Famously known as the only Chinese restaurant that Chinese people actually go to in Oxford, my friend and I went along enthusiastically for a spot of Saturday lunchtime dim sum (I am HK Chinese, my friend an ignorant ‘guilo’). And indeed the restaurant was filled with mainly Chinese people. I could only spot two tables of non-Chinese munching away. The decor was also typically Chinese; a blend of tasteful calligraphy and tacky new year banners. So far so good then.

Dim sum is eaten mainly by Hong Kong Chinese and consists of morsel-sized delicacies ranging from fried squid cakes to steamed custard buns. The idea is to get lots and share, and maybe get some fried rice or noodles at the end to finish off the meal. The menu at Paddyfield’s, which does dim sum from midday to 6pm daily, is rather good, although mainly consisting of traditional dishes (Liaison on Castle Street, on the other hand, like to do a lot of ‘specials’).

My friend and I opted for 6 dishes to share: prawn dumplings, glutinous rice parcels, cheung fun with dough stick, spare ribs in black bean sauce, grilled dumplings, and fried meat and vegetable buns, with the menu ranging from £2.10 to £3.00 for dim sum dishes, and from £5 for rice and noodles. The food was generally of a good standard (and I am an experienced dim sumer!), except for the cheung fun, which had very strange, dense dough stick and a slightly artificial sauce. They were also a bit mean with the meat and vegetable buns; you only get 2 for your money. I would recommend the spare ribs though - they reminded me of my mum's cooking.

The only problem is that the service is a bit poor. The dishes are not supposed to come all at the same time, but then you’re not really supposed to wait 10 minutes between each one either. It was also rather difficult trying to catch a waiter’s eye.

The bill came to £16, which includes tea and tip. Oh, and for that final Chinese touch, the dirty dishes were left piled up in full view of the customers.

Connie Kwok, 17.02.03