The Spectacular Yauatchu 丘記茶苑

In London, people often refer to the West Side (where Soho is located) as "posh." The East Side is cool too, but it's more known as "hipster."  Last night, I had the opportunity to try out a classy dim sum place in Soho called Yauatcha.

 

Scallop Shui Mai 帶子釀燒賣 £8.00

I was a little hesitant about this order because almost all Chinese know this is one of the fattiest dish you could have in dim sum.  It turned out to be two layers of scallops and only a tiny bit of pork.  I approve!

 

I think those are teas being displayed in the cans/containers.  Apparently the restaurant is always busy.

 

A few side dishes and sauces before our meal arrived.

 

Lalu £10.00

Lemongrass, lime, belvedere vodka, oolong tea and lycee juice.

 

Venison Puff 黑椒鹿肉酥 £5.00

Deer meat inside...not as bad as I thought it'd be.  It tasted like a normal Char Siu So (the ones with pork), but quite a lot of tables ordered it.  I guess it's one of Yauatcha's signatures.

 

Spinach Ball with Prawn and Cuttlefish in Black Bean Sauce 豉汁蒸菠菜球 £5.20

I've never had this kind of dim sum before.  It tasted SO good!  I especially love the prawn and cuttlefish mixed together inside.

 

King Crab Shanghai Siew Long Bun with Pork 帝皇蟹小籠包 £6.90

These buns had a lot of juice inside them and the skins wasn't thick.  More authentic than I could imagine.

 

Spicy Szechuan Wonton with Peanut 紅油抄手 £4.90

Spicy, not salty enough.  Thanks to the soy sauce on the table, I was able to indulge fine.

Prawns Cheung Fun 鮮蝦滑腸粉 £6.70

This was really tasty.  It was wrapped with deep fried doughnut inside and had prawns and mu er.

Chocolate Toasted Rice £5.90

Milk chocolate, toasted rice, soy, hazelnut and a hint of amazing.  That side of ice cream is omg I loved it!

 

A small display of some of their desserts.  As it was almost 9pm, they didn't have all the cakes available anymore.

Of course they have macarons.  Next time, I'm interested in the rose flavoured one.

 

Their display of chocolates.  I'm especiall interested in the green one in the middle - it's green tea flavoured!

 

This restaurant is created by Mr. Alan Yau in 2004.  According to Wikipedia, Yauatcha is at Michelin-star level.  I could definitely see that for its ambiance, but the food for sure, in London standards.  #sorryimsopicky