With a twenty year legacy of the best Dim Sum outside of Hong Kong (at least in the UK), Royal China Queensway and its five other restaurants attracts a loyal following of Chinese and Anglo’s.
At 5.30pm, when we arrived for before dinner drinks, the Dim Sum crowd were just finishing their last cups of tea, not a single dumpling remaining. Desperate to try even a nibble, we begged for even one pork bun to share. Alas, the special Dim Sum chef had gone home.
In addition to a Dim Sum chef, the head chef of each restaurant creates an entire page of signature specials; the rest of the a la carte menu remains the same, with seasonal dishes changed four times a year. Not exactly the Chinese place you grew up with.
We savored all of the classics: spring rolls with such a perfectly fried wrapper, the paper-thin layers practically fell off in between bites. Prawn toast was every bit as good as we remembered and egg fried rice may be simple, but it was so light, fluffy and more-ish we forgot about our pledge to ban carbs after lunch.
The dining room filled up quickly, and both Chinese and Anglo’s soon surrounded us. We’re told Gordon Ramsay is also a regular, for what that’s worth.
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Cocktails are made with perfection, and RC has joined the Taiwanese bubble drink brigade. The tapioca-jelly pearls are served with fresh fruits flavors like passion fruit and strawberry. There are grown-up versions with the spirit of your choice.
Hoisin duck and eggplant stuffed with seafood in a black bean sauce are the favorite mains. And there’s a collective sigh of relief that we’re not dining at the Royal China Club on Baker Street, which serves European-Chinese fusion. If we were, we’d feel obligated to order the £180 Imperial Red Robe tea. The tea has a heritage dating back to the early 18th century and his handmade, then smoked in small batches over charcoal. The rest of us can enjoy 18 different artisan teas for under a fiver.
Dessert of deep-fried toffee apple defies the stereotype about Chinese puddings. This one holds enough appeal to persuade even the, “No dessert, thanks” diners at our table to change their mind. I’d guess the toffee apple isn’t traditional Hong Kong fare, but the rest was pretty convincing.
