YAUATCHA, SOHO

Last week I had a fantastic meal at Yauatcha in Soho with my beautiful friend Kate. We both fancied dim sum so we headed to Broadwick Street in Soho for some 1 Michelin starred dim sum goodness.

We started by ordering cocktails. I went for the Lemonberry martini – Ketel One Citroen, raspberry, vanilla, lemon and cranberry juice. It was divine. So fruity and fresh, I could have carried on drinking them all night, had price not come into it! Kate went for the Lychee martini – Belvedere vodka, lychee liqueur, lychee juice and fresh lime.

Now, I had been pouring over the menu all day at work so I knew which dishes I wanted to eat, however, that was most of the menu.  So Kate and I said we’d order a few, see how we got on and then order a few more if we wanted to.  So we started with the mushroom spring roll with black truffle.

This was incredible. Crispy on the outside, earthy and rich inside. I love anything that involves mushroom with black truffle, it was always going to be a winner for me.

Next up was the roasted duck pumpkin puff with pine nuts.

What I love about these is that they’re made to look like mini pumpkins on the plate. I love little touches like that. Inside they tasted amazing. Melt in the mouth, soft, tender duck, sweet pumpkin and a crunch coming from the pine nuts.

We also ordered  scallop shui mai which was beautiful.  Minced prawns topped with a scallop and fish roe. Delicate, yet full of flavour.  Just wonderful.

Har gau – shrimp dumplings – again, delicate, light and full of flavour.

At this point we took a little break and had another round of cocktails.  There were still other dishes we were keen to try out so we ordered a few more, starting with Venison puffs…

These were sublime…buttery flaky pastry encased tender venison in a rich yet sweet ‘gravy’. They were really hot (in temperature, not spicy) and I knew I shouldn’t shove a whole one in my mouth, but they’re too good. I just had to accept I’d burn your mouth.  I didn’t care.

At this point I was feeling very full. But then the Chinese chive and prawn dumplings turned up. I just couldn’t eat anything else so Kate had these.  I think at this stage, we were both full and so really didn’t need anything else. Kate said these were very nice but nothing special. She wouldn’t have missed them had we not ordered them. Perhaps if we’d had them nearer the start of the meal they would have tasted very different.

The last dish was the pan-fried turnip cake…

I actually only ordered this because I’d seen a food blogger raving about it. Unfortunately I tasted it when I was full to bursting point and really could have done without it.  We both had a bite but we weren’t convinced by it.  Again, maybe it would have been better had we tasted it nearer the start of the evening.  As my mum has always said to me, my eyes are bigger than my belly!

Seeing as we were both so full, it would seem advisable to just wrap up the meal there. However, we both wanted pudding (different compartment). We waited a while to free up some room and then I ordered the strawberry cream éclair…

I loved this. It was like an explosion of strawberry in my mouth. It was so fruity and yet as light as air. It was the perfect way to end the meal. I didn’t want anything heavy, just something sweet and light.

Kate went for the Raspberry Delice…a chocolate brownie with lychee, hazelnut and raspberry…

As you can see, it looks stunning. Absolutely beautiful. It tasted beautiful too. However, after all the food we’d consumed, it was quite heavy. I reckon if you went to Yauatcha for tea and cake and ordered this, you’d be in heaven. (I do plan on doing that soon), but it was just a bit too rich and heavy for the end of our meal.

I must remind myself not to get over excited when ordering dishes. I don’t know why I haven’t yet. I eat out a lot, I’m in my mid-30s, and I regularly end an evening thinking my stomach is actually going to explode.  I should write a warning on the back of my hand.

Stomach-stretching aside, Kate and I had a fantastic night at Yauatcha.  The food was incredible, our cocktails were almost a little bit too delicious, the service was friendly and attentive without being intrusive.  I need to go back again soon, even if just for the mushroom and black truffle spring rolls and the venison puffs, oh and the roasted duck pumpkin puffs…and the desserts…and the cocktails…ok, ok, all of it!

Yauatcha, 15-17 Broadwick Street, London W1F 0DL
020 7494 8888
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