Back again, this time the staff were not on training and weren’t going to get evaluated, so I was very keen to see if they have kept the standard up, and more importantly, to get another dumpling fix.
Food
Barely a month has gone by, and they have already introduced a new menu. I decided to try one of their new cocktails, so went for a Tequila, apple and celery martini (£6.75) - José Cuervo Tradicional tequila, green apple liqueur, apple and celery juice while waiting. This definitely sounds better than it tastes, with the whole concoction reminding me of Chinese date medicine.
I was sad to see some of the old favourites have gone, but was keen to try out the new stuff:
- Chive dumpling (£2.99) - King prawns and chives in green chive pastry - an old favourite, and still great.
- Har gau (£3.19) - King prawns and bamboo shoots in translucent white pastry - these were lovely, the pastry excellent as usual, the filling was not too prawn like though.
- Scallop and shitake dumpling (£3.39) - Scallops and king prawns with shitake mushrooms in wheat flour pastry - this was my favourite on the last visit. These seem to have gone a bit smaller, but the flavour is still superb
- Spinach and mushroom dumpling V (£2.99) - Spinach and mushrooms seasoned with ginger and garlic in wheat flour pastry - again, I love this one.
- Spicy chicken dumpling (£2.99) - Chicken and vegetables in chilli sauce in translucent white pastry - really surprised by how good this one was.
- Crispy Thai chicken spring roll (£2.99) - Chicken and prawns with chilli, coriander and lemongrass wrapped in bean curd skin and served with chilli fish sauce - quite crispy and good balance of flavours and filling.
- Chicken puff (£3.19) - Honey roasted barbecue chicken in hand made puff pastry topped with pineapple - very sweet filling, but the pastry was well done.
- Traditional Sticky Rice (£3.39) - Rice with chicken, pork and king prawns wrapped in a Lotus leaf - I tried the seafood sticky rice last time and was disappointed. These weren’t too great either. I think it’s because they don’t want to use ingredients like pig fat and preserved sausages. I found a prawn in mine, so I will be giving this a miss in the future.
- Crispy aubergine V (£3.10) - Fried marinated aubergine chunks with garlic and sesame oil - you don’t get many, but the quality made up for it.
- Green-lipped mussels (£2.99) - 2 steamed green-lipped mussels in black bean sauce with sweet basil - very fresh and simple, a winning combination.
- Soft shell crab (£4.29) - Whole soft shell crab in a crispy coating - juicy and crisp, but you only get 1 for the price.
- Choy sum V (£3.19) - Steamed choy sum in soy sauce topped with garlic - not worth it.
- Pak choy V (£3.19) - Steamed pak choy in ginger and garlic sauce - even more of a rip-off than the choy sum
- Sprouting broccoli V (£3.19) - Steamed broccoli in soy sauce - I couldn’t believe how little of this we got.
- Mixed Mushrooms Tom Yum Sauce (£3.39) - not great, a tom yum sauce too sour and too overpowering.
- Duck Puff (£3.99) - again, the pastry was good, but the filling, although not too sweet, was a bit dry and tasteless.
- Valrhona chocolate bun (£2.49) - 2 buns filled with dark rich Valrhona chocolate and coconut purée in a fluffy white bun - I was surprised. The chocolate was really good quality, and the bun was definitely better than last time. But I still don’t think white buns and chocolate go that well together.
- Mango pudding (£2.50) - Traditional mango pudding served in coconut milk - this was very good. Smooth and full of mango flavour
Rating - 7
Atmosphere
The place was relatively empty when I arrived, but by 8pm, the whole place was packed. We had extra arrivals, and people who said were coming but didn’t, and in the end, we squeezed 9 onto a table of 8, which was ok by us. It’s only been a month, but they not only changed the menu, but the wallpaper on the ceiling now is in a pattern of Chinese character. It’s still as good looking as always though.
Rating - 2.5
Service
The wait staff was definitely much worst than the training day. They were still polite, mostly, but it took so long to get anyone’s attention, and the drinks took forever to arrive. We had to flag them down several times to get anything.
Rating - 2
C-factor
They actually gave us all our drinks for free, so all the food came to £17 per person. Some things, like the vegetables, were definitely overpriced, but others are quite good value for money, so I guess if you order well, then things are good value. Now I am thinking of trying the Sunday all you can eat yum-cha special.
Rating - 1.5
Brownie Points - 13
Info
Quayside, Tower Bridge House
St Katharines Docks
London
E1W 1BA
Phone +44 (0) 20 7680 7850
Website
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