London: Dim sum at Yauatcha

When it comes to Chinese food, I am a total illiterate. I know that number 36 on the menu at Xing Long Grill around the corner tastes good, and that I’m not so fond of jellyfish (which I tasted in Chinatown in Bangkok some years ago), but otherwise Chinese cuisine a huge black hole on my culinary world map.

Lunch at Yauatcha in Soho was therefore a real eye opener, at least within the category dim sum. Dim sum is small snacks served in bamboo baskets or on a plate and traditionally enjoyed with a nice cup of tea. There are many different kinds of dim sum, but dumplings (small stuffed balls of dough) are a popular variant, which are either served fried, steamed or boiled. The huge number of dim sums on Yauatcha’s menu was overwhelming, so we decided to go for the set menu.

Before we started eating, I had boldly proclaimed that I could eat at least 20 dumplings. Oh, how wrong I was! After the first 5, I was relly full so do not underestimate those innocent-looking dough balls.

I liked the steamed dumplings the most. They tasted a bit like tortellini and one of them had soup inside, yummy! Thanks to Yauatcha, it’s definitely not the last time I’ve had dim sum and I wasn’t surprised, when I later found out that Yauatcha actually has one Michelin star.

Since my visit at Yauatcha I have really developed a taste for dim sum, and one of my other favorite dim sum restaurants is Din Tai Fung.

Yauatcha, 15-17 Broadwick St, Soho, London