Forget rushed dim sum – for £49 each, you and a companion can spend a leisurely Saturday afternoon sampling divine cocktails, wine and the very best Chinese London has to offer.
Chinatown in London’s West End is good, yes, but fans of Chinese food know that Yauatcha is better. The food is full of all the flavours you expect of Chinese food, only here it’s more refined. This, combined with its stunning cocktails and exquisite desserts, mean it’s not hard to understand why Yauatcha has a core following of die-hard foodie fans. And now there’s a new and wonderful way to experience Yauatcha at Yauatcha City in Broadgate Circle – the Supreme Saturdays menu.
Sitting on the first floor of the ultra-tendy Broadgate Circus complex, you will begin with pre-lunch cocktails – and be warned, you have to pace yourself: there is a lot of drink to come. I chose the Thea martini and it was beautifully refreshing. Thereafter, you just have to choose a main course – the rest is brought to you as a fait accompli. First of all, there’s a selection of four fried dim sum each – we’re talking the best ever sesame prawn toast (this is not made with value white bread), lobster roll, mushroom spring roll and a venison puff. The sizes are slightly bigger than your average dim sum pieces, and these are followed by six more dim sum pieces each, steamed this time. There is the classic pork and prawn shui mai (although this is an outstanding version of this traditional version) – and then there’s the crystal dumpling wrap with pumpkin with pine nut, which I doubt you will ever see on a menu in any Chinatown. The vegetable and truffle wrap is a real wow, as is the black pepper and wagyu beef dumpling
Now that your cocktail may have run dry, you will be sipping on the half bottle of wine that comes as part of your meal – it”s really very good. And at this point, feeling a little drenched by alcohol, I ordered a non-alcoholic cocktail that I strongly recommend: cucumber, lime and jasmin tea. Light and breezy, I will now have trouble drinking jasmin tea any other way.
For the main courses we chose truffle pork belly rib and lobster vermicelli pot. The belly rib, pictured above, is the softest, most succulent belly rib I’ve tasted yet, and is beautifully flavoured. Feeling very full now, I was only able to sample a little of the lobster but I can tell you that it was superbly fresh and very, very good.
It was necessary to take a break before dessert, but when we finally mustered the strength to order (you can choose any dessert you like from the main menu), we found ourselves quite excited and, strange to relate, ready to eat on. I chose the pomegranate yoghurt which was gorgeous – a fabulous combination of flavours and textures. My partner went for the passion fruit mango dome – a work of art with an edible Yauatcha label, it was velvety and supremely fruity.
We finished up with post lunch cocktails – you can choose from a Manhattan, an amaretto sour or an expresso martini. I went for the martini and it was a perfect finale to a perfect meal.