Chowking is a new franchise food outlet from Philippines...
Chowking is a new franchise food outlet from Philippines to open in Doha which serves Chinese food in fast food service style.
Looking at the large crowd inside and long queue outside the restaurant, we were eager and tempted to try their food.
We ordered our food hastily, selecting dishes recommended by staff at the cash counter who was anxious to clear the queue of customers. We were then 'rushed' upstairs to find a seat and wait for our food.
Finding a clean table was tough. There was only 1 poor cleaning staff clearing tables for a never ending stream of dine-in customers.
The spicy beef noodles looked good but tasted otherwise. The beef was tough and noodle hard like rubber band. The spicy soup is good for chilli lovers though.
The 2 dishes of yang chow fried rice and fish with tofu were very salty. The fried rice was cold and lumpy which only means that not enough 'wok fire' was used to fry the rice. The fish and tofu dish sauce was too starchy and we could find no more than 3 pieces of tofu.
The roast chicken dish looked most promising but once again it was very salty and it turned cold quickly before we could finish half of it. The meat tasted alright, just a tad dry.
We were attracted to this chicken bao that came in a 'wooden cage' which is typical of dim sum found in Chinese restaurants. Given its authentic look, we were hoping that the bao would taste authentic too. From the first bite, the skin tasted like rough paper and the chicken filing doesn't melt in your mouth like what a good tasty chicken bao should. However given the rarity of Chinese buns in Doha, we would recommend to try this only if you miss home food very much.
I am not sure about the popularity of Chowking in Philippines but this branch definitely doesn't stand out from other Chinese food outlets in Doha with its hasty service staff and mediocre food.
