With a rainbow of macaron’s elegantly displayed in the restaurant window, Yauatcha immediately catches your eye and invites you in to sample the patisserie-come- Chinese dishes.
We were led downstairs to the basement by a lady in red, where we were pleasantly surprised by the buzz of diners, faces lit by the centre-piece of the room – the horizontal fish tank running the length of the bar.
We were greeted by numerous servers and told that as part of Yauatcha’s 10th anniversary in Soho, we would be served secret off-menu items which would only be disclosed once the dishes came to our table.
The first dishes arrived in steaming bamboo baskets; a trilogy of dumplings and a prawn and bean curd cheung fun saddled our table too.
The wild fungus and pomegranate dumpling was squidgy and earthy and the fruit seed added a pleasant drop of sweetness to the palette.
Not being a huge fan of lychee, nonetheless, the flakes of the scallop puff oozed with freshness as the dry texture of pastry was drenched with the juices of the tropical grape-like fruit.
Unusually green, the seared spicy lamb and fig was the last dumpling to pass my lips. The meaty flavour of lamb was subtly mixed with the sweeter fig flavour, creating a unique explosion of flavours.
But the real moment of heaven was with the prawn and bean curd cheung fun drizzled in soy sauce.
A firm favourite with Yauatcha diners, it’s easy to see why. Encased in a soft pasta-like shell (the bean curd), it protectively lined the plump, slightly salty prawns and contrasted with the crispy fragments separating the different textures.
For mains, we shared the Kung pao chicken with cashew nut and stir fry rib eye beef in black bean sauce.
The beef sauce gently pricked our throats with spice as we edged closer to the bottom of the plate. The peppers were crispy and charred with a smoky flavour and the chicken was tender with hints of garlic and onion.
For dessert, my partner opted for the cheesecake with lemon, blueberry and graham cracker which was impressively stacked and burst with zesty tangs of citrus.
I plumped for the apricot chocolate, jaconde sponge, curd, chocolate cremaux and chiboust. Again it was impeccably presented and the sweet chocolate and apricot was interspersed with spoonfuls of refreshing sour sorbet.
We spent a pleasant evening at Yauatcha, part of the Hakkasan group which includes HKK in Shoreditch, and I loved the unique way dishes were served. The waiting staff are composed of commis in black uniform and serving staff in white.
The commis carry the dishes to the table and the serving staff quickly appear by their side ready to present each plate with a complete description to the diner. To me, this seemed like an eloquent game of chess; each time black edged towards the target, the white pawn would quickly follow suit.
My only niggle is the seating; after a few hours sitting on the uber-funky but backless sofa, I did feel like I needed a bit more support, but overall, a fantastic experience.
Next time we’ll be nipping in for macarons and a cocktail, turning the Chinese dining experience into a modern European affair in Soho.
15-17 Broadwick Street, London, W1F 0DL. Email reservations@yauatcha.com