those menus are multiplying. London has a million ice creams and not a dessert nor a pastry chef in sight. A triumph of menu marketing. But I can scoop out ice cream at home. Admittedly the menu offered very nice Movenpick ice creams. We ordered the two scoops, not three, going for sorbets, one of mango sorbet, one of strawberry sorbet. Excellent.I was pleased to see fresh fruit in season, a mixture of apple, orange and melon. Very refreshing. However, the back of the menu had a Chinese option. Fritters of apple, banana or pineapple. Granny chose the banana fritters in syrup. Looked like three half bananas. Convenient if you are swapping or sharing food. A wrapped mint chocolate for each diner came with the bill to sweeten it.PRICEThe menu tells diners there's a minimum charge of £12 per head. We went without coffee and spent under £60 for three including the ten per cent service charge they added and we were very happy with the price. The vegetarian set menu at £15.80 per person, for a minimum of two persons, includes a dessert of fresh fruit and ice cream. TIMESThey are open seven days a week from noon, closing 2.30, Monday to Saturday. Saturday lunch and dinner time only. Sunday noon until 11.30 pm (same on bank holiday Monday). Dinner Monday to Thursday 6 pm until 11.30. Friday and Saturday 6 pm until midnight.They also deliver free within 3 miles for a minimum order of £20 and for a charge will deliver further.ToiletsPlain white. Clean but boring. Needs a picture. The route to it takes you past the bar, a cute table for two, and a skylight reflecting the diners. ParkingThe pedestrian crossing and zig zag lines are outside so park opposite in the slip road or in the free public park behind the restaurant. The entrance to the car park is in Grimsdyke Road.Take AwayWe have also often ordered take away meals. We could have got the take away menu from outside the restaurant.Instead we went on line and printed their menu and ordered from our version. I wanted to print it large size but it was a PDF and we were in a hurry so one person read it out to the rest of us for a general shouting match. Peking duck - we should have got a hot plate ready - hard to keep the duck hot on the table - better eating in the restaurant unless one of you is ill or you want to save money. We also ordered chicken with cashew nuts. Fish. We ordered bean sprouts and mange tout and egg rice. I wanted asparagus but a man objected that asparagus makes your pee smell funny. I thought this was Too Much Information.The restaurant said the order would be ready to collect in ten minutes. It was. If you eat in the restaurant you can have sticky desserts and hot sake. Yes, I must go back.
A User - 05/12/2007 | report this review
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