Probably the best dumplings served in London?
In the cramped streets of Chinatown, it's easy to feel spoilt for choice in rush lunch hours. There are competing aromas in the air, the spectacles of hanging meat and chefs preparing to serve up specialties. If you steer away from humble sandwiches, you'd be richly rewarded by the wide range of offerings in Soho.
So what drew me to Beijing Dumpling? Yes, there's the element of homesickness (I'm from Taiwan) and the real people wrapping up my beloved snack behind the shop window was just to tempting to resist. I entered the premise, however, with a healthy dose of apprehension: This is a first visit, and I've never heard of the restaurant before.
It's half pass three on a Friday afternoon, well off peak. Bar me and my companion, there's only one table of a young family who looked to have consumed all in front of them. Encouraged, I ordered mixed mushrooms, shallow fried dumplings, crab meat (steamed) dumplings, Singaporean rice noodles, and pork dumplings in soup. The lady at the front window had stopped working and dropped back to have a chat with colleagues. She spoke with a Beijing accent (sounded Beijing to me!) and smiled broadly. As can be expected from many Chinese restaurants, the order in which the dishes arrived at the table cannot be predicted, but the arrival of the mixed mushrooms really did me proud. It's a lovely lot of shiitake, golden needle and chestnut mushrooms with a bedding of mustard greens. The taste of it quickly dispelled any lingering doubts and we settled to sample the beautifully constructed dumplings.
OK, let's be frank, for xiao long bao (the steamed ones mentioned above), the best offerings this part of the world do not come close to the likes of Dintaifung (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Din_Tai_Fung) , but we are in London. The trophy Beijing Dumpling deserves really rests on its handmade pork dumplings. The contents, consist mainly of Chinese chives and pork mince, packed a punch. Too often the Chinese restaurants in the UK tread on the safe side of Chinese takeaways and run a mile from distinctiveness. Pork dumplings, being an everyday item, should have long been recognised as a favourable alternative to sandwiches...Well, the jury is out, but we certainly can do with more dumpling eateries in any case.
Areas for improvement? Dessert, dessert, dessert! read more