As fortune would have it, this little Cookie will remain out of Queensway's spotlight.

The Venue
Its location is both a boon and a bane; sitting adjacent to the exit of the Queensway tube ensures a regular stream of crowds, but the the fast-moving throngs leave little room for anyone to stop and take in the surroundings. It is therefore easy to overlook the cosy New Fortune Cookie restaurant.

This small two-storeyed place has the typical small Chinese restaurant layout - on the ground floor, its goods (duck and barbeque pork) are displayed in the main windows to the left of the door, and customers are seated behind (around) and above this area. The ground-floor ceilings are low and deliberately perforated in certain corners, a feature that allows the noise to filter down. This form architecture is a curious mix of modern and traditional, and it seems hardly practical, especially for a Chinese restaurant.

The Atmosphere
There is a kind of familiarity that comes with being in a standard Chinese restaurant like New Fortune. The familiarity stems not just from the standard decor, but also the menus and level of service. In New Fortune's case, the service is fast and pushy - with dishes flying off the table even before the dinner is done. The over-efficiency is probably a compensation for the overall medium pace of the restaurant - if diners can be hurried along, the turnover, and thus profits, could be increased. But this strategy may backfire as the clients seek to enjoy their meal after a busy day at work or school, and may now be more inclined to do so.

The Food
The typical Chinese meal consists of three dishes and one soup, and is served with rice. For £15 per person, you’ll receive just that at New Fortune, and the combinations seem infinite. Popular choices are the Peking duck rolls (a DIY roll made up of dry shredded duck, spring onions and soft, pliable and chewy dough lined with hoisin sauce), Kung Pow chicken (crispy but dry strips of chicken doused in a sweet and sour sauce), spicy stir-fried beef (thin slivers of beef dredged in flour and then deep-fried before being caramelised over the fire with a sweet and spicy sauce – again, crispy but dry), stir-fried prawns in bean sauce (a dish that is not too salty and yields soft, tender prawns), and the egg fried rice (throughly-broken rice dotted with small pieces of egg).

The Drink
This isn’t really the kind of place you come for a cocktail or a bottle of expensive wine. Apart from the basic pot of Chinese tea, there is also a selection of soft drinks and imported beers.

The Last Word
It is not just the location that causes New Fortune Cookie to be overlooked, its fare is also hardly separated from the rest of the Chinese restaurants on Queensway.

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