Yauatcha

Oh how I love dim sum and oh how I love dim sum at Yauatcha. I do like going "authentic" to Chinatown or Royal China in Bayswater but I do prefer the trendy, Soho version of dim sum you find at this wonderful place. It opened to a fanfare and was the hottest place to go some years ago, another gem from the stable of Alan Yau (of Hakkasan and Busaba fame). The good news is, unlike other "hot" places, it hasn't fizzled, in fact I like it better now it's easier to get in (getting a reservation when it first opened was tricky). My dim sum favourite dish is char sui buns and the ones at Yauatcha are sublime. The venison puffs are also yummy. For the slightly healthier option, the steamed dumplings are amazing. Their sesame prawn toast, with a mountain of sweet prawn, makes the local Chinese takeaway version look extremely shabby. I am running out of adjectives - but I have to also mention the salt and pepper squid, which is...great. I like their huge tea selection and they also do snazzy non-alocholic cocktails and iced teas (for the modern boring business lunch). What sets this apart from a normal Chinese restaurant is the amazing slection of cakes and macaroons they have on display upstairs (you can also eat dim sum up here).

They do a great afternoon tea and their cakes are almost too beautiful to eat - not that that has ever stopped me. The brightly coloured macaroons are tasty - although there are some weird flavours here. If I'm honest, I actually prefer to look at macaroons rather than eat them and these ones are mighty purty. They can box them up as gifts - many a brownie (macaroon?) point have I won after presenting someone with a box of these beauties. Of course you can wander down to Great Marlborough Street and get a cheaper version at Ping Pong, which is fine but nothing beats the beautiful, classy, super tasty experience you'll have at Yauatcha.