I don't know what possessed me to do it. It was somewhere around the second to last forkful of fluffy chicken fried rice that it suddenly struck me: I've been going to this Chinese for years, and I've absolutely no idea what anyone else thinks of it.
Or even what it's food hygiene rating is (turns out it's 5, phew).
So firing up TripAdvisor, I decided to thumb through impressions from the rest of the world about my favourite Leeds Chinese takeaway, De Fresh in Moortown.
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I was stunned. 'Gone down hill', moaned one. 'Worst Chinese I've ever had, sorry!' bleated another. In fact, its TripAdvisor impressions are full of people saying things like 'was edible but didn't really enjoy it'. Overall, the place has 3.5 stars out of 5, so not exactly circling the drain, but reading the first page of its reviews you'd think they were serving microwaved dog doo.
Were they ordering from the same place I am?
I've been a De Fresh customer for as long as I've worked or lived in Leeds, so about 2016. In all that time, I've found it a good, solid takeaway with decent food at reasonable prices.
I used to be able to eat gluten, or rather, I didn't know it was killing me, so my typical order used to be a chicken or beef chow mein or a bit of crispy shredded beef in sweet and sour sauce, usually piled with a mountain of chicken fried rice and egg fried rice on the side.
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The chow mein was always tasty, not too greasy, not too watery, packed with plenty of flavour with a nice mix of meat and fresh vegetables. The crispy beef was zingy and very tender.
These days, I am aware that wheat shortens my life expectancy so I have to order gluten free. Here, De Fresh comes into its own. The owner, a very friendly Chinese lady, knows me by name now and the moment I start reeling off my order she stops me - 'oh yes, Alex? Gluten free?, yes no problems.' She uses separate pans and omits the gluten-containing soy sauce. The place does deliver but not as far as Cookridge so I make the trek to pick it up in the car. After placing the order, I'm told it can be ready in as little as 10 minutes. I ask for 30 because they can clearly cook it faster than I can get there, which is not something I've ever experienced elsewhere.
There's no sit-in tables here btw, it's an actual takeaway, not a dine-in restaurant offering collection.
Anyway the result of sauceless, glutenless rice is that the food is a touch more dry without the sauce, of course, and my options are vastly limited compared to the full menu - no more chow mein.
But the fact this place is willing and capable of accommodating for a serious dietary problem is rare indeed. I haven't yet found any other Chinese in Leeds that it good for a Coeliac.
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This time, I ordered a chicken omelette, a side of chicken fried rice, some egg fried rice and some chips. Often I'll grab a chicken foo yung instead of omelette, as all the egg based stuff is safely gluten free. Some may say my food isn't terribly adventurous, but hey, at least it won't rip my insides apart. You take any win you can get when you have a life-limiting disease.
The foo yung here is delicious - light fluffy egg, packed with spring onions, and just greasy enough to make it feel indulgent. This ain't no health food. The chicken fried rice with sauce is very tasty, without the sauce is a touch dry but it's better than death. It's such a large portion that if myself and the better half buy two, we share one, put the other in the fridge and have another whole portion together for lunch the next day.
The egg fried rice is almost sweet to the taste, and light enough that it doesn't feel too OTT on the side of an already unhealthy meal.
My better half orders lemon chicken: a piece of lightly breaded, very succulent chicken drenched in a thick, gooey lemon sauce and slices of lemon. It's just the right consistency to soak into the rice, just sweet enough to be moreish, just tangy enough not to feel too sickly (I'm told).
It's perfectly good and reasonably priced and certainly not 'bad' at all.
But if you're a Coeliac, it's a god-send, because I can eat *some* Chinese food again without ripping my insides apart. If you know a gluten free friend - be it intolerance, allergy, Coeliac, or just plain hipster - this place is definitely somewhere to recommend.
For everyone else - don't always believe what you read in online reviews...
(Yes I'm aware of the irony of this ending line, so you'll just have to try it for yourself, eh?)
Price breakdown
- Chicken omelette £6
- Lemon chicken £5.50
- Chicken fried rice £5
- Egg fried rice £1.80
- Prawn crackers - Free, but £1.50 for another portion
- (Chow mein would be £5 for reference)
- Total: £18.30
Address: 211 Stainbeck Road, Moortown, Leeds LS7 2LR
Call for delivery or to place an order: 0113 268 7799
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