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94 East Road
Avondale
Harare
334149/0712 630 220

 

Great Wall - Clearly Very Popular 2012

Great Wall is a popular Chinese food restaurant located on East Road, Belgravia.  We made an early dinner booking to avoid the prime time crush.  We arrived just after 6 and were led to our table which provided a great view of the dining area.  The restaurant is beautiful with a lovely thatched roof.  There are many windows through which we could see a children’s play area with a swing and see-saw, and the dining area on the veranda.  The restaurant is simply furnished with wooden chairs and tables.  The walls are adorned with decorative tablets that have Chinese writing and drawings on them.  There are a couple of large paintings, a beatific Buddha sits on the bar and some wrought iron butterflies seem to be taking flight off the rear wall.

The waiter brought the menus and took our drinks order. I ordered a glass of Rosé and my partner ordered Coke.  After this, we studied the menu.  The Great Wall menu is a veritable tome with so much to offer. There are soups and starters, a variety of beef, chicken, lamb, seafood, pork, vegetable and fish dishes, then there are your rice and noodle dishes, and finally desserts and hot beverages.  There was so much delicious sounding food that I got slightly overwhelmed.  I decided to start off with wonton soup and my partner opted for spring rolls.  For our main course we were advised to opt for one starch as it is such a large portion.  We wanted the chow mein but decided to try the spicy, fried rice instead.  We ordered stir-fried vegetables in oyster sauce to share.  I went with the popular sweet and sour chicken with pineapple and my friend chose the crispy prawns.

My wonton soup arrived first and I dug right in because I didn’t want it to get cold.  It was delicious.  It is a light soup with dumplings, noodles and meatballs. The meatballs were tender and full of flavour.  My partner’s spring rolls eventually arrived and were served with sweet and sour sauce.  They were filled with chicken and vegetables and quite tasty. Whilst waiting for our main courses we were able to study the other diners.  This is definitely a family friendly restaurant with babies and toddlers welcome.  It’s perfect for a large family outing as they have some big tables that can accommodate large numbers.

Our main courses arrived and I knew immediately that I would need a take-out box.  The servings were huge. The food comes on communal platters and then each diner has a plate on which to dish a little bit of everything.  The spicy fried rice had chopped carrots, broccoli and red chillies in it.  The stir-fried vegetables included broccoli, cauliflower, onions and carrots in a dark, oyster sauce.  This was my favourite dish.  The crispy prawns were served without a sauce and therefore a tad dry.  However, the flavour was delicious.  The sweet and sour chicken with pineapple was also tasty but very filling.  After a few bites I knew I could not eat anymore because I really wanted dessert.

For dessert I ordered bowties and ice-cream and my partner chose pan grilled bananas and ice cream.  We also ordered a pot of Chinese tea.  The tea was served and at first we thought it was plain hot water.  But then we realised there was a slight tinge of colour in it and a definite tea aroma emanating from it.  It’s the least strong tea I have ever had but I found it quite refreshing.  Whilst waiting for our desserts we noticed several patrons standing around giving us weird looks.  We then realised that a number of diners were waiting for tables and we seemed to be holding them up by “idly” chatting and drinking tea. It was quite disconcerting.

Our desserts arrived and mine was exquisite.  The bowties were crispy and covered in warm syrup.  The pan grilled bananas could easily have fed two people, they were very good but my partner struggled to finish.  The desserts and the Chinese tea went very well together and we enjoyed the food immensely.  However, we felt we had to pay our bill and leave hastily as there were some obviously impatient clients still waiting for tables.

Speciality Restaurant
4 Plates
Expect to Spend $20 to $35 per head
94 East Road, Avondale, Harare

 

A Treat for All at the Great Wall 2011
I must admit that when trying to judge a restaurant like the Great Wall, which specialises in Chinese food, I wished that I had actually visited China.  I have always been fascinated by China and have a long cherished ambition actually to go there one day.  I tend to compare Chinese restaurants with the Westernised ones that I used to go to in England as a teenager, when they used to be all the rage for office and birthday parties.  Naturally, they were full of Chinese themed knick knacks, billowy lanterns and red velveteen walls.  They also used to help the Westerner by offering meals for groups of 4 or 6, so that you would be able to order easily. However, although The Great Wall lacks a cohesive theme on the decorating front, I suspect that it might be closer to actual eating houses in China than my earlier experiences.

Also the fact that the place was completely packed speaks for itself and surely must be a good sign?  In fact I could not get over the number of people there, it is obviously very popular with big family groups and I wondered if this restaurant would not be better off in the Family Restaurant category.  Most of the Chinese people seemed to prefer the four private rooms at the back and quickly filed in there as soon as the restaurant opened.  Then, throughout the evening many people came for takeaways, so the restaurant seems to run on a huge scale.  I wondered if it was a particularly busy night, the fact that it was open on a Sunday night must mean brisk business as there are not many restaurants in Harare that open on a Sunday.  Also there were only a few days of school holiday left, so maybe people were having a last family get together before the start of a busy term. 

The menu offered a bewildering choice with some beautifully poetic dishes, such as shark fin soup, fried chicken with wood ears, angel hair noodles and drunken duck.  However, my husband had been seduced by some of these very exotic choices before and he was determined to keep us on the straight and narrow.  He rather pragmatically depended mostly on the advice of the waiter and past experience of the restaurant.  Of course if you were a regular you would obviously be able to hone down the menu and eat at a much cheaper price avoiding mistakes.

However, after reading Mao’s Last Dancer I was on a quest to try the dumplings and I was delighted to see that they did have pork filled dumplings similar to the ones mentioned in the book.  I was not alone in this mission, apparently after reading the book, one Canadian reader travelled all the way to the Qingdao district and pretended to be one of the author’s friends in order to convince the author’s mother to let him try her famous dumplings. Mao’s last Dancer is a brilliant book about Li Cunxin, who was just a poor peasant boy until he was chosen to train as a Ballet dancer at Madame Mao’s Dance academy.  Up until this time he lived in complete poverty and he and his family were forced to eat dried yams in order to survive when there was no other food available.  However, at the New Year festival his beloved mother always cooked these wonderful dumplings which he talks very nostalgically about throughout the book.

My husband tried to steer me away from them and grumpily scoffed that I had let my imagination run away with me but it was no good - I had to try them! They were like delicious little purses, certainly the ultimate comfort food and practically a meal in themselves. My teenage son wolfed down as many as he could, expertly manoeuvring his chop sticks as if he used them all the time! 

Next time I think I would not bother with the starters, as we had to wait rather a long time for them, it seemed to make more sense just to order the main meal like everyone else. However, I had wanted to try the spring rolls which I have found to be particularly disappointing in this country, especially in some restaurants which fill them with grated potato.  Here we were quite impressed with the fresh tasting vegetables, and the spring rolls themselves were surprisingly good, light and not too oily, although I still would have loved to have some bean sprouts in them.

The most successful dishes we ordered were the Sizzling Beef with Garlic and the Sichuan Chicken, and the meat in both dishes was tender and succulent.  The teenagers enjoyed the Crispy Duck which they smothered with the sauce, but we found the taste a little bland. The waiter suggested a plate of vegetables which my husband particularly enjoyed, in that the vegetables were perfectly cooked, crispy and a good combination of carrots, beans, broccoli and cauliflower.  The rest of us were not so good about eating our vegetables with all the other competition, personally I would have ordered the vegetables with the meat or perhaps noodles next time. The Spicy Rice was a perfect combination to balance the meat dishes. 

My husband was impressed that they offered most imported beer such as Hansas at the same price as the local beers. There is also filtered water available which was very welcome.  We were replete at the end of this feast but the teenagers were still ready to soldier on, so we just tried a mouthful of their deserts.  The poor waiter was looking a bit exhausted at this stage and said that the pan grilled bananas would just take too long, as my husband had been champing at the bit whenever he had to wait for anything.  The waiter was clearly overstretched that night because of the sheer number of patrons!  To be fair to my husband, he had just driven us back from Mozambique the day before and was looking forward to surrounding himself with wall to wall football after the meal.  The crunchy bow ties and ice cream were a great hit with my daughter, and were pronounced to be ‘yummy,’  my son enjoyed the lychees and ice cream which were a refreshing finish to the meal. 

I must say I was rather surprised that my daughter was so adventurous since she is often quite a picky eater but she just seemed to relish the whole experience. Even very young children seemed to enjoy tasting little bits of this and that and the fact that one does not have to order separately for the children makes it very good value for money.  We noticed the swings and slides outside were very popular with the young ones, which again added to the appeal for large family groups. The Great Wall is an ideal place to take the whole family for a treat, and save for one major area of weakness, this restaurant would have pipped a 4 Plate rating; the toilets were awful!  Restaurants neglect these at their peril, for little can spoil a great eating experience more, than unpleasant bathroom facilities.  Great Wall should attend to this right away.
Speciality Restaurant
3 Plates
Expect to Spend $15 to $20 per head

Great Wall re-opens, lackluster experience (2010)
Gone are the days when Harare boasted only two Chinese Restaurants, there are now at least 6 Chinese Restaurants in the Northern suburbs, many Chinese shops and shoppers and dare I mention it that awful pink-walled red-lanterned monstrosity along Kingsmead Road which has caused the less flamboyant residents much angst!

Of all cuisines, Chinese has adapted most to local palates which is probably a good thing for the more squeamish eaters amongst us! The Great Wall is one of the older establishments and had re-opened, after being rebuilt, 2 days previously when we went for lunch.  I didn’t worry about this too much as I hoped they had retained their old staff who would just produce the same food but under improved conditions.  Unusually, there wasn’t much sign of the traditional Chinese Red Lanterns or other decorations in the rather stark dining room, but we were greeted by a strong smell of Creosote from the timbers used to support the thatched roof. I don’t suppose there is anything that can be done about that but it might put the more olfactorily sensitive off their food.

Our reserved table was the one nearest the bar and staff entrance to the kitchen – the dirty glasses on the bar and general clearing up from last night going on round us prompted us to move to a more peaceful table away from the action!  Well it wasn’t all that peaceful, as the music was obtrusive and so distorted that we couldn’t tell if it was Chinese or for that matter anything else! At our request it was turned off…for a brief moment….and then turned on again!

Studying the menu was an entertainment in itself - there were many “flied” and “friede” (sic) dishes, and other less memorable spelling mistakes. The menu is comprehensive including, to our surprise, Lamb dishes as well as the more usual Beef, Pork, Fish and Chicken options.  We decided against soup in favour of spring rolls ($3) and chicken satay ($4) for starters.  Both were disappointing – the Spring Rolls were mainly deep fried batter and the little filling there was, a cause for my companion to dissect hers in order to identify the offending taste – this, we concluded, was reheated cabbage, reminiscent of an institutional dining-room. The kebabs were overcooked and minuscule dried out pieces of chicken on a skewer sitting in peanut butter from which the oil had separated and presented, without any garnish on a plate.

As depression set in, I noticed that the diners at the table next to us were joyfully tucking into a sizzling plate of chicken. So we ordered the same ($6) for our main course, as well as sweet and sour pork ($6), a beef and bamboo shoot dish ($8) and vegetable chow mein ($3) on the premise that we would dip our chopsticks into all the dishes.  The chicken arrived first and was indeed the best dish of the day, as well as being enough to satisfy all three of us.  Unlike the satay, there were strips of succulent chicken, and unlike the spring rolls beautifully fresh and al dente vegetables all on a sizzling plate (though our plate wasn’t audibly sizzling, it was quite hot enough to prevent us from complaining!). The beef arrived wrapped in foil and when we opened it we were taken aback by the unpleasant smell caused by the same reheated vegetables as the Spring Rolls (broccoli, carrots, courgettes and cabbage) with the addition of bamboo shoots.  An undisputed failure was the sweet and sour pork, a large amount of deep fried batter with tasteless pork in the middle, interspersed with large hunks of raw tomato and a miniscule amount of red liquid which I suppose was tomato sauce and probably out of a bottle.

Undeterred by the large helpings of unfinished food on our table, we moved on to the sweets – “fried banana with or without cream” (sic) and “bow ties with cream”. There was no cream anyhow, so we opted for ice-cream.  My companion declared her bow ties – pastry with honey  - very pleasant, and after a wait of half an hour “while the chief changed the oil”, I cancelled my fried banana order.  We were by this time, out of time, so could not sample the coffee or green tea.

The waiters (amongst whom there were no Chinese) were friendly, the ambience relaxed, the wine list non-existent, the prices very reasonable for very large portions, and perhaps a few visits would equip the diner to order wisely - I would certainly return for the sizzling chicken.  And maybe they do need time to settle into their new premises so I may well return after some months and try again!  
Speciality Restaurant
2 Plates
Expect to Spend $15 to $20 per head

Eating out at the Great Wall - a Chinese Speciality Restaurant
It was a last minute decision to eat Chinese tonight – one of my favourite types of food.  We decided on The Great Wall in Avondale after a quick drink at a local Wine Bar.  I phoned and made a booking for 7 pm via the SMS networking system using the phone number given in The Cheeseman Restaurant Listing.  I received a reply back shortly afterwards confirming the booking.

We arrived promptly and parked at the back of the restaurant where there is plenty of space for vehicles and a couple of chaps whom I assume were security.  I see that there is a small Chinese shop with Chinese ingredients on sale in a small outside room to the left of the restaurant, which was still open for that last minute shopper. Their prices are quite reasonable.

We entered the restaurant and had to wait for a while for a waiter to approach and lead us to our table. There were quite a few diners present for a Tuesday night.  The ambience of the restaurant tends to be rather bland, with a barn like appearance and gives one the impression of quick, fast dining as opposed to opulent slow relaxed dining.  I suppose “bums/bottoms on seats” these days seems to be the direction towards which quite a few of our restaurants are heading.  The waiters are obviously used to the quick turn over of patrons and promptly served us with menus and took our drinks order.  I asked for a wine list – however I must add that wine is not really a Chinese specialty and therefore plays a minimal role in a Chinese eatery. If I am correct, the Chinese are better known for their Chinese Green Tea that aids digestion, Sake, and lovely cold beers (only local not the delicious Chinese/Thai Beers unfortunately) for the thirsty.  Getting back to the wine list, they do not have one, however they do have all of their wines on display so that you may go up and choose whichever one you decide upon.  They have both local and imported red and white wines  - a Theuniskraal Riesling for US$ 9 per bottle, a Robertson’s Pinotage at US$ 15 per bottle and so forth.. Quite pricy, I thought, and so decided against wine for that evening with our dinner.  We settled for a soft drink at US $ 1.50 and a whisky and soda for US$ 4.00.

The menu is broken down into sections - Soups, Starters – prices range from US$ 3 to US$ 5, Mains – which are then broken down into Categories – Beef, Chicken, Lamb, Pork, Fish and Vegetarian – prices range from US$ 8 to US$ 12 - with another section with Noodles, Vegetables and Rice.  Of course desserts follow at the end.

The starters are varied, and the main courses are variations of the main protein ingredients.  I always tend to think that if you are Chinese as opposed to Western you stand a much better chance of having a truly authentic Chinese meal.  It would be nice to be asked if that is what you prefer, with given explanations over the obviously more westernised Chinese meal that we always seem to find in our local Chinese restaurants. Just imagine how “Specialised” the restaurant would then be!  As locals, we tend to be on the ignorant side of “correct” Chinese dining etiquette.  I personally would love to learn.

I ordered the Deep Fried Wontons that were filled with minced beef and came with a Dipping Sauce - both a bit on the bland side I thought.  My partner ordered the Spicy Fried Chicken Wings, that although plentiful and nicely cooked, were again on the bland side with none of the expected “spicy” bite to them.  

Our main courses consisted of the Beef Fire Pot, again not all that Fiery (by now you must know that I have a chilli fanatic on my hands!) and a Chicken in Oyster Sauce dish with the Spicy Fried Rice and Soft Noodles. I asked for Green Peppers in the Chicken dish and although was told that I could have them, the dish came without.  However it was still tasty and very nicely cooked.  I do enjoy the way the vegetables are cooked in a Chinese Restaurant; they are always “al dente” as only vegetables should be.  The rice and the noodles were stone cold unfortunately, and had to be sent back.  It took quite a while for the dishes to be returned, reheated, to our table.  By then, we had consumed a fair amount of our main dishes.  The dishes are always plentiful and I find that one ends up taking “leftovers” home even when one is trying to be frugal in one’s ordering. 

I will say one thing – there is always dessert on offer at this Chinese restaurant, a course that is often left wanting on other local menus.  I order the Deep Fried Banana and Ice Cream – it was delicious, the batter was extremely light and crispy (similar to a tempura batter) with the banana soft and succulent inside and syrup drizzled over the top.  The ice cream finished the dish, and the presentation improved it.

Admittedly The Great Wall as a local Restaurant has proved to be extremely popular with both our local and diplomatic public over the past few years.  It is easy on the eye and easy on the pocket in this era of real monetary terms.
Speciality Restaurant
2 Plates
Expect to spend $15 to $25 per head

 

Great Wall 2008
Arriving at the Great Wall in Avondale, I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of parking, though walking into the restaurant is a little under-whelming.  Their décor doesn't strike one as being
particularly well thought out, unusual, or Chinese-themed.  Rather bland really.  Well never mind, let's have a seat and see what the experience itself is like!  We were very pleasantly greeted and seated quickly.

There are a vast number of interesting sounding options on this menu.  At length, we opted for Spring Rolls for starters and our mains were Fried Beef in Black Bean Sauce and Peking Duck, the latter suggested by our waiter, who was quick with our drinks orders.  It looked like we were really going to enjoy ourselves.  The waiting staff were all friendly and quick to respond.

Our starters arrived late, cold, and at the same time as the main courses - but were still delicious, and all in all, the quality of the food itself at the Great Wall is excellent.  I really have to take my hat of to the chefs and congratulate them on a fantastic job well done.  All the way through, our table waiter kept checking up on us, except, ironically, when our glasses were actually empty!  The wine list is reasonable, but I would perhaps take my own wine if I were really fussy.  Being the happy uncultured oaf that I am, I left the choice to my partner, who ordered a merlot - which was very nice.

After the meal was done the bill arrived rapidly when we asked for it, and change was not a problem either.  We stayed for a few more drinks - but unfortunately the bar closed before we were ready to leave.

All in all, we really enjoyed the Great Wall experience.  The décor is lacking compared to other Chinese restaurants and the late starters were an unusual confusion.  The excellent food more than makes up for any slights and transgressions and I would heartily recommend the Great Wall based on the quality of their servings.  The staff are polite and friendly and wished us well on our journey home.  The meal and drinks seemed a little on the pricey side, but all told, reasonable enough given this enjoyable dining experience.  This is most definitely a 3 plates restaurant, and bordering on four if the décor was re-done in a strongly Chinese theme.
Speciality Restaurant
3 Plates