We had dim sum at Yauatcha in Soho, the sister restaurant of Hakkasan, as our friend who was staying in London brought us there. From the onset, it’s a stylish and buzzing venue and looks like a place where one could “see and be seen”. While the food was generally okay, I thought it was a little pricey and overrated given the 1 Michelin star rating. Then again I’ve also had really good dim sum in Hong Kong and Singapore at Hong Kong and Singapore prices, and it is more of a contemporary Asian/Cantonese place, so I’m being critical here. What you definitely can’t miss here are the baked venison puffs. The pastry is fragrant and the filling juicy, flavourful and tender.
Other than that, we also had the usual suspects of har gau, sticky rice in lotus leaf with chicken and dried shrimp and prawn cheung fan. Not pictured were the pork and preserved egg porridge and stir-fry beef ho fun. The menu was quite comprehensive and there were also many other main dishes but we didn’t try any. It certainly makes a decent dim sum meal in London if you’re not fussy about the prices. I haven’t tried the Royal China in London which I’ve heard it’s quite good (since we have one in Singapore) so I can’t compare between both.
What I liked about Yauatcha was that they had huge dessert (non-Cantonese) and drink (including cocktails and Chinese teas) menus. The cakes and macarons were encased in a jewelry display cases, and looked super inviting from the outside of the resaurant. We ordered the selection of ice cream and macarons to share. While a few flavours were Asian (like jasmine macaron), not many were which I thought would make it much more interesting and in line with the theme. Since it’s open all day, it could be a nice place to have afternoon tea if you can get past the mental barrier of having it in a Chinese restaurant.
Verdict: 6.5/10
Price: $$-$$$
Location: 15-17 Broadwick Street, Soho, London, W1F 0DL
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7494 8888
Website: http://www.yauatcha.com/soho/
Chow & The City 
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