Whilst working from home due to the late summer tube strike, I took the opportunity to eat lunch locally. One of my favourite lunchtime treats is dim sum. Recently a Chinese restaurant has opened on the ground floor of the new 4-star Dorsett Hotel Shepherd’s Bush (www.dorsetthotels.com/unitedkingdom/london/shepherdsbush). The Dorsett is located at the western edge of Shepherd’s Green on the site of the old Shepherd’s Bush Pavilion; a Grade II listed building. The original Pavilion was a cinema and was completed in 1923. It won the RIBA London Street Architecture Award for the best London façade. All films shown at the Pavilion were accompanied by music from the Pavilion Symphony Orchestra. In 1944, much of the interior of the building was decimated by a flying German bomb. After several years of dereliction the plans developed by Dorsett incorporated an 8-storey 317 room hotel behind the sensitively restored listed façade.
My yum cha destination was Shikumen (W. www.shikumen.co.uk/shepherds-bush, A. Dorsett Hotel, 58 Shepherd’s Bush Green W12 8QE & T. 020 8749 9978). Yum cha is Cantonese Chinese for “drink tea” and refers to the Chinese brunch of drinking tea and eating dim sum. Dim sum are small bite size portions of food traditionally served in steamer baskets (xiaolong) or small plates. The flavours usually centre on pork, prawns and chicken.
As is traditional with yum cha, I ordered tea first; opting for Yunnan Pu-Erh because I liked the name. Pu-Erh is a fermented black tea from the Yunnan province. I can’t complain about the taste and suggest you try it next time you have the opportunity. When you’re next having yum cha remember that it is Chinese custom to pour other people’s tea before your own and it is considered extremely gracious to be the first to pour. A finger kowtow; tapping of two fingers of the same hand is regarded as a thank you for pouring the tea.
Next came the menu; I prefer to the see the ordering of dim sum as “what are we not going to order” as opposed to “how many are we going to get each?” My go to dim sum is the original and best; pork and prawn Shui Mai. The Cantonese version hails from the south-eastern province of Guangdong and is filled with minced pork, chopped prawns, Chinese black mushroom, green onion and ginger and wrapped in lye water dough. Shikumen’s version was steamed to perfection and tasted delicious. I also opted for the scallop Shui Mai, which was topped with tobiko (Japanese for flying fish roe), and tasted equally resplendent.
My chop sticks were barely back on their stand before the Shanghai Xiao Long Bao and Har Gau arrived. The Xiao Long Bao is a soup dumpling consisting of a minced pork ball surrounded by a soup served in a dough skin. Har Gau is a prawn dumpling served in a transparent wrapper. Both were excellently delicious.
Lastly came a Char Siew Bun and a Baked Venison Puff. Char Siew Buns are my least favourite Dim Sum just because I think there are other Dim Sum that are much better (personal preference). However, the Baked Venision Puff was a taste revelation of deliciously tender meat in a rich gravy and perfectly baked pastry crust; a fantastic way to end a scrumptious lunch.
Dim Sum should only be served at lunchtime, however, due to its popularity you can get it at certain places in the evening. If you’re in west London at lunchtime, I suggest you head to Shikumen for some delightful yum cha.
Food – 9.5/10; Its close to Halloween and I’m feeling mean
Drink – 9.5/10; Refer to above
Service – 8/10
Facilities – 8/10; quite a walk downstairs and out of the way
Cost – £10-15/head with a nice brew
DAN'S DINDINS 