London is full of Chinese restaurants. Quality of food and price ranges in extremes from the dingiest dodgy kind-of-love-them-anyway take-aways through to mid-range China Town staples and right up to the glamorous gourmet heights of Mayfair’s Hakkasan and Hutong in the Shard. If you’re looking for quality Cantonese food without paying the Michelin star prices, word on the grapevine is the Royal China group is your best bet in London, counting critics like Jay Rayner and TV chef Gordon Ramsay as fans.
Idea
The Royal China Group consists of six of London’s most authentic and best-loved Chinese restaurants, including the luxurious and critically-acclaimed Royal China Club. Each restaurant has a dedicated Dim Sum Chef, as well as a Head Chef and the group are most well know for being the place to go for creative, quality Dim Sum in London. The restaurants are centrally located on Baker Street, as well as in Bayswater, Fulham, Harrow-on-the-Hill and Canary Wharf. We visited Royal China Baker Street to see what all the fuss is about.
Location
Located on bustling Baker Street in West London, the restaurant is perfectly placed for a refuelling lunch or indulgent dinner after shopping on Oxford or Bond Street.
Atmosphere
Traditional elegant décor in contrasting rich golden hues with striking red and black lacquered murals compliments the reliably authentic menu and makes for decadent surroundings. Service is brisk and efficient, running like clockwork to cope with the hoards of tourists (many of them Chinese – this is always a good sign) and London locals returning for their umpteenth visit to the largest flagship restaurant in the group. The atmosphere is elegant, yet pleasantly buzzing.
Food
The group is renowned for its Dim Sum, which is served daily from Noon until 5pm and includes Steamed Seafood Dumplings with Spicy Sauce; and Pan-fried Fillet of Duck Breast Rolls.
The extensive al la carte evening menu is full of recognisable classics like sweet and sour dishes, crispy duck or spring rolls, while also offering some more obscure dishes to tantalise such as hotpot of Stewed Egg Plant with Minced Prawn in a Spicy Sauce and Jellyfish with Cucumber if you’re feeling brave. We start with mixed Hors D’oeuvres which are a special selection of spicy squid, smoked chicken, Vietnamese pancake rolls, butterfly prawns and crispy seaweed. Everything is perfectly crisp, sweet, savoury and spicy in exactly the right places and its a lesson in how really good Chinese food should taste. We’ve a feeling its going to be tough going back to local takeaways after this. There are only a few dim sum dishes available in the evenings, as its traditionally consumed during the day mostly in China. The Crispy Peking Duck is hand-shredded at our table and has a beautiful crust and meltingly soft pink meat inside. Special fried rice was spiked with delicious chunks of sweet pineapple and a dish of Sautéed Szechuan Red Chilli prawns was unashamedly fiery.
Drinks
We started with some fruity Mai Tai cocktails and moved onto a lovely dry glass of Prosecco. The wine list ranges from a good solid house red and white to an £800 bottles of Chateau Pauillac Latour 1991, for those with the cash to splash.
Must Try
The Royal China restaurants have the same à la carte menus. In addition, each restaurant dedicates a full page to signature dishes created by the restaurant’s individual Head Chefs. These dishes are changed frequently, while the seasonal dishes are changed four times a year. Stewed Pork Belly Hot Pot with preserved cabbage was a glorious unctuous hot mess of chilli and salty rich meat – if we had to pick one favorite dish it would be this.
Why Go
If you’ve never been – you are missing out on a reliable mecca of Chinese food. Get your fix of sweet, sour, spicy and salty done in exactly the right way.
Address
24-26 Baker St, Marylebone, London W1U 3BZ
Website
Disclosure: IDEAL dined as a guest of the restaurant