Tag Archives: Yauatcha

Where To Go For Valentine’s Day

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where to go for Valentine's day, London, restaurants, Valentine's day, romantic, food,
Hakkasan

Romantic and stylish. You can’t go wrong with Hakkasan. It is decadent and romantic.

Read our Hakkasan review. 

 

Gaucho Sloane

Argentinean and with a reputation that precedes it. The steak is amazing and the waiters really know there stuff. The Mojito mocktail tastes just like the real thing.

Read our Gaucho review. 

 

Yauatcha

Their food is out of this world. I would eat here everyday not just for the food, but also the atmosphere. Perfect for Valentine’s Day, and they also have an amazing patisserie. Buy up everything for the one you love.

Read our Yauatcha review. 

 

Charlotte’s Bistro

Just brilliant food. Their gin soaked salmon was one of the best starters I have ever had in my life. They also do amazing cocktails and have a Gin School. Yes, a Gin School. Sign me up.

Read our Charlotte’s Bistro review.

 

Cinnamon Soho

Quite possibly the best Indian food in London. Reasonably priced and the food looks great too. Their house white is superb.

Read our Cinnamon Soho review. 

 

Bob Bob Ricard

Deserves a mention for their ‘Press here for champagne’ button alone. Incredibly stylish and the waiters look great in their pink waistcoats. Their sea bass is just brilliant.

 

Gillray’s Steakhouse & Bar

It has a wonderful location on the South Bank. Great view, amazing steak and brilliant cocktails. You couldn’t ask for much more.

Gillray’s Steakhouse & Bar review

 

Don’t know what to buy your love for Valentine’s Day? Check out our Valentine’s Day gift guide.

 

 

 

Yauatcha Restaurant Review | Celebrating 10 Years

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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.

Yauatcha Yauatchamacaroons

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.

Yauatcha10anniversary Yauatchadimsum Yauatchareview

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.

Yauatchadessert Yauatchareviewlondon Yauatchafood

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.

Yauatchapatisserie Yauatchacocktails

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

 

 

Yauatcha Restaurant Review

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Yauatcha, for a restaurant that is so sophisticated and good-looking, actually makes you feel at home. There is something relaxing about it, rare for a Michelin-starred restaurant. My friend and I both felt like we could eat here four night a week. Another good sign is that the restaurant is heaving (it’s Tuesday, so not bad) and some of the diners are Chinese, which is always a good sign when eating in a Chinese restaurant.

The menu has a very good selection with plenty of choice. There is a good selection of drinks too.

To Start:

Lobster dumpling with tobiko caviar with ginger and shallot

lobstercaviarThis was decadent and wonderful. The lobster was excellent with great texture, firm and fresh along with a subtle hint of ginger all through the dim sum that really works, along with shallot. The caviar is sprinkled on top. This is top class dim sum. Everything just works together beautifully.

King Crab dumpling

crabdimsumThe crab is delicious with a great texture. The crab meat is excellent. This dim sum is beautifully made. It has superb seasoning and great use of herbs including chive.

Main

Pork belly with salted fish in claypot

YauatcharestaurantReview1

The pork belly is tender and delicious. It comes with mushroom and salted fish. It is very good but beware: it’s spicy and has a kick.

We had egg fried rice with our main. There was a few different ingredients you could choose to have in the egg fried rice and we choose asparagus. Jasmine and scallops were the other options I believe. It is delicate with well balanced flavours. Nothing overpowers but it has loads of flavour. You may have had egg fried rice in a restaurant before, or from a takeaway, but it certainly would not compare to this. It is what egg fried rice should be, fresh, clean, tasty; just very yummy.

Stir-fry Scallop With Lotus Root

scallopsI am a huge fan of scallops and this dish is particularly unique. It comes with lotus flower and spring onion. It’s a very good dish with a generous helping of firm and fresh scallops.

Black Bean Beef

YauatchaRestaurantReviewGreat and fresh black bean sauce, great beef as well, very tender and the vegetables all have great taste and texture.

Drinks

Strawberry and vanilla iced tea
strawberry, vanilla sugar, orange juice and jasmine tea

mocktailAn excellent mocktail. Amazing and superb non alcoholic cocktail. Beautifully balanced and remarkably delicate. It has a gentle sweetness. It is incredibly fresh and refreshing. Has plenty of ice and is pure pleasure

Hakka
Belvedere vodka, Akashi-Tai sake, lychee, lime, coconut and passion fruit

cocktailThis was an amazing cocktail. Refreshing, sweet and creamy. Very unique.

Glass of Rose

rosewineVery good rose. Not too sweet.

Peach and guava smoothie
peach, guava, banana, cinnamon and oolong tea

Really good. Nice mix.

chinesedessert Yauatcha Restaurant Review Yauatchadessert YauatchaRestaurantReviewdessert1Dessert was an Orange Mille feuille; it looked amazing and tasted just as good. An amazing looking puddings with apricot
orange and vanilla. A wonderful combination. Had perfect pastry and enough moisture from the satsuma and ice cream.

We also had a Mont Blanc; which was chocolate heaven with almonds and ice-cream. A superb dessert.

There was a lot of other amazing desserts on offer. We will have to go back.

Yauatcha will be offering a special limited edition Chinese New Year menu between 30th January to 14th February, including Golden cuttlefish roll; Pork belly with salted fish in claypot and Jasmine honey dessert with mandarin and sesame.

Address

15-17 Broadwick Street.
Soho, London, W1F 0DL
+44 (0) 20 7494 8888

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Fashion Meets Food As Yauatcha & Harvey Nichols Team Up for Chinese New Year

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This February sees a unique twist on Chinese New Year with an exclusive collaboration between Michelin-starred Chinese dim sum teahouse Yauatcha, by the internationally acclaimed Hakkasan group, and global luxury fashion destination Harvey Nichols. Renowned for their fantastical and elaborate store windows, the Harvey Nichols visual display team have designed a spectacular one-off window display, to be exhibited at Yauatcha in Soho from 20th January to 10th February.

chinesenewyear

Inspired by the Chinese tradition of spreading luck by gifting friends and family red envelopes containing money, Yauatcha and Harvey Nichols designed the display to capture the essence and ethos of Chinese New Year, the most auspicious date in the Chinese calendar. As 2014 is the Year of the Horse, the creation focuses around a large red origami-style Perspex horse jumping into the front window, with a flowing mane and tail brought to life with almost 1,000 bright red folded envelopes, hand made by luxury paper merchant GFSmith. The window display will extend back into the restaurant, with red paper envelopes flying from the horse and forming patterns in the air above and around guests. Smaller origami horses will also appear along the front and side windows.

 

Throughout the collaboration each guest at Yauatcha will receive a red envelope containing vouchers for fashion and beauty treats, along with a bespoke Chinese New Year cocktail created by the Yauatcha and Harvey Nichols bar managers and available at the Fifth Floor Bar. During the campaign eight special golden tickets will be given to guests at random, containing lavish prizes such as meals and cocktail masterclasses at Yauatcha and makeovers at Harvey Nichols.

 

In addition, Hakkasan group’s Executive Pastry Chef Graham Hornigold has created bespoke macarons and petits gateaux, which will be added to the existing array of award-winning desserts, macarons and handmade chocolates. The limited edition flavours include:

 

Red Macarons depicting the Chinese character for the Year of the Horse, filled with mandarin ganache and mandarin pâte de fruit. Mandarins are traditionally given at Chinese New Year, and symbolise luck and fortune.

Red Petits Gateaux in the shape of a traditional Chinese New Year lantern, depicting the Chinese character for the Year of the Horse. A jasmine mousse filled with a honey panna cotta centre, with caramelised mandarins and sesame brittle. The mandarins symbolise luck and fortune, the sesame seeds fertility.

 

Price: Macarons – £1.60 each, £9 per 6 pieces, £18 per 12 pieces. Petits gateaux – £5.90 (retail), £8.50 (a la carte).

Guests at Yauatcha on the afternoon of Sunday 2nd February will view the spectacle of the traditional Chinese dragon dance, with the raucous theatrical procession of the dragon visiting every table with its colourful and noisy celebratory performance.