Making Dim Sum, which originated in China’s Canton region, takes skill and artistry, skills passed down from master chefs. The Royal China restaurants have long been famous for their traditional Dim Sum so when a friend suggested lunch in their Baker Street branch I had no hesitation in agreeing.
In fact, the Queensway and Baker Street branches have recently been awarded a prestigious two-tier Pagoda award for their cuisine.
We each chose a couple of our favourite Dim Sum and then throwing caution to the wind threw in a ‘wild card’ – a dish which neither of us had ever eaten before but thought it might be an interesting experience – chickens’ feet. I very much enjoyed the sauce they had been cooked in, but we both agreed that we probably wouldn’t choose that delicacy again.
One of us also tried a bubble tea drink served with Popping Pearls, it brought a big smile to her face. Choose your favourite fruit drink then choose your favourite fruit pearls.
Chickens feet might not be one of our favourites; however, we are both Custard Tart fans, and oh boy these were good.
The restaurant is large and slightly on the dark side; but with its large well-spaced white-clothed tables we did not feel crowded, in spite of it being a busy lunch time service.
Our concern was service. We were greeted and shown to our table efficiently and nicely enough but one or two requests to our waiters were greeted with a shrug and indifference until one hard working young man who understood about customer service came on duty and looked after us charmingly. As we left we saw him shredding the aromatic duck – it looked delicious.
Apart from the Dim Sum menus there are several others to choose from. Dim Sum prices average out at about £3.75 per dish. www.rcguk.co.uk
To learn how the restaurant makes their delicious egg tarts, read our recipe for Royal China Restaurant’s Egg Custard Tarts.