Review on Yauatcha
The younger sister of Hakkasan is a fascinating mix of dim sum venue, tea house and restaurant just a stone's throw from Berwick Street market. The design is modish, with blue-frosted windows concealing the light spacious ground-floor room and its immaculately arranged pâtisserie counter. Downstairs is a more formal space, with flickering candles, low-slung chairs and a blue fish tank running the length of the bar.
The kitchen is capable of delivering exquisite Michelin-starred food, with dim sum as the undoubted stars. Nuggets of steamed Chilean sea bass wrapped in translucent sheets of mooli are one of the stars, and other unmissable options include baked venison puffs, steamed scallop and kumquat dumplings, spinach cubes with prawns and water chestnuts, prawn and date dumplings encased in a matrix of deep-fried fronds, and parcels of glutinous rice wrapped in lotus leaves.
Otherwise try something more substantial - a stir-fry of Mongolian ribeye beef, roast silver cod with lily flowers, red dates in Chinese Shaio Hsing wine or XO seafood udon noodles, for example. Desserts are westernised creations like iced melon soup with yoghurt sorbet and Szechuan pepper pannacotta; also, don't miss the irresistible wasabi and apricot truffles. Scores of teas are on offer, and there are suave creations like honeydew melon Martini for cocktail fans. The wine list is an eclectic, highly fashionable assortment.
Alan Yau sold Yauatcha early in 2008, but retains a stake and still oversees the daily running of the restaurant. It's business as usual!
Yauatcha is also featured in: Michelin Guide, Good Food Guide, Hardens, AA Guide
Rate this RestaurantCuisine
Chinese
Chef
Cheong Wah Soon
Restaurant Opening Times
Lunch: 12.00 through until
Dinner: 10.00pm Sun-Thu (10.30pm Fri & Sat)
Accepted credit cards
Visa, Master Card, American Express