Cardiff’s food scene is always shifting, changing, and evolving. But there’s perhaps no type of cuisine that’s truer for than Chinese. There are all the high street names, sure, but we’ve dug a little deeper. We’re talking real hidden gems, whether unexpectedly gourmet market stalls or Cantonese kitchens hidden inside casinos. The Welsh capital is full of low-key gems serving seriously good food. Here are three under-the-radar spots that prove you don’t need flashy signs or Instagram fame to more than deliver the goods.
Snap Dragon (City Road)
This really is a case of blink and you’ll miss it – but that’s part of the beauty. Snap Dragon sits humbly on City Road, but its menu holds all the flavour and flair of a far more showy venue. There are actually two menus: one in English with familiar staples, and a more adventurous Chinese-only menu. As you might imagine, the Chinese menu is where the real treasure lies.
The salt and pepper squid is a standout from the English menu, perfectly crisp and genuinely peppery, with a hint of Sichuan too. Their fried Peking dumplings are another familiar favourite, bursting with juicy pork and spring onion. Feeling a little more adventurous? Pig intestines, a lesser known recipe among Western palettes, are on the Chinese-only menu. Boiled until soft but still springy and served with a salty, sour, and slightly sweet dipping sauce. If you’ve not tried intestines before, this is the way to do it.
Good World (Les Croupiers)
You might be surprised to hear that the next spot on the list is equal parts gaming hub and Chinese banquet. Les Croupiers in Cardiff is an expansive casino with all of the classic games and an almost undiscovered secret – a huge Chinese restaurant called Good World. This is one of the advantages of the digital age. The new abundance of ways to play roulette online – whether through live titles like Bellagio Roulette or Lightning Roulette, or otherwise – has helped the industry as a whole to flourish, resulting in some neat innovations like this.
Tucked away inside the casino but operating very much on its own terms, Good World serves up a sprawling menu of Cantonese classics and lunchtime dim sum. If you can pass by at lunch time then consider it. The steamed prawn cheung fun is a silky masterpiece, full of prawn so juicy it feels almost unbelievable. The char siu buns are another crowd-pleaser. Hot and fluffy, with just the right hit of sweetness – the char siu is homemade too, which really is a labour of love. It’s not just “good for a casino” – it’s good, full stop.
Bao Selecta (Cardiff Market)
Upstairs in Cardiff Market sits one of the city’s most quietly creative food stalls. Bao Selecta gets a place on our list, even though it’s pan-Asian rather than true Chinese. This market stall is fully vegan, but even die-hard meat eaters have been converted by its Taiwanese-style bao. The Korean fried ‘chicken’ bun is a textural dream: crunchy seitan slathered in sticky sauce, cradled in a soft steamed bun. The spicy ‘beef’ bao, made with TVP, packs a smoky chilli hit that’s warming, but not for the faint of heart! Pair either with a rice bowl and you’ve got one of the best lunch options in the city – for under a tenner.