Chinese New Year celebrations begin today and will continue for the next week to usher in the Year of the Rabbit. To mark the occasion many people will likely be heading out to enjoy a meal at their favourite Chinese restaurant.
Alternatively, they could always order a takeaway and if you happen to be looking for a really good one, then we might have a recommendation for you.
The Good Earth is a group of Chinese restaurants with locations across London and Surrey and they're often said to make the best Chinese food in London. Some people have even gone as far as to claim they're one of the best Chinese takeaways in the country.
As well as hundreds of five-star reviews on TripAdvisor, the group has won numerous awards at the Golden Chopsticks, an awards ceremony that recognises East and South East Asian cuisine across the UK.
They've also been praised by Michelin-starred chef Jason Atherton, who previously branded the restaurants a "godsend".
I decided to put the food to the test to see if it lives up to the hype, so ordered a takeaway from The Good Earth in Wandsworth.
I kept it simple, ordering four items that are staples on most Chinese takeaway menus, including sweet and sour chicken, noodles with beansprouts, prawn crackers and a side of crispy seaweed.
The meal, which was just enough food to feed two people, came to £34.40 with VAT which is expensive even for London prices and certainly much pricier than my local Chinese takeaway where the total for the same order comes in at £27.
But while it wasn't a cheap takeaway, it also didn't taste like a cheap takeaway.
I'm not going to encourage anyone to spend unnecessary money amid a cost of living crisis, but for the purposes of this taste test, I can say you're certainly getting what you pay for and this food was worth every penny.
I was expecting to be disappointed, as I so often am with things that are overly hyped, but I can say with 100% certainty that this was THE BEST Chinese takeaway I've ever had.
The food came packaged in tightly sealed containers, so despite having to collect it, my meal was still nice and hot when I got it back home.
Everything looked much fresher and less greasy than the fare from your average takeaway and it tasted better too.
While the sweet and sour sauce I'm used to consuming is a more vivid orange colour, this looked much more natural and the pieces of chicken were a very generous size. There was no scrimping going on here.
I also enjoyed that the sweet and sour dish contained several different fruits as well as the standard pineapple. It made for a nice bit of novelty, which is something I always enjoy.
The noodles were very tasty and packed with veg and the sides of crispy seaweed and prawn crackers were large portions and good quality.
After polishing off my plate and going back for an extra helping of everything I was pleased to discover that I wasn't left with an overly full, gross feeling mixed with some regret, which is something I often experience after treating myself to a takeaway.
There was no regret to be found here, just pure deliciousness.
The food was so impressive that I feel The Good Earth may have now ruined my local takeaway for me forever - how am I supposed to go back there now that I know this place exists?!
Have you tried The Good Earth? Let us know what you thought in the comments below.
