Dimsum in London

While, to many, Chinese food is about noodles, rice, sweet & sour and black bean sauce, for a substantial number of us (and for even more Cantonese), one of its finest moments is made up of tasty little steamed parcels.

Dimsum – also known as yum cha – are a subset of chinese food that luckily for London come mainly from Canton, the southern region of China where former British colony Hong Kong is.

There are dimsum places all over London spanning from cheap and cheerful authentic Chinese in Chinatown to three-figure bill upmarket Western interpretations. So here I would like to try to quickly talk about a few places to eat quality dimsum, aside from the ultra-famous (and uber pricey) top-notch like Hakkasan and Yauatcha, which both definitely produce the goods for those unaffected by the credit crunch or lunching on copious expense accounts.

Firstly, lets set up the context and protocol. Dimsum is typically brunch food, so is normally eaten late morning to afternoon in China. It’s also always worth getting as big as possible a group of people together to go. This allows more dishes to be ordered and brings down the price. A meal for one or two at a decent Chinatown place is around 20 pounds a head, but once 3 or 4 more people are there it’s somewhere near 15.

Focus on the dimsum, there is no need for noodles or rice with it. Oh, and maybe just get a dish of Chinese vegetables like kailan or bok choi. Aside from the Hakkasans of this city, there are two main types of dimsum place in London. The authentic Chinese version and a slightly more adapted take – also known as “modern dimsum” – of Ping Pong type western restaurants. As a purist who prefers the integrity, taste and variety of the Chinese version, I would venture that Ping Pong is not actually bad although I would pay NOT to ever have to eat at its rival chain Dim T going on my dining – nay, wretching — experiences at its Gloucester Road branch.

The top end is made up of glitzier restaurants like Royal China, Princess Garden and Marylebone’s Phoenix Palace. These are good, though Phoenix Palace stands out for me a little among them.

China Garden on Finchley Road is one I have never tried, but it stands out as getting very strong reviews from Chinese friends. My personal favourite is Harbour City on Gerrard Street in Chinatown, which has a very wide selection of good dimsum, reasonably priced. For people in a hurry however, Chen Cheng Ku on Wardour Street serves decent dimsum from mobile trolleys that circulate around the tables so there is no need to wait the 15-20 minutes for them to be steamed after ordering. On the downside, as they are not prepared to order, try to go at peak times to make sure your food is as fresh as possible.

So those are my dimsum pointers. I am, as alway,s open to comments or suggestions from people on places to go, if I have not mentioned them. Now, for your next hungover Sunday if you fancy a feast with friends and are bored with British fry-ups, why not head out for a steamed Chinese treat?