EnterUganda

. Kampala, Uganda.

By Timothy Bukumunhe

As I walked past one of the tables, a male diner 'psst'd out to me, asking for toothpicks. Could you quit moaning and get on with it?
China Palace was one of the first Chinese restaurants in town. It's been around since 1992 in the NIC building. China Palace boasts a huge dining room that can seat well over 110 diners in relative comfort. On the right as you come up the stairs is a private dining room that can seat almost 20 people.
The main attraction of China Palace is the pond in the middle of the dining room, which is filled with fish and water tortoises. Equally filled is the menu - almost 112 items to choose from.

With 112 items, were you spoilt for choice?
Almost, but before we go down that road, let me give you an idea of what they have to offer: Starters range between sh1,500-sh5,000 for fried chicken wings, fried wantan and prawn crackers, to name some. Soups go between sh1,500 and sh10,000 for say noodle soup, corn soup and bean curd soup, while all dumplings are priced at sh5,500. Kung-Bo chicken costs sh5,500, as with most of the dishes with the exception of diced chicken with cashew nuts which goes at sh6,000. Duck dishes start at sh7,000 for the shredded duck with bamboo shoots rising up to sh26,000 for roasted Beijing duck. Pork with mushroom, sweet and sour, in soya bean paste all go for sh5,500 as do all the lamb and beef dishes. Rice dishes range between sh1,800 and sh3,500, while noodles go from sh3,500 to sh4,500.

I see what you mean. So what did you chew?
My guest and I had the notion that we would have a starter and dive straight into the main meal, but Mrs. Ye, the owner, put a stop to that and made some orders of her own. As a starter, my guest went for three chicken spring rolls at sh600 each and I had fried pork spare ribs at sh5,000. Mrs. Ye suggested soup; mixed seafood (sh2,500) for my guest and chicken mushroom (sh1,800) for me. For the main course, my guest had sliced mushroom with duck at sh7,000, and stir fried mixed vegetables at sh3,500. I had shredded pork Szechwan style at sh5,000 and beef fried rice at sh2,000. We shared some stir fried mixed vegetable at sh3,500 and beef, chicken, lamb/soft noodles at sh4,000.

Any good? Worth visiting?
Everything seemed to arrive at once and it gave you the feeling you won't finish everything (we took a doggy bag). The portions are encouraging, and the time it took for my soup to arrive was swift. The spare ribs were crispy and tasty. Neither of us were keen on the stir fried mixed vegetable. The chicken mushroom was all right.

THE CROWD: Relatively empty on the Wednesday night I was there.
BAD POINTS: A tall order for anybody in a wheel chair - no lifts. And you have to order one day in advance for the Bejing duck.
GOOD POINTS: The spare ribs, and there is no need to wait for a table like their rivals across Kampala Road.
THE TOILETS: Located at the far end. Clean but not sparkling.
CHINA PALACE is located on the 2nd floor of the NIC building, and is owned and run by Mrs. Ye. Open all week from 11:00hrs - 23:00hrs. Reservations: 041-250888.

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