Don't you hate it when a really pretty person is really shy and you thus never get to know her? Well, this is how I feel about the "Dim Sum House" in Golders Green. Let me explain this analogy:
When I talk about a pretty person, I actually mean the nice decor and the really welcoming and friendly staff at this place. In fact, I've yet to find a Chinese restaurant where the staff is more courteous and polite. And this prettiness also extends to the way the dishes look and how they're presented - beautiful! Especially the dim sum looks fantastic.
Now, let's talk about the shy part of my analogy. And by shy I mean the flavours of the dishes. In fact, it feels like the chef was toning down the ingredient list to make it more appealing to a more European audience, but unfortunately that didn't work neither for me nor my Taiwanese partner in crime: we were looking for authentic and bold flavours, but they were just not there. (My triple-meatball noodle-soup not only lacked in flavour, but also in meat...I think I counted a total of 6 tiny meatballs.)
So, as much as I usually make a fuss about how important really good service is, I have to say that if we could swap, I'd rather have the usually rude and ignorant staff of many Chinese establishments, but the boldness of a real Chinese meal in exchange!
(Foodwise I really think they don't deserve three stars, but because the service was so nice, I would feel terrible not to give three stars...) read more