Queen Stop

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Somehow or other, coasting along in a taxi you seem to notice so much more, be it beautiful buildings, new businesses or the pattern of life, than when you’re behind the wheel yourself. Doing just that recently, I was coming along the Upper Rathmines Road on the way to Queen Stop Chinese restaurant further down in central Rathmines, a sister restaurant to Boss Stop on South Great George’s Street. Looking at the pictures online, I expected it to be a fairly simply decked out street spot, of which we have many around the city, but was pleasantly surprised first of all by the very comfortable colourful diner décor, a big leather banquette and lavish booths, and delightful staff, all elevating this to a higher level of casual street food. Looking around, it seemed to me too that some of the locals were not on their first visit.

The prices too were good with dishes broken into Appetiser Lovers’, Dishes, Dumplings and Protein Lovers, including crispy spiced pork strips, calamari, Hong Kong char siu pork, Sichuan LaZi chicken, Hot & Garlic sea bass fillet, Kimchi fried rice and more. 

With Trish trying a Whiskey Sour and me an Orange Mojito Mocktail, we ordered four small plates. A quartet of green wrapped Veggie dumplings in their steamer basket were filled with tasty mustard cabbage and wood ear mushrooms, adding a slightly crunchy element, while substantial sesame coated chunky triangular prawn toasts with a chilli dip were so much more fulfilling than the little flat sliced pan toasts you see in some places. Strips of King Oyster mushroom were also excellent, tossed in a light soy-based dressing with garlic and chilli, while cold shredded potato in a garlic, vinegar and chilli dressing added a further freshness to our dishes. We followed up with a big bowl of spiced Yangzhou egg fried rice sporting strips of char siu pork, prawns, green beans, carrots, and mushrooms, and a vegetarian hot pot, which had aubergine slices coated in a light spiced batter, deep-fried, and then braised in a rich sticky aromatic sauce. Mouthwatering.

There’s beers, cocktails, mocktails, sake and shots galore, along with wines by the glass and bottle as well.