The Magnum Restaurant Review Edinburgh

Posted on January 7, 2015 by Melissa Volpi

The Magnum restaurant’s dining room glitters like gold. There are rows of fairy lights draped across each street facing window and magnum sized bottles of champagne decorating every shelf.

This is a room full of unexpected surprises – especially after walking through a rather dingy bar to get to it. The restaurant’s atmosphere is quiet and intimate. There is plenty of space between each table, making it the perfect venue for a private candlelit meal.

Our well-spoken waitress sits us at a table for two in one corner of this room. We have a window to our right, which overlooks Albany Street (where this restaurant is located) and a view of the dining room bar to our left.

The dining room bar is very different to the main bar that you have to walk through en-route to this small restaurant… there are no punters propping up the bar here, just the bar staff preparing drinks.

The table settings are relaxed (two sets of cutlery, side plates and paper napkins) and the restaurant and bar menu is urban chic – it’s a folding wooden menu.

There are five starters on the menu and all are under £7.00. There is homemade soup of the day, one game dish, two fish dishes and a vegetarian option. The gazpacho topped with hand picked Scottish crab, avocado cream, pepper brunoise and baby tomato finished with olive oil tempts both my partner and I. But, as crab meat can sometimes be a little overpowering for us, we decide on the carpaccio of spice rubbed duck and the Scottish smoked salmon with warm dill pancakes.

On scanning the wine list, we come across this quote: “Wine is bottled poetry” by Robert Louis Stevenson. I quite agree and order a bottle of the house white for us to try. My rule when dining out is this… if a restaurant has good quality house wine, then you know it is a good restaurant.

Starters

When our waitress places our duck and salmon starters in front of us, my partner and I both look at each other and smile. It is not just the dining room that is full of unexpected surprises at The Magnum, it is the food too. We were both expecting pub style food – something hearty that tastes nice more than looks nice. But, the presentation of both these starters is superb. It’s not fine dining, but it is colourful and creative.

My carpaccio of spice rubbed duck is laid out on the plate like a bicycle wheel. The long, lightly pink fingers of duck stretch outwards like spokes from the Romanesco floret, fennel and baby leaf centre and the small circular drops of burnt orange syrup between each piece of duck resemble the nuts and bolts.

I cut a mouthful of duck and dip it into the syrup. It is exceptionally thin, just as carpaccio should be, and has a delicate texture. It melts in my mouth, leaving a pleasant sweet and sour aftertaste.

My partner’s salmon looks festive, reminding me of a Christmas cracker. A rectangle shaped handful of lambs leaf is secured between two half moon shaped smoked salmon and dill pancakes. A mound of parsnip crisps on either side of the salmon remind me of the ends of a cracker, making me want to pull them.

My partner dips a piece of salmon into the accompanying horseradish cream and nods his head in appreciation.

Maincourse

Again, the maincourse menu offers five possibilities, ranging from £14.50 to £22.50.

We both stick to the same theme for our maincourses. My partner carries on the fish theme and orders the pan-fried sea trout with a chorizo, podded pea and saffron potato fricassee and a warm caper and tarragon dressing. And I carry on the game theme by ordering the seared venison haunch with soured cabbage, Montbeliard sausage, green beans, baked beetroot and rosemary jus.

Seared Venison Haunch

It’s hard to find good restaurants that offer seasonal game on the menu in Edinburgh. But, The Magnum is one of them.

I smell the seared venison haunch before I see it – there is an earthiness and a Scottishness about the smell that is truly unique. And the taste is equally as memorable. It feels like a heady mix of heather and moor has exploded in your mouth. We are what we eat, as the saying goes, and our red deer feast on the very best that the Scottish Highlands have to offer…

The presentation of this dish is spot on too. Three seared cuts of haunch rest on a bed of cabbage and green beans, and two thick chunks of sausage are marinating in the beetroot and rosemary jus that encircles this dish.

My partner’s sea trout rests on top of the chorizo, pea and potato fricassee mix. It looks colourful and is just as rustic as my venison dish. The portions are substantial here, but my partner’s plate is empty within minutes – which is always a good sign.

We feel contentedly full, but order desserts’ anyway after reading that Cranachan cheesecake is on the menu. Cranachan is a traditional Scottish dessert containing oats, cream, whisky and raspberries. It’s normally served as a trifle, so it will be interesting to try it cheesecake style.

Dessert

The Cranachan cheesecake with red berry coulis and raspberry compote and the chocolate and macadamia nut pudding with chocolate sauce and white chocolate and rosemary ice cream look stunning on the plate. Both portions are small and simple. The Chef has let each dessert take centre stage and has only added as much condiment as is necessary, which makes a nice change. You feel that you are eating little works of art, rather than tucking into a diabetics nightmare.

The Cranachan cheesecake tastes like traditional Cranachan, but the addition of the shortbread base and the thick raspberry compote topping transform it into a modern master. The Chef has also used a few pieces of dried Scottish heather as decoration on the plate, which is not just noteworthy but poignant.

The chocolate and macadamia nut pudding with chocolate sauce is as decadent as it sounds. But the white chocolate and rosemary ice cream ice cream cancel out the American heritage of this dessert and give it a refined look and taste.

Our thoughts

The Magnum restaurant in Edinburgh is not a posh eatery. It is a relaxing and informal hidden gem that I am loath to publicize – only because I want it to retain its quiet, intimate charm.

The Chef uses local and seasonal produce and is not afraid to cook traditional Scottish dishes. He has cooked us a meal that is proud of its roots. One that uses the best of our resources. And one that fills us with comfort after a long day battling the cold.

The Magnum restaurant is one of only two game restaurants in Edinburgh that I would recommend. It is a restaurant for everyone. A place where you can breathe and sit back and not worry about what you’re wearing or how you look. It’s a place to go for good food. But then, I knew that at the beginning of our meal after sampling the house wine. My one restaurant rule has never failed me yet: if a restaurant has good quality house wine, then you know it is a good restaurant.

Contact details:

For reservations call: 0131 557 4366

The Magnum Bar and Restaurant is open 7 days.

Sunday to Thursday from 12 pm to 12 am

Friday to Saturday at 12 pm to 1 am

Website: http://www.themagnum.webeden.co.uk/

Ashton Kutcher On Dating, Food And The UK

Posted on January 2, 2015 by Frostie

Fans of new father and, possibly, newlywed Ashton Kutcher are in for a treat. Here he is on dating, food and the UK

Ashton on, dating

The biggest mistake people make on dates is that they try to be someone that they’re not and they try to sort of over perform and then they start to set expectations for relationships which they can’t keep up with over time, so I would say the best thing you can probably do is sort of be yourself and have enough self-humility to drive whatever car you have and go to whatever restaurant you can afford to go to and then just sort of depend on you, because you’re probably good enough.

Ashton on, Food

You know what’s surprising about the best food, is that it’s surprising where you find the best what; like the best Dim Sum I’ve ever had is in London, which is like weird right? I’ve been to Bejing – you’d think oh boy, they’re gonna have great Dim Sum? The best Dim Sum is in London; that’s like a weird thing. I love Italian food so Italy kind of has my heart there, I would say like the best overall cuisine, French in France has the best overall cuisine. The greatest variety of good food; I would say is in the United States of America.

Ashton on, the UK

Well you know I’ll tell you my favourite British food is fish and chips done well, and if it’s done well its exceptional and I’ve seen like a lot of variations on fish and chips that I think are interesting, but bad fish and chips…break up. It can be nasty.

Ashton Kutcher has been unveiled as the new Wrigley’s Extra brand ambassador. The new ad featuring Ashton will air from January 1st 2015 in the UK as well as 40 countries around the world. Are you a fan?

Two Star Twist On Christmas: The Square Restaurant Review

Posted on December 19, 2014 by Jane Cable

New Bond Street wins the battle of the Christmas lights, no question. Even a grey Thursday morning couldn’t dull the shimmer of silvery peacock feathers and they must look even more spectacular after dark. But we weren’t going to hang around to until nightfall – we were in London for lunch at a very special restaurant.

We discovered The Square in Bruton Street a couple of years ago. Chef patron Philip Howard had just won the fish course of The Great British Menu and we were entranced by his fresh, classic style of cookery. To be honest I was also entranced by his silver fox good looks… much like my own husband’s… and the fact we could actually afford to eat in his two Michelin star establishment in Mayfair.

That’s when you know a successful restaurant is all about the food. The set lunch in the run up to Christmas was £50 and I believe it’s still substantially less for the rest of the year. There are bottles of wine on the extensive list for under £30 (and over £1,000). Ours was £55 and a quite superb Barbera. The one tiny fly in the unctuous ointment of our visit was that the young lady sommelier tried to upsell us to one double the price. Last time we were at The Square the fantastic Egyptian master of the wine list had carefully price pointed the desert wine we chose to exactly the same area as the bottle we had ordered – and that was very impressive.

But the rest of the service was outstanding. Although the restaurant is dressed formally its staff have a twinkle of humour and fun about them which makes it anything but starchy. Plus you only have to glance in their direction (or less, but more of that later) and they glide, smiling, across to your table in an instant.

It being Christmas, we started with a glass of champagne and very soon our amuse bouche arrived; a tiny rounded glass of cauliflower puree topped with a crisp bacon and sage crumb, sharp cranberry flavours and sitting on a bed of turkey jelly. You hear chefs talking about balance and this was it – a perfect microcosm of Christmas dinner.

We opted for different starters. My better half went for the terrine of English partridge and foie gras with air dried pear, quince puree and mead jelly. He especially liked the idea of English partridge… we once went to a small restaurant in Brighton and he asked whether the partridge on the menu was English or French… and we were rather amused when the answer came back “chef says it’s from Sussex.” He didn’t seek to question the origin of The Square’s offering; he was too busy eating it.

I chose the lasagne of Dorset crab and scallop because its cappuccino of shellfish and champagne foam is one of The Square’s signature elements. It was rich and light at the same time, and a perfect accompaniment to the delicious minced crab, sandwiched between the thinnest layers of a rather brilliant green – presumably festive – pasta.

For the main course we both headed straight for the roast haunch of Windsor Park venison with beetroot and port puree, roast chervil root (not a tiny parsnip, oh husband mine) and smoked ham and potato galette. The meat was cooked rare and finely sliced over the galette (a simple but time-consuming way of raising the humble potato to a heavenly level) and a bed of shredded sprouts. It was cooked to perfection but the real star of the show was the beetroot puree; sweet, rich and such a vibrant colour, it brought the plate to life on both table and taste buds.

The menus were brought back to us and we discussed our choice of desert. A very brief discussion really; husband of course went for cheese and because I’m not keen on the Brillat-Savarin which constituted the cheesecake, I decided on the Christmas pudding soufflé with chestnut and macadamia nut brittle ice cream.

We were somewhat surprised to see the cheese trolley appear at our table before the waiting staff had taken our order. “You do want it, though, sir” our young French waiter insisted “And you’re having the Christmas pudding soufflé, madam.” The psychic approach is certainly taking service to new levels. He also seemed to instinctively know which cheese to select for my husband, having been given the lead that Epoisses was essential. A Waterloo from Hampshire (“Like our French camembert…”), a goat cheese from the Auvergne, a very high class Cheddar and a blue from Carmarthen before scraping out the last of the Epoisses box to leave a huge dollop on my husband’s plate. I swear I can still smell it now.

The cheese was whisked away to reappear a little while later with my Christmas pudding soufflé, which was served with the understated theatre of a ball of ice cream being dropped into it, followed by hot brandy sauce. It was sublime. Every element of a Christmas pudding was there; spices, peel, plump raisins, but wrapped up in a lightness which is unforgettable. If it hadn’t been for Colin McGurran’s langoustine terrine (Frost, August 2014) it would have easily been my dish of the year.

We ordered our coffee and as we waited there was another delightful treat in store as we were offered a clementine from a beautiful wooden trug. It was the perfect finish to a rich meal, and apart from a few simple wreaths in the restaurant windows, one of the few visible concessions to the festive season. As I said, at The Square – it’s all about the food.

To find out more about The Square, visit www.squarerestaurant.com.

Jane Cable, December 2014

Nipa Thai London

Posted on December 17, 2014 by Sarah Bacchus

Nipa Thai is one of the hidden gems of London. A fairly small and intimate setting with exceptional staff and decor.

Nipa (meaning pretty lady) is quite frankly amazing and has won the prestigious Thai Select award from the Thai Government for the highest standards of quality and fine food. There are only 14 other award holders in the whole of the UK, the equivalent of a Michelin star!

Once you have entered the hotel take the stairs up to the stunning terrace and enter the restaurant. We where lucky enough to visit when all the decorations where up and looking festive and pretty.

You will be welcomed with open arms when entering the restaurant by the most delightful and beautifully dressed staff.

The gorgeous menu will have you salivating and excited right from the start. We promise you wont be disappointed with any dish.

Once we had sat down the staff suggested some great wine to accompany our meal. We where treated to Vegetarian pad thai. Steamed sea bass with chilli and garlic sauce. Sweet and sour chicken along with sticky rice and a bowl of delicate jasmine infused plain rice.

The intimate ambiance of the entire restaurant will leave you feeling relaxed and totally satisfied. Further more the staff have to be the best in London. The food was mind blowing and we have been totally spoilt now due to the delicate and incredible flavours and textures of the sumptuous sea bass. The best we have ever had and we love our fish.

The pad thai was perfect and complimented both dishes so well. Crisp and delicate at the same time.

We then moved on to pudding….now this has to be said by the time we had eaten so much wonderful food I really didn’t think it would be possible to top the meal…Well I was wrong.

A hot clean towel to freshen up in between service.

Then feast your eyes on these babies below. Deep fried ice cream and a selection of tropical hand carved fruits. The highlight of the evening. Such talent in the cooking and presentation will have you gushing about this place for weeks once you have eaten here.

We leave you with this image and its safe to say it was the BOMB!!!

We give Nipa Thai 10/10. Make sure you plan a visit to this wonderful hidden oasis of flavours very soon.

Nipa Thai Restaurant Lancaster Terrace London W2 2TY T: 020 7551 6039 nipa@lancasterlondon.com

Opening hours: Mon-Sun: 5.00pm – 10.30pm.

Christmas, The Most Wasteful Time Of The Year?

Posted on December 15, 2014 by Frostie

Christmas is a time of joy but also a time of giving. Unfortunately, it is also a time of waste and this Christmas is set to be a wasteful one, as new research today reveals Brits will throw out 4.2 million Christmas dinners across the country, amounting to the equivalent of 17.2m Brussels sprouts, 263,000 turkeys and 740,000 Christmas puddings.

The poll of 2,000 adults by Unilever shows that while we spend hundreds of pounds catering for the big day – on average £112 is spent per host on food alone – nearly 10% of every dinner plate is thrown away once the Christmas festivities subside, equalling a whopping £64m of squandered food.

Typically, there are six of us around the Christmas dinner table and we’re expected to eat £18.60 worth of food each. It would take the average family nearly 4 days to eat all of their food bought just for Christmas Day.

As part of Project Sunlight #ClearAPlate campaign, aimed at showing that ‘food poverty’ and ‘food waste’ are issues closer to home than many of us think, the research exposes the excesses of the festive season, with 75% of people admitting to overspending on their Christmas Day shop, and having too much leftover food. We all know that Christmas is a time for giving and, through the campaign this year, Project Sunlight are asking people to give just a moment to plan their festive food and think about what goes into the trolley. We’re also asking that if you do buy too much, don’t forget to drop some tins into your local food bank to help those that need it.

20% of Brits admit to buying traditional Christmas food they don’t necessarily like to eat, resulting in the nation discarding literally millions of roast vegetables. The amount of neglected Brussels sprouts alone would fill 1,000 wheelie bins, and all the leftover carrots could reach from London to Munich, end-to-end. Astonishingly, Brits could even fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool with all of the wasted Christmas gravy!

Top 10 most thrown-away Christmas foods:

We throw away:

17.2m Brussels sprouts
11.9m carrots
11.3m roast potatoes
10.9m parsnips
9.8m cups of gravy
7.9m slices of turkey (approx. 263,000 turkeys)
7.9m cups of stuffing
7.5m mince pies
7.4m slices of Christmas pudding (approx. 740,000 Christmas puddings)
7.1m pigs in blankets

When it comes to the festive season it seems our eyes are bigger than our bellies, with one third of respondents admitting to serving themselves an excessive Christmas dinner that they can’t finish. Additionally, 36% of adults cite ‘getting caught up in the Christmas spirit’ as their excuse for buying too much food for the day.

Under 35s are the worst culprits for food wastage at Christmas, as they lash out spending more than the national average (15% spending up to £200), but confess to discarding 13% of their Christmas food shop.

Top 5 Christmas Leftover Recipes:

Best Ever Turkey Sandwich
Spiced Persian Turkey Soup
Marzipan Panettone Pudding
Bubble & Squeak
Turkey Meatloaf

The #ClearAPlate campaign pledges to provide an additional half a million meals to families in need through its partnership with Oxfam and calls on people to do their bit to address food waste, in order to help fight hunger.

People can show their support for the #ClearAPlate campaign through three simple steps:

CLEAR their plate of food and take a photograph
UPLOAD the image on their social media using #ClearAPlate to raise awareness of the issue
VISIT www.ProjectSunlight.co.uk to find out other ways to support the campaign, including donating meals or time to Oxfam. People can also find tips and advice on reducing food waste and clever recipe ideas

The Hidden Health Risks of a Nutrient Gap: Should You Be Taking Vitamins?

Posted on December 8, 2014 by Catherine Balavage

Late November I attended a very interesting event at The Ivy, Mind The Nutrient Gap: Hidden Health Risks. Apart from having lots of fun chatting to amazing journalists and eating an extraordinary lunch (I would not have expected anything less), I found out some interesting facts. many of which I found shocking. Leading dietitian Dr Carrie Ruxton, top nutrition specialist Miguel Toribio-Mateas, and regulatory expert TC Callis, all gave excellent talks and revealed exclusive research into the growing and hidden nutritional gaps in the UK and its wider impact on health.

DID YOU KNOW?

Almost 40% of Brits admit that they do not know what nutrients can help them to support heart health, immune health, bone health, eye health, energy, nail or hair health
A third of Brits state that they do not have time to prepare home cooked meals
77.7% of Brits reveal that they do not get their five fruit and vegetables a day
Over half of us say we don’t understand the benefits of vitamins and minerals
Obesity figures in England have more than tripled over a period of 25 years. Over 30% of children (aged 2-15) are overweight or obese
More than a fifth of Brits in their 40s and 50s do not know how best to adjust their eating habits to support their nutritional needs

There is some controversy on whether people should be taking vitamins but the truth is our diets are just not good enough. The evidence that some of us should take vitamins is insurmountable. We don’t all need a daily multivitamin but we all have gaps in our diet that need filled in.

The Health Supplements Information Service unveiled new research on our diets, the nutritional gap we face, and its wider impact on long-term health sorting fact from fiction. If I wasn’t convinced to take vitamins before, I certainly was after. A shocking two out of three adults don’t hit their five-a-day target of fruit and vegetables. To make matters worse, intake has actually fallen over the last four years. More than a quarter of calorie consumption comes from crisps, treats and drinks which have minimal nutritional value. Even more worryingly, 57% of people thought that children did not need to take supplements. Despite the fact that the Chief Medical Officers of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have repeatedly reminded parents and health professionals that all children under the age of five need supplementary vitamin D unless they get a sufficient intake from fortified formula milk.

It is not just during pregnancy and childhood you need vitamins, many people start taking vitamins in their forties and fifties but by this time you can already be paying the price of a bad diet. Leading dietitian Dr Carrie Ruxton notes: “The lifestyle choices you make during your middle years are incredibly important. When you’re younger, you have resilience and are physically at your peak, but by 40-50-something years you begin to pay the price for any bad habits or nutritional shortfalls. Your nutritional needs also change, and certain nutrients, including vitamins B12 and D, calcium, potassium and fibre become increasingly important.”

The so-called sandwich generation, those ages 30-55 years, have the highest stress levels of any other age group. Sandwiched in-between their children and sick or elderly parents, they also have the early development of health problems to deal with and it is the peak time for career achievement. Women in the latter end of the spectrum also have the menopause to deal with and both genders have to maintain a home. According to Age and Ageing 2014, persistent job strain in middle age may lead to longer hospital stays later in life. Vitamins D intake is particularly important. We do not get enough sun in the UK and the evidence for vitamin D usage mounts all of the time. Dr Carrie Ruxton said that the recommended dosage was going up. Not only is vitamin D safe, it also stops infection. Women are apparently more likely to take vitamins than men and multivitamin use peaks at 30-44 years.

The truth is: our diets are just not good enough. We should eat more fruit, veg, lean red meat, low fat diary and oily fish. We should also drink healthy drinks. Any gaps should be filled in by vitamins or we will pay the price as we age. Most vitamins are safe and you would have to take a lot to overdose. Vitamin D is very safe, vitamin A becomes toxic over 3000mg, especially to pregnant women and over 5mg of copper is toxic as the body stores certain vitamins and our bodies also store minerals. It takes a lot to overdose on vitamins and keeping within the RDA and filling in our bad diet habits will pay off in the future.

What do you think?

Hakkasan Hanway Place Restaurant Review

Posted on December 1, 2014 by Jay Ottley

Among the side streets of the bustling streets of Central London on a typical rainy Sunday in London lies a hidden gem with a glittering red sign emblazing the word ‘Hakkasan.’ A michelin star restaurant created by Syra Khan and Alan Yau, founder of Wagamama and Yauatcha. As you enter the door and you’re greeted with the sweet scent of incense, which is a warm welcome as you enter down the stairs of Hakkasan which feels like you just abandoned London and entered a vintage but modern Chinese restaurant on it’s home continent… or the set of a John Woo film.

The first thing you notice is the elegance of Hakkasan, which is unexpected for a restaurant on Hanway Place just off Tottenham Court Road, which I’ve always had admiration and been intrigued by anything from the continents of East Asia. After you’ve admired the beauty of Christian Liagre’s design of Hakkasan, what smacks you next in the face is the diversity of the staff members and how you are treated as if you’re a celebrity. This to me was an unforgettable experience especially for my first food review, which I hadn’t even sat down or even looked at the menu yet.

I was escorted to my seat, which was cosy and perfect to me, because it gave me a view of the kitchen. Don’t ask me why but if I can’t see the kitchen I find it unnerving, it’s a pet peeve for me not being able to see the kitchen in an environment serving you food. I embraced the moment as I took in the beauty of the place and for a rainy Sunday the floor was vibrantly brimming with life. Broken out of my trance with water on ice being brought to me, without even asking. Only to notice that I had one of the highest paid actors sitting behind me before the smooth red menu was brought before me and the concept of Dim Sum Sunday explained to me by the lovely gentleman serving me called Pratesh.

Dim Sum Signature Sunday’s is a warming special 6 course meal for 2 people including dessert and two of Hakkasan’s classy cocktails as well three glasses of Louis Roederer Brut Premier NV Champagne. Which for £58 quid a pop is literally a steal and one of the best I’ve seen especially for such a fine dining experience, or to impress your other half.

The first dish brought out being the crispy duck salad, when arrived the presentation was immaculate, as if the dish was sacred and not meant to be devoured. But falling to temptation, I managed to tackle the beauty of this dish. This starter was light and refreshing for the course that remained ahead. The flavours were delicate and sweet along with its pine nuts and shallot enhanced the flavours as they tangoed on the tips of the taste buds of your tongue. My only issue was the duck wasn’t crispy but if the duck was too crispy, it would have taken away the moisture, which made the duck succulent with every mouth-watering bite.

The next two courses consist of a variety of eight different beautiful hor d’oeuvres bought out on two different platters. One of them is steam with the other being fried and baked, which can be brought out separately or together. Which is a great option because you can enjoy bother delicious platters while conversing and enjoying your company along with the diverse flavours presented before you.

The platters of these two unique and well-presented platters and come out different for your eyes to gaze upon before you savour them bit by bit, piece by piece. The hor d’oeuvres are brought out accompanied by three sauces being soy sauce, sweet chilli and chilli oil, which each piece complimented each sauce, no matter what way you decided to devour it, except for one, which was the Celery Prawn Dumpling which out of the eight, was the stranger in a strange land. But it was a different flavour from the rest, because it had an after taste.

Arriving on the table with due short notice came the starter which was Salt and Pepper Squid, which was pretty much, what it was in the title, out of all the dishes this is the only one that didn’t feel or seem to have anything special about it unlike everything else.

Then came the dish I had been anticipating, Grilled Chilean Sea Bass glazed with honey with egg fried rice and vegetables, which was absolutely divine and beautifully presented for the two of you to help yourself to the large portions of your main courses. Everything tasted fresh the rice was al dente and steaming when it arrived on the table, the vegetables were perfect with the flavours of juices they were cooked in drizzled over the vegetables. While the sea bass shimmered with its sweet aroma as it glistened with it’s honey glaze. It truly felt like a criminal offence to demolish such a beautifully presented dish, but the crime was well worth it at that and mouth-wateringly delicious.

Now unbeknownst to me, came a surprise, dessert is also on the menu in the Dim-Sum Sunday meal deal with the addition of an after-dinner cocktail. While the dessert menu is fairly limited but the offers upon the menu are fantastic and even better it comes with recommendations on which after dinner cocktail would best suit and accompany your dessert. Being a bit adventurous I mixed and matched it up with an Apple Tarte with an apple sauce, blackberries and a dollop of ice cream, which the French originated dessert seemed perfect for the typical British day of rain. Although I wanted to remain in the atmosphere of East Asia, therefore I went with a Fitzrova Plum cocktail, which even though not in Hakkasan’s recommendations, was literally a tantalising duo that was out of this world, this combination went together literally like Laurel & Hardy.

that is literally impeccable, they take pride in what they do and attentive to every detail of their surroundings. Such attention given that your glass is refilled without even requesting. This is a Michelin star restaurant with bargain prices, for their quality of food and a place you go to feel like you’re a celebrity or you’re on top of the world, so to quote James Cagney.

But in closing I don’t think I could have put it in finer words than one of the member of management.

“We don’t need to promote ourself, our greatest promotion is word of mouth and that always has been the best way to promote… All these people are here because of someone telling them

Royal China Baker Street London

Posted on November 25, 2014 by Sarah Bacchus

Royal China is known for its Dim Sum. Tantalising handmade parcels of tasty delights. Royal China’s Dim Sum is prepared on a daily basis by a team of dedicated Dim Sum chefs using only best ingredients. Created with utter love and devotion, each chef is trained to the highest standard and this really shows when the food arrives at the table.

We recently enjoyed the most incredible meal at Royal China along Baker street. The menu is so beautifully presented and its really easy to pick all the dishes you want. Myself and Lottie went along one mid week lunchtime thinking it would be a little quieter…NO! This place gets packed. We headed in and where given an impressive menu with lavish offerings.

We sipped bubble virgin cocktails. Totally mind blowing with Little beads of juice bobbing around ready to be sucked up the oversized straws. Totally delightful and incredibly moorish. Strawberry, lychee and Passion fruit are the options and we just had to try every one! I couldn’t possibly tell you what one was the best as they where all delicious. Then it was time to choose from the tremendous well laid out menu…

We drank jasmine tea as we assessed the stunning menu and our surroundings.

Finally we decided what we wanted off the eye catching menu. Once we ordered it came to the table in record time. With our eyes all lit up we set about digging in to this amazing array of dishes.

Feeling like Royalty we ate dumplings with various vegetarian and fish fillings. The Scallops where totally delicious and tender. The sesame spring rolls melted in the mouth and our mains of prawn wonton noodle soup and mushroom fried noodles had us reminiscing all afternoon. Every bite was delightful.

The presentation, flavours and attentive staff make this place stand out a mile. Whats more all this gorgeous food was so reasonable.

We highly advise a visit very soon. You will need to make reservations if you don’t want to be disappointed. Make sure you go hungry as you will want to try as many dishes as possible.

The portion sizes are exceptional and you won’t leave feeling disappointed we promise you!

See if you can manage to try all the bubble cocktails too. We will defiantly be back for more of those very soon thats for sure. Just don’t try to fit all the beads in your mouth at once like Lottie! They where just too good not to finish off!

You can find their Flagship restaurant Royal China along 23-25 Baker Street London.

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