Dinner Detective: Laughing Buddha, Wilmslow Road, Didsbury


Dinner Detective: Laughing Buddha, Wilmslow Road, Didsbury

Conrad Astley
3/ 2/2006

Unlike restaurant reviewers on some newspapers, the Dinner Detective eats out incognito and always pays for the meal. That way, the Dinner Detective gets the same treatment as the readers, giving an honest review of the service you might receive.

THE Laughing Buddha is definitely a Chinese restaurant of the modern variety.

The restaurant's name and logo are the only oriental things on display - big bronze statues of the Buddha and pictures of dragons are out.

Instead, you are greeted by subdued lighting and led into a stylish dining area.

But although the restaurant bosses have got the décor right, their music policy leaves a lot to be desired.

In their quest to seem funky and up-to-date, they come very closing to destroying the atmosphere they obviously worked so hard to create.

During my visit last weekend the speakers blasted out a selection of tunes which would have been more appropriate at a pre-club bar, and at a volume that at some points made conversation almost impossible.

Although in some situations this could be an advantage, that was not the case when I took my seat to study the tome-like menu.

I was also slightly irritated to be asked whether I had made my choice three times in the space of what seemed like as many minutes.

But for some reason, as soon as I'd made my decision, the over-keen waiting staff suddenly forgot I was there.

Having got this off my chest, the food, when it arrived, was among the finest Chinese I have sampled in Manchester - definitely comparing with the best Chinatown has to offer.

I opted to start with the vegetarian spring rolls (£2.30) which had just the right level of crispiness and came with a chilli sauce which was the perfect combination of spicy and sweet flavours.

This was followed by braised aubergine in garlic and chilli sauce (£4.20). The vegetables were fresh and flavoursome and were thankfully not saturated with monosodium glutamate - the salty, gloopy curse of all poor quality Chinese food.

My dining companion had the Szechuan style chicken (£4.50) which also met requirements.

The meal was washed down with a bottle of crisp pinot grigot - one of many choices from the wine list - and finished off with a refreshing mango sorbet, which looked as if it may have actually seen a mango at some point.

There were a few little niggles - including the fact they attempted to squeeze too many people into the small space, meaning you could overhear exactly what was going on at the next table.

But with some of these minor problems ironed out, the place would be perfect.


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