Anyone from London will have his or her favourite Chinese in China Town. Located on Lisle Street I have found in my opinion one of the best places to eat. It could be easy to dismiss, as the Imperial China does not have a window show of dim sum being made like many of the restaurants on Lisle street, but trust me if you have walked right past, turn around and walk right in. Outside the front entrance is a magical bridge over a small river of coy carp fish, which greet you by softly kissing the surface of the water.
From the outside it looks like it could be a rather small place, but this is deceiving. It has a big dining room and if it is full (which it always is) don’t worry as they have another floor you can explore. My old bosses introduced me to the Imperial China, we all had a massive craving for dim sum one lunch time and luckily they knew exactly where we could go and feast on a menu full of sensational dumplings. Since that first introduction I have been going to Imperial China at least once every two weeks for the past 5 years.
I would recommend going here for lunch, as that is when you will get to experience a full dim sum menu. Unfortunately the dinner menu only offers a small dim sum selection as a starter and I think the dumplings here is what makes this one of my favourite places.
Everything about this place is worth a repeat visit, the atmosphere, of course the food but the maître d’ is an absolute marvel of a women. She rules with an iron fist, but upholds the most efficient lunch service I have ever witnessed in a fully booked dining room. If every restaurant I have ever been to had this woman at their helm, the word complaint would certainly come into extinction.
Going back to the main attraction of the food, there are several dishes I would recommend getting. Typically at lunch there would be at least 6 of us so please do not be surprised by the incredibly big order I am suggesting. I am in no way a competitive eater – I can pack it away but all this for one person or even a couple is way too much. I would suggest maybe picking a couple of my highly recommended dishes; although dim sums are small morsels, they can fill you up rather quickly.
When you are seated you are handed a small form filled with dim sum options, do not be intimidated, you will not be committed to a life of bad luck by ticking the wrong box.
The most popular and well know dumpling you should get is Har Gow, steamed prawn dumpling. There is nothing I can say to make it sound incredible, it pretty much speaks for itself. It’s prawn, it’s wrapped in a crystal dough, it’s steamed and it fits in your mouth in one go, what more do you need. We normally get two portions of these as come in a portion of 4 dumplings.
Next you must order the Prawn & Scallop dumpling, these are wonton shaped dumplings packed with scallop and prawns with a delicately placed scallop on top. These come in a portion of 3 dumplings and take two mouthfuls to obliterate, which is not a disappointment, as you will definitely want more than one dumpling to yourself.
This next dumpling has been added over the past year, it was a new addition and one we as a table have started ordering regularly. The spicy steamed crabmeat dumpling is delicate, delectable and quite frankly if I was a dumpling this is the one I would choose to be. If you love the taste of crab this is as pure as it is going to get. These also come in a portion of 3 – get two portions TRUST ME!
Well that’s the steamed part of the order now we start the baked/fried part of the menu. Unbutton your jeans as its about to get serious from here on in. Baked pork cakes with sesame is a must, it’s baked so half the calories right? Filled with char siu pork wrapped in a delicate crumbly pastry, baked and then stuffed into the hungry mouth of six ladies. Order a couple of portions of these, or if you are feeling like you need a mid week pick me up, go here, have a table for one, and order a plate of the baked pork cakes. This is something I would do daily, maybe it is something I actually do daily…… you will never know HA! I mean look at it, it looks tasty right? a little angel pork cake.
The fried taro paste croquettes should be an item you try at least once. They arrive at the table looking like delicate little clouds, but crispy and filled with taro paste and are incredibly messy, as you’ll be walking away with a crumb-speckled shirt. But they are flavourful and worth an order. These are normally ordered when there is a collective hangover.
The next two choices are also an essential when you are experiencing a hangover with serious munchies. Rice paper sesame prawn rolls and net pastry with shredded aromatic duck. One of the reasons why I love it here so much is because of the quality of the food. Both of these rolls are packed with protein. The prawn wrap has at least 3 whole prawns in one wrap and the net pastry is jam packed with duck. They are deep fried; yet not caked in oil and are crisp and crunchy.
That’s the starters ordered now on to the main event! Now if you thought I was joking about the big order please let me reiterate this is a massive lunch order and not to be taken lightly. Portions here are not small. If there are a lot of you I would recommend getting two of the mains, if you are going as a couple I would say get a couple of dim sum and get the steamed sea bass with ginger and spring onion for your main. Don’t be surprised when a whole fish arrives on your table, and if you order this as your main, be prepared to eat. The sea bass is so delicate it practically melts in the mouth; the aromatics used give the taste that the sea bass has been bathing in a bath of ginger and spring onion, which is so subtle, and incredibly satisfying. Have this with steamed rice and Chinese broccoli in black bean sauce and you have yourself the perfect meal combo.
Although this is a main in the fish course I see this more as a side dish, or something you would snack on while waiting for the arrival of the mains. Fried squid with spicy salt & pepper. This dish can be a little hit and miss as the squid can be a little chewy sometimes, but the batter that they use to coat the squid is crispy and salty and spicy. It is also served with fresh chilies and spring onion, which just adds another dimension of flavor to the squid.
Even if you come here and you do not have the dim sum, or the sea bass or the squid, you must order the Cantonese roast duck. It is packed with flavour and served with an aromatic gravy which you will just want to eat on it’s own with rice. The thing that I love about this duck is the skin, it is crispy and has the right amount of fat to meat ratio, and they will not skimp and give you an inedible fatty duck. Once you have this roast duck you will never eat shredded duck and pancakes again.
For the sides we always order steamed rice, Chinese broccoli with black bean sauce and if we feel like we need to have a healthy lunch we would order a plate of the Monk’s vegetables. This is not one of my top 10 favourite dishes at Imperial China, but if you have any vegetarians around the table this is a pretty good choice for them.
Now your order is complete it is at this point you order the most important thing for the table – the chilli oil. They make their own, it is liquid gold and ask for a lot! you will be dipping dumplings, covering your rice in it and by the end of the meal eating it by the spoonful. Its slowly creeping heat is far beyond addictive. I have tried to replicate this oil at home and with shop bought chilli oil, but I have not been successful. Someone please give me the recipe or just a giant vat of the stuff!
I could go on for days about how good the Imperial China is, but I think the only way you will find out if my word is golden, is by going and trying it yourself. This is a great place for lunch; if you have a big meeting that you need to impress clients with I would recommend taking them here. It is also a fantastic place to go for an alternative Sunday lunch. If I am feeling overly generous I take my family here for a Sunday meal. This is a great place for group meals it gives off an aura for sharing much like a big family setting. It is good for a date night but this place really impresses with its lunch menu. Suggest it for an office luncheon! DO IT! Go! Eat all the dumplings!!
Happy dining xx
Stilettos, Tiaras and Beer 