Mr. Chan in Poole

stopped off here for late night food after out with friends. you know how it is you see a place looks half decent so give it a try.......... not sure who was working that night but food was quite cold and very tough even after a few drinks! Maybe it was a bad night but would advise to skip this place if after something bit more decent

Now known as Gourmet Wok, but with the same management as when it was Man Han, this restaurant has half a dozen tables that they reckon can seat up to 40 people in total. Although they do an a la carte menu, the best deal is to go for their "buffet" - in reality more of a set menu and a cut down down version of the main menu. The buffet consists of a choice of six starters plus two soups, duck pancakes, and then a wide choice of mains. The two soups are chicken & sweetcorn or hot & sour - nothing unusual here, though the hot and sour was quite sour! The other starters include smoked chicken strips, chicken satay, breaded broccoli, spring rolls, onion rings and spare ribs. The chicken dishes were good. for the next course, The duck with pancakes were fine - two pancakes per person, and the only menu option you can't ask for more. For the mains, you select from about a dozen sauces and choice of six meats/vegetarian. They are OK rather than exceptional, and come with your choice of boiled or fried rice. If the takeaway is busy, this can slow down the cooking on the buffet, so meals can be quite extended. Service is always very friendly and willing though. There's a limited range of drinks; beers are from large cans, not draught. Chinese tea is quite black and strong, but comes in a pot that's willingly refilled. Overall the food is acceptable (slightly old fashioned English Chinese) rather than outstanding; the service if friendly but can be very slow, but the value is good.

Man Han open in late 2015 and offers reasonably priced Chinese food as a takeaway, or as a cooked to order "buffet" for a fixed price. I have been there a couple of times recently on visits to Poole and find it offers much better value than similar Chinese takeaways in my home town in central England. The food is standard Chinese fare, but you order most dishes by selecting the meat required (Chicken, pork, duck, steak, beef or king prawn) and then choosing one of up to 18 sauces; in addition there are chow mein, foo young, chop suey and curry dishes, as well as the usual range of soups and starters. This makes for a vast range of possible dishes. As with all Chinese food it's cooked to order; the first time it came quickly but on the second visit there was a slight delay. I have not eaten the "buffet", for which there are about 4 tables only, but from observation while waiting to collect a takeaway it looks to be a good sit in option.