In the beautiful area of Swansea Marina, Gigi Gao's Chinese restaurant promises customers a meal like no other. Here, the chefs specialise in serving the lesser-known delicacies of Northern Chinese cuisine, offering customers an authentic dining experience from the moment that they step through the doors. Every aspect of the service at Gigi Gao’s restaurant is carefully thought out, from the elegant traditional Chinese attire worn by the servers to the handcrafted tablecloths and bespoke cutlery. The decor is beautiful and scattered paintings depict traditional Chinese characters and stories, setting the stage for something special. Gigi Gao's founders were inspired by a lack of real Chinese food in the Swansea area, and they wanted to create a truly authentic experience. Although the restaurant is small, there is a wonderful atmosphere, with plenty of unique dishes that keep customers coming back for more.
Gong bao dishes, which are often known as kung po, are derived from South Western China and have been one of the restaurant's most popular dishes for some time. The meat is perfectly paired with crispy peanuts, cucumber, carrots, onions and a sweet and spicy sauce. The lazy dishes are also a popular Sichuan dry dish, with mildly spicy, deep fried meat and vegetables using fresh chilli and sesame. Griddled dishes, like the calamari, duck and cauliflower, are mildly spicy and cooked with crunchy mushroom, beancurd sticks, onions and carrots, whilst yuxiang dishes are a mixture of Chinese cuisine, which the restaurant says are widely popular with most Chinese people. Other classics like satay, curry, sweet and sour, lemon chicken, fried rice and tofu are also on the menu, so there really is something for everybody's taste.