The Sidings in Midlothian

Absolutely hands down the best curry you will get!

Great little pub free juke box on a Friday night and Saturday is karaoke. Food is good staff are all nice I would definitely recommend this place 100%

On Friday night I made an online order of 5 items through Just Eat to collect. On getting home I discovered only 3 of the 5 items were in the bag. Called to try and sort out and was promised a call back in a few seconds. Got the call back in 30 minutes. Didn’t offer to deliver but offered a refund on missing items which I refused and said I thought a full refund would be more in order. Was told only Nico could authorise but he wasn’t in and would call me next day. Nico didn’t call on the Saturday so I phoned to be told he’d been in but had now left and would call me on Sunday. No call back on Sunday. What a poor way to run a business. Won’t be using this place again and neither will anyone I’ve told.

So many places don’t do lemon chicken ‘right’ anymore- it’s always bright red, way too sweet and syrupy. However, I took a chance on Friendly’s as I’ve never been before, the place is very small and unassuming, but the menu is huge and the price of the ‘Happy meal deal’ was impressive. Only eleven pounds and two pound delivery. That gets you a main, and one or two sides depending what you choose. I got the lemon chicken, which was outstanding and the way that I remember Chinese lemon chicken from my childhood. A pale yellow (almost translucent) sauce with plenty of zing, not too sweet or bitter. The chicken was lovely, no fat or gristle. It wasn’t overloaded with sauce either, but there was enough ‘spare’ for dipping. I also chose vegetable spring rolls and egg fried rice. The spring rolls were great- I don’t normally like larger spring rolls but these hit the spot, even cold the next day. The rice was kind of standard, and a large portion, but I think I might try the chips next time as I felt like when the rice had been delivered and cooled down slightly, it went a bit claggy. However, this is the case with most rice from a takeaway Chinese. The happy meal deal is full size portions, they don’t skimp on it just because you’re buying the deal. You will need cash if they deliver, and you need to order over the phone as they have no presence online. This wasn’t an issue in my case this time as I had cash, but if I planned to order again I would need to make a trip out to the local ATM. Not sure if they take card if you pickup in store, as I’ve not done that before. The food was here in less than fifteen minutes, super quick. The woman on the phone and the guy delivering were friendly. I tipped the delivery guy however there was no pressure to do so. This is the best Chinese I’ve had in 16 years of living in Scotland, and after the lemon chicken I had tonight I don’t think I’d ever go anywhere else. £13 including delivery is cheaper than you’d pay in the shop for a 3 piece ready meal. 5*****

Loved this place, but the munchie box is now terrible. The chips are soggy, defo not salt and pepper everything is bland. need the sauce to add any flavor. Definitely going downhill. Will be looking elsewhere from now on