The meal was consistently interesting with the combination of flavour and overall very high standard of cooking. To mention a few of the 16 courses, the “bed and breakfast” consisted a heap of caviar on chopped smoked quail egg resting in a crispy taro nest was a perfect combination of savoury, smokiness and crispiness in one bite. The foie gras wrapped in lettuce leaf was a great way to contrast the fattiness of the liver with the freshness and crunch of the lettuce leaf. The palate cleanser that was the hawthorn bubble tea was sharp and bitter with a hint of fragrance which may not be the most pleasant tasting but does the job to alleviate the richness of the courses before. Some dishes were less successful such as the rethought Xiao long bao which was suppose to have the essence of the the real thing in terms of flavour, it lacked the texture of smooth dumpling skin and the contrast of the mince inside. I understand that was what they set out to do, but it defeated the best part of Xiao long bao for me which is the contrast of texture. The food was of consistent high quality and the service was bordering on overly attentive which is not necessarily a bad thing. The wine list had a good range with a good selection around £30-£50. The décor was a little disappointing and although it was not full on the night we visited, the tables were set a little close which may become a problem when it becomes full. At £138 for a 16 course dinner, it was expensive, even taking into account of the no doubt good quality ingredients. The food was good but not special enough to justify the price. Along with the number of tables they packed in, it feels a overly commercial venture designed to extract the maximum amount from the punters. I can sort of understand as this is not somewhere that you would necessarily return any time soon because of the style of food and choice of menu available. Personally, setting the price at £90 will see a much more enthusiastic crowd and have the place booked out every night. But I am sure there will still be a good turn out for its interesting and good quality food.
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