I love dim sum. When we were in Asia, I was delighted to see various steamed, fried and baked dumplings, buns and rolls on offer for breakfast at most of the hotels we stayed at so - when in Rome - we had breakfast the Chinese way most days. Last weekend I headed over to Liverpool Street to visit one of the best places in London for dim sum: Yauatcha City. After the success of the Michelin-starred Soho restaurant launched in 2004 by Alan Yau, this second all-day branch was opened last year and offers a Supreme Saturdays set menu serving contemporary, signature and classic dim sum created by Head Chef Tong Chee Hwee alongside cocktails every Saturday afternoon.
We started with a pre-lunch cocktail (lychee martini for me, negroni for him) before a fried dim sum platter was served with a venison puff, crispy lobster roll, sesame prawn toast and a delicious mushroom spring roll. We chose a bottle of Sylvaner Sylvacello: a dry, mineral Alsace wine with a peculiar label but great taste, which was shortly followed by a selection of five steamed dim sum in steamer baskets: a crystal dumpling wrap with pumpkin and pine nuts, pork and prawn shui mai, har gau (my favourite), black pepper and wagyu beef dumpling, a vegetable and truffle wrap and a wild mushroom dumpling.
For the main dish, we shared the foie gras diced beef with a side of jasmine steamed rice and a lobster vermicelli hotpot with pak choi cooked in oyster sauce (which I also ate everyday in Asia: simple, crunchy, healthy and delicious). The portion sizes are excellent value for money, as we couldn't finish the mains. For dessert, he chose the chocolate bauble with a brownie, caramelised white chocolate and a fantastic crème fraîche sorbet and I went for the selection of four macarons, tempted by the rainbow display created by the Yauatcha Patisserie - the tart summer fruit mascarpone macaron and creamy hazelnut praline filled with ganache were both excellent - and an espresso martini before heading outside for drinks on the terrace under the (faux) cherry blossom trees. It's a great place for a long, lazy weekend lunch and I'll definitely be back.
For the main dish, we shared the foie gras diced beef with a side of jasmine steamed rice and a lobster vermicelli hotpot with pak choi cooked in oyster sauce (which I also ate everyday in Asia: simple, crunchy, healthy and delicious). The portion sizes are excellent value for money, as we couldn't finish the mains. For dessert, he chose the chocolate bauble with a brownie, caramelised white chocolate and a fantastic crème fraîche sorbet and I went for the selection of four macarons, tempted by the rainbow display created by the Yauatcha Patisserie - the tart summer fruit mascarpone macaron and creamy hazelnut praline filled with ganache were both excellent - and an espresso martini before heading outside for drinks on the terrace under the (faux) cherry blossom trees. It's a great place for a long, lazy weekend lunch and I'll definitely be back.
Yauatcha City, Broadgate Circle, London, EC2M 2QS
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