Dec
20
Yauatcha, London
When I am in London one thing I look forward to is dinner at Yauatcha. Yauatcha is the restaurant that Alan Yau started along with Hakkasan (I have not been there, just Yauatcha) and Wagamama (a noodle joint in London with food coming out at faster than lightning speeds on communal tables). The dim sum and some of the dishes (Peking duck is an absolute must have) at Yauatcha are delicious, though there are quite a few popular dim sum joints in London Yauatcha is the one I like to go to.
One of the first things you’ll notice at Yauatcha when you walk in is the pastry bar. This bar is filled with delicious cakes, chocolates, and macarons. I love the way Mr. Yau has integrated the art of french pastries with traditional chinese dim sum fare. Yauatcha is also my favorite place to have afternoon tea. Afternoon tea isn’t big in the states but we all know it’s a huge part of english tradition. Tea at Yauatcha DOES beat afternoon tea at the Dorchester Hotel, and this is hard for me to say because I love afternoon tea at the Dorchester. All of the gorgeous pastries served during afternoon tea are created by Stephane Sucheta, a former Pierre Herme disciple.
Cocktails here are quite big, this one below was part of the “long drinks” section..called “BARON VERT”, flavored with basil, dry vermouth and grapefruit juice.
Every table gets a small serving of pickled cucumbers, a combination of sweet, spicy, and tart, these pickles are addictive.
Very important, the right kind of hot sauce. This one has a crispy oily vibe to it and it is just perfect for dim sum.
Be careful how quickly you order food at this restaurant. One thing I noticed about Mr. Yau’s restaurants is that the food comes out very quickly. Mr. Yau’s work experience includes running McDonalds and KFC franchises before opening Wagamama, so I think this whole idea of “fast food” has influenced him somewhat. I never order food after ordering the cocktail, I like to wait a little bit because then I can’t sit down and enjoy my drink. This is the kind of place where you have to order food when you are ready to eat it. But the whole “fast” food vibe of this restaurant does not interfere with the quality of food served- this place has already earned its 1 Michelin star.
Pork and prawn shumai, this shumai is also topped with a soupy shredded scallop sauce.
Scallop and Caviar Shumai. A whole piece of Scallop sits on top of a chopped shrimp.
I like that the scallop has not been chopped and mixed into the dumpling, instead you eat a whole slice, I think you get to taste the texture of the scallop better this way.
Chilean Seabass Mooli Roll, a whole piece of fish wrapped in a thin sheet of radish and tied with chive sits in a light black bean sauce.
Shrimp roll with celery wrapped in a thin sheet of bean curd and fried.
Frying bean curd makes for the perfect crust, the crust is so hard that you can almost “knock” on it with your chopsticks.
Okay so everything else is great, wonderful, delicious…but the Peking Duck at Yauatcha is “it”. It is prepared a little bit differently than the traditional way. The cucumbers and sliced scallions below are traditional.
The wrap for peking duck is usually thicker, and bigger…here the wrap is so thin that you can see through it. The wrap is chewier, lighter, softer..not as papery as the original kind.
Duck is seared with a light crust instead of roasted, the exterior is very crispy and they don’t bring the whole duck out, they bring a leg and the breast meat. The duck is flavored with lots of chinese 5 spice and there isn’t much of that fatty gelatinous substance under the skin with this (if you enjoy that fatty stuff under the skin then you might not like the Peking Duck here)
This would have to be the perfect peking duck in my opinion.
Another perfect dish, stir fried garlic shoots with shimeji mushrooms.
Finished the night off with tea.
I am so hungry after looking at your pictures!! Great shoots!!
The one with the chopsticks and the rice and mushroom on top, is by far my favorite.
Looks delish! Great shots.x
Your pictures always make me hungry! And we dont have this kind of food in Minnesota =(
<3 Sarah
theantiquepearl.blogspot.com
pickles are my favorite!
your photography of food is amazing
im so proud to be cantonese! whenever we visit hongkong, it’s got to be dimsum sundays AT LEAST with my extended family. but these pictures look exquisite!
When I studied abroad in London, I think I passed by that place…wish I had tried it! As an Asian, I’m kinda skeptical about gourmet dim sum, lol, but this place looks delish!
Love dim sum! Your photography is stunning as always. I love looking at all the minuscule details in your food photography.
peking duck is my absolute favorite dish of all time! you’re so lucky…
its been too long since i’ve had dim sum…..too long…..
how can you take photos and eat at the same time, especially dim sum!! you’re so patient!
I love the incredible desserts at Yauatcha, they are like works of art…didn’t realize they had Yum Cha! Must try that next time!
xx
I love your food photos……especially drooling over the scallop and caviar shumai.. but do the restaurant give disposable chopstick to its patron?
you should definitely try out hakkasan too – i don’t remember what its called exactly, but the stir-fried noodles with duck flakes was so good we ordered a second serving! Being chinese in ethnicity, I prefer good old traditional chinese garb in old school chinese restaurants but I actually found the food there really impressive overall!
I love the fact that the second siu mai has a large scallop.
I bet it tastes really sweet. 
If you have a chance you should pay KL a visit. We have quite a number of good dim sum places.
Or Hong Kong.
How do you manage to stay THAT THIN with all the lovely food you seems to taste all the time?!
And congratulation, the pictures are perfect, as usual <3
That looks fantastic. If you are in London I sugest you go to Mr Chow, just by harrods, by far the best chinese restuarant I have ever been to, including ones in china…
I love your creation posts, but I love your travel posts too.. please keep posting a combination of both! I’m curious what else you got up to in London..
Blasphemy! Nothing can beat afternoon tea at the ‘chester!
Have you tried Cha Cha Moon? Alan Yau also started it up – it’s miles better than wagamama (I depise wagamama!) & still supercheap. If I remember right, it’s just down Ganton Road.
Omg I am literally salivating this food looks so amazing! Lucky lucky you! x
..now i crave asian food. authentic asian food.
* stomach growls*
:9
OMG! Totally craving for dim sum now! It all looks sooo yummy!
The variations on shumai are really interesting!
Just wanted to mention that the traditional Peking duck in Beijing is served with paper thin, see-thru pancakes. Anywhere that serves thick, chewy pancakes is probably preparing the duck poorly and not somewhere locals frequent. These, sadly, are usually well decorated, heavily advertised places aimed at grabbing tourists rather than providing good, traditional food.
The variations on shumai are really interesting! Just wanted to mention that the traditional Peking duck in Beijing is served with paper thin, see-thru pancakes. Anywhere that serves thick, chewy pancakes is probably preparing the duck poorly and not somewhere locals frequent. These, sadly, are usually well decorated, heavily advertised places aimed at grabbing tourists rather than providing good, traditional food.
Love yauatcha…have been a fan for years!
Btw, what you described up there and what is served in Yauatcha is actually Aromatic Crispy Duck, which is, yes, typically deep fried and flavoured with 5 spice.
Peking Duck, however, is whole roasted duck, served with pancakes too but typically only the roasted skin is served with the pancakes. Served with much more panache, the whole duck is brought to the table and the skin is ‘shaved’ off. The meat from the duck is then used to make another dish of your choice eg black pepper duck or roast duck fried rice.
Aromatic Crispy Duck is more typically found in the Chinese restaurants in the UK as opposed to Peking Duck. Even Marks and Spencer has its own version in its prepared food section!
2 diff dishes but equally yummy.
Your blog is awesome…I like your posts as before…Nice photography skills you have….these all dishes bring water in my mouth…
uau!! it looks amazing!! the food looks delicious! loved your post….as always!
Gorgeous photography!
Gorgeous photography!
Wagamama is a chain resturant. There is a few of them. Just saying if you didn’t know. AMAZING post! I really want to try a lot of these foods now
I really love your pictures…
theme-wise and fashion-wise!
you have a great eye,and unfortunately for me,you make me hungry :/
OMG, that peking duck looks absolutely divine.its pretty much my favourite meal ever and i’d love to try out their variation
looks amazing! i love dim sum!!!! great photos btw!
thelibertybelleblog.blogspot.com
You made me really hungry!
I have been in Wagamama in Amsterdam. Same concept of fast service as you mentioned but quality was not that good. I’d love though to try Yauatcha next time I go to London.
Great description and photos, you made all of us viewer drooling
Have you tried afternoon tea at Sketch?
drool drool super drool face sea of droooooool….haha
I love love love dim sum, and you just about gave me a heart attack with these photos! Peking duck is the best thing. Ever. Chinese food really makes me proud to be Chinese. Haha
Cecilia
ooh “Baron Vert” sounds like a winning concoction
I love yauatcha – it converted me back to Chinese food after years of fluorescent MSG-filled sweet and sour sauces and oily prawn crackers. Also, it’s just fun to say ‘yauatcha’. Fabulous photos!
The cocktail looks amazing. I love basil and i love grapefruit. Might try this one for myself!
And, i’m with you on ordering food slowly. My sweetie and i order food much slower than most people. Eating out is an experience for us. I like plenty of time to sip my drink and eat each course. We get frustrated when the food comes out too fast!
It sounds nerdy, but we like to talk about the flavors of everything we eat and sometimes guess what’s in it when they wont tell us.
Everything looks amazing and delicious! My mouth is watering and your pictures did justice to the food and that nice cocktail.
I love London and now you’ve given me one more reason to wish to be there.
Yauatcha was my favorite place when I use to leave in London. Thank for those sweet souvenirs….
jeeeeeeze, so much food! was that all for yourself?
peking duck…is amazing. this is making me drool….
London is a great place to visit and enjoy.. There is so much to do and one will never get bore with this place.. I have been there several times but the excitement is always there for it..
My friend and I are on holidays in London at the moment and we were thinking where to go for dinner when she mentioned this post. We quickly made a reservation and ordered all sorts of deliciousness. THANK YOU FOR AN AMAZING DINNER LUXIRARE. We loooved the toast shrimp sesami and the lotus spare ribs, yum. We toasted to you!