Recently I was looking for a place in London to have a sophisticated Sunday lunch to celebrate a “semi-special” occasion. I was in the mood for a Michelin starred meal yet wanted an informal relaxed atmosphere. Lima Fitzrovia has been on my “to go” list for ages and as soon as I knew they are offering the “Sunday Long Lunch” set menu at a fixed price, I knew I needed to look no further. Continue reading London foodie scene – Peruvian impressions from Lima Fitzrovia (Review)
A little tribute to my former homeland
There is hardly anything more exciting for a wine-geek than meeting the winemaker in person. And I mean no representative of a marketing team but the guy who really is responsible for what’s in your glass. The one with his hands on the vines in the vineyard, the artist in the winery and the mastermind behind all the processes before, in between and after production which influence the quality and character and create the soul of the wine.
Recently I was very lucky to meet Continue reading A little tribute to my former homeland
The star of Barolo (and why I’m so ecstatic)
This is a quick post to express how absolutely thrilled I am to read the latest news in the April issue of the Decanter magazine. The wine I fell in love with during my trip to Piedmont last year has been rated as OUTSTANDING by the wine critics in the 2010 vintage panel tasting! Out of 134 wines tasted only 3 have scored Continue reading The star of Barolo (and why I’m so ecstatic)
Season pre-opening – summer whites dreaming
Even though it may seem like this winter will never end, we are officially, inevitably and luckily (yay!) approaching its end. Meaning that sometime sooner or later we will be stepping away from our full-bodied, big, warming, winter red wines and reach out for that bottle of refreshing crisp white to go with our ever lighter meals.
In the meantime, I thought I would start spreading some summer mood and pre-open the season of “refreshing whites” with an impressive bottle I received from the London merchant Roberson Wine for review: Continue reading Season pre-opening – summer whites dreaming
REVISITED – Dim sum heaven on earth
Updated 11.02.2015
I thought it has been a while since my last rave about A. Wong and decided it’s time to share a few more dishes I have tried during my last visit. It was our first time and a whole new experience to be seated at the “Chef’s table”, which is the bar with the uninterrupted view of the open plan kitchen. There you can watch the team chopping, frying, steaming, roasting and bubbling away fresh ingredients whilst enjoying your marvelous meal.
Great things about this spot is that their extraction system is so strong that you don’t smell a thing and also, you get to watch Andrew in action cooking and putting finishing touches to every single dish before it goes out.
So here are a few new dim sum dishes I have tasted and loved:
Scallop puff 3 ways
Crab, seafood and bean curd cannelloni, pickled cockles
Salt and pepper French bean fritters
Won ton with garlic, chilli oil and crispy bean curd. A true piece of art, almost too beautiful to be eaten and yet too delicious not to
Baked roasted pork bun with a sugared coating – this was a treat from Andrew. Another perk of sitting at the Chef’s table 😉
Steamed duck yolk custard bun. Optically it reminded me of Heston’s meat fruit but this dumpling is a sweet one and made a perfect finish to our meal serving as a little desert.
Team at work
Andrew Wong – the Chef and Mastermind (left!)
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I know it may be enough already for some people in my audience but I simply will not stop raving about my favorite London restaurant. This weekend I again decided to satisfy my cravings for dim sum at A. Wong (I seriously lost count of how many times I’ve eaten there) – the Chinese place I wrote about before. Click here to view my previous post.
As always, it’s a very pleasant atmosphere in a spacious room flooded by natural light on a Saturday morning. Warm greetings at the door by beautiful Natalie (Andrew Wong’s wife, the manager) and her colleagues, a big smile and a wink from Andrew himself from his open-plan kitchen, fragrant jasmine tea on our table within a few minutes and we feel like we came back home.
I always have the same problem when visiting this restaurant though… there is just a certain amount of food that fits into my belly and if it wasn’t for my reasonable husband holding me back, I would normally stuff myself with way more food than I should. The selection of mouthwateringly sounding items on the menu is just too tempting, and you want them all. Especially taking into the account that there always are new dishes to try on the menu whilst you still want to go for all your favorites and classics.
To make the long story short here is some of the dim-sums I have enjoyed this time, move your mouse over the picture to see the description of each dish or click to see the full-size images:
Foie gras sticky sesame dumpling
Deep fried prawn ball with abalone and chilli vinaigrette
Crispy won ton with sweet chilli dip
Clear shrimp dumpling, sweet chilli sauce, citrus foam
Quail egg croquette puff
Won ton with garlic, chilli oil and crispy bean curd
My next report from this fantastic restaurant is planned for mid December when I will revisit for a ladies-only pre-Christmas celebration – can’t wait!
SweervyWine 