Loon Fung
Canonmills
- Food served: Mon–Thu noon–11pm; Fri noon–midnight; Sat 2pm–midnight; Sun 2–11pm
- Number of wines sold by the glass: 3
- Delivery: £1–3, depending on area
- Private dining: Up to 45 covers
- Also offers: Gluten-free options, Children's high chairs, Wheelchair access
- Music on stereo: Subdued Chinese instrumentalism
- Capacity: 100
- Largest group: 60
- Open since: 1972
- Average price:
£8 (set lunch)
£13 (evening meal) - House wine: £11.50 per bottle
- BYOB: £5 corkage
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The 2011/12 edition of The List's Eating & Drinking Guide is out now – only £5.95 (+p&p).
This review is taken from the current (2011) edition.
Loon Fung has been dishing up Cantonese dishes to the residents of Canonmills for almost forty years and regulars still count for the majority of the business. And it is clearly the food as opposed to the functional décor that is the lure. Classics such as prawn dumplings (where there is no game of hunt-the-prawn; you can see and taste the delicate sweet pink flesh), sit alongside the house speciality of spicy chilli prawns – fat juicy prawns bathed in a rich red chilli sauce which contrast with the refreshing crunch of water chestnuts. Huge purple chunks of aubergine glisten in their garlic-tomato sauce and salt and spicy squid is a glorious tangle of crispy deep-fried seafood which needs its sweet, bright red sauce as a counter balance to the seasoning. The extensive menu means it can be hard to choose and portions are generous. It’s easy to see why locals keep coming back.
- High point: Generous portion sizes
- Low point: Practical and efficient but lacking ambience
Reviews of Loon Fung (2 Warriston Place, Canonmills, Edinburgh)
- 8. yummy, Edinburgh – 29 January 2012, 4:04pm
Loon FungReport -
Brilliant wee restaurant, been around for many many moons and stil going. Great Dim-Sum. Fantastic special dishes of seafood, seabass, scallops, king prawns. Great service from the staff complete the restaurant. I visit this place at least twice a month, and order deliveries for the day after the night before!
- 7. ND, Edinburgh – 11 October 2011, 11:18pm
Loon FungReport -
Really disappointing. Read the reviews and had hoped for something good, but was saddened to receive the usual MSG-laden apology for Chinese food. I still have the yukky metallic taste in my mouth. I was lucky enough to travel round Canton in the early 90s and every little village served beautiful Cantonese food - not full of sugar, bright colours and monosodium glutamate like all our takeaways serve. I am sure the people who work there do not eat it. Anyone able to recommend a genuine Cantonese restaurant in Edinburgh/Scotland?
- 6. HW, Edinburgh – 2 February 2011, 7:50pm
Loon FungReport -
A great wee restaurant in which the food and service are both absolute class- I mean that's why it's been there since 1970s! I come here all the time whether it be with family or friends and have never been disappointed. The singapore noodles, peking duck and shredded chilli beef are definitely the best in the city! I can't wait to go again!
- 5. edinbvrgh, Edinburgh – 5 January 2011, 4:23amLoon FungReport
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We visited the Loon Fung this evening, it used to be a regular haunt in the 1970s when it had a good reputation in Edinburgh not least for its lemon chicken. How the mighty have fallen! what a disappointment this place now is. To begin with the tap water we ordered arrived in pint glasses both of which were dirty on the inside with a brown deposit circling the base probably the remains of beer or cola.
The starters - a Dim Sum and Satay chicken were just about passable, but the mains were really terrible. The famed lemon chicken was bordering on rubbery with a mediocre sauce, the Chicken Chow mein looked colourless and bland when it arrived and was just as bland to eat, again with chicken bordering on the rubbery, the one novelty was that some of the noodles were crispy and some charred, really a terrible experience which we will not be repeating.
- 4. CJ, Edinburgh – 19 February 2010, 9:57amLoon FungReport
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I can't believe someone described this place as total crap. It is the best chinese I have found in Edinburgh, the staff are friendly and ok the decor isn't amazing but who cares when the food is that good. Getting shredded chilli beef that is actually crispy rather than soggy and chewy is a rareity. I have relatives in America who use to eat here over 20 years ago and its the first place they want to visit when they come back....they say the food and service is still as good now as it was then. Thats saying something.
- 3. stevepip, larbert – 7 November 2009, 9:58amLoon FungReport
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I agree that the decor will not blow you away, and is a bit dated. But after all it's the food that matters!
We travel 30 miles to get to this restaurant on a regular basis, and that's just for the chicken satay starters , then Cantonese steak. mmmm
All in all great value and very authentic restaurant.
- 2. jimjamjem, Easter Road – 16 January 2009, 10:05amLoon FungReport
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I've been several times for lunch on a Sunday and have never been disappointed. The Har Kow(dim sum) and Singapore Vermicelli are paticularly good. I think, like most Chinese restaurants, this restaurant offers pretty good value for money and portions are fair. Nice laid back atmosphere. Perhaps decor a wee bit old-fashioned but then people usually go to a Chinese for the food, not for the wallpaper!
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