First of all, leaving for Guangzhou, I was really excited about having my going away party in Aimo town. I made a reservation, but they put down the wrong date, and admitted this after first lying about us not reserving it. Afterwards, we had to eat outside because the top floor was packed.

We eventually ate outside in the freezing cold and as two more friends came back, they complained about having too many people. Then, they served all of the food at one table and half the table didnt get enough food.

They complained about having to serve us after making a mistake and didn't offer any way of fixing it, or any renmumeration. I give them an F.

I can understand gripes about the service. First time I went, it was 3 in the afternoon and the fu seemed pissed that we were interrupting her xiuxi.

But, we liked the food. The fried fish, minty leaves, potato rice, and yunnanese ham and peppers were all lip-smacking good (though yes, a bit on the salty side). Air pot chicken soup (qiguo jitang) was delicioussss: clean clear broth, amazing chicken flavor (but inconsistent...other times i've had it have not been quite so perfect, sometimes too cloudy, sometimes way too salty).

Sad thing is, our grumpy fu told us they were out of those glorious fried rice gratin things, then we watched her bring out a bucket to the table next to us. Not ok.

But luckily, the couple who got the bucket were super nice and encouraged us to try some of theirs. Those light crispy rice things pretty much sealed my next visit. I then went through a period of a few weeks where every time I was sorta in the vicinity of Fangjia hutong, I'd convince people to go there. And everyone we've brought has loved it.

Of course, if it's ever made you sick, that's reason enough to not like it, but it hasn't happened to me.

Everybody make sure to wash your hands before you eat? :P

Last night me and a group of friends visited this restaurant. The interior is nice, the waitresses are ... ok (we were there on a slow night and the attitude of the waitress serving us was not the best, can just imagine what it would be like on a busy night). The good thing about the food is that it arrived quickly, but just not as quickly as it passed through our systems though.

All 6 of us are still suffering the aftermaths of the food, I cannot recommend this place.

Though I have to say I really enjoyed the potato bing (kind of hash browns).

I've been to Aimo Town twice now, and on my second visit the place was packed to the point where we had to wait for around 20 minutes for a table.

On the plus side this place has a great atmosphere, with a cosy timber decor and lots of folksy-style handicrafts and pictures on the walls, mixed in with the odd poster of Mao. The staff are very friendly and accommodating, and the food is really cheap.

On the down side, some of the dishes are very heavy on the salt, to the point where I was put off finishing some of them.

The mint salad is excellent though, as is the dry beef rice noodle dish.

A word of warning - the menu features pictures, but no English or pinyin, and the staff don't speak English. So if you don't speak any Chinese best to go with a local friend.