Today decided to go to Chalk Farm to have dim sum at Yum Cha (王府井). We heard about this place through word of mouth because of the good quality dim sum they do. It is a hidden gem because the dim sum is good. They were piping hot with steam rushing in to the air from the bamboo containers.
You will find not just the traditional dim sum like Char Siu bao, Siu Mai, Har Gau, Chueng Fun etc. But you can also find crispy aromatic duck spring roll, which are becoming more common in many dim sums restaurants.
This is another restaurant which I have added to my list of place that do nice Shanghai Bao in London. It has a thin outside pastry and inside is meat that is filled with lots of soup.
My other favourite is the Mandarin Style Spare Ribs because the sauce is not sour but sweet. Touch one and you cannot stop…sticky and sweet ribs! Also another dish to try is their red bean pancake, I love this as it was like eating a crepe with red bean filling. It was not too sweet but just nice to be able to taste both the red bean and the pancake.
As well as dim sums, there are options of ordering noodle/rice dishes. These are on a separate menu and includes dishes like Pad Thai, Seafood Laska soup noodle, Roast Duck rice, Ho Fun etc. What was interesting was on the menu under Thai Green Curry it says ‘choose protein’, which where veg, chicken, beef, prawn or mixed seafood. The word ‘protein’ is not a word you would see used on menu.
I would not say that the decoration of the restaurant is your average traditional Chinese dim sum restaurants. It reminded me more a modern restaurant/bar, with a bit of Malaysia or Thai feel to it.
The food was great and the price with the discount we got made it not expensive to have lunch here. They have varieties of offers (at the time I am writing) – Dim sum lunch: 25% off dim sums from Monday to Friday (12-5pm) and Dim sum night: 50% off dim sums from Monday to Tuesday (5-11pm). Although, friends told me the dim sum in the evening is more expensive then the original price at lunch.
The only thing that disappoint me here is the service could be improve. But overall it is worth a try and having dim sum with disposable chopsticks!
Yum Cha (王府井)
28 Chalk Farm Road,
London,
NW1 8AG
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