Restaurant review: YAUATCHA (Liverpool Street)

At the time of writing this review, Yauatcha is ranked 482nd in London restaurants, rendering it one of the more esteemed places I've visited, compared to my usual digs such as Icco Goodge Street (ranked 1325) and, er, McDonald's Liverpool Street (ranked 15592 out of 18056, rather embarrassingly). So, given how its reputation precedes it, I had high hopes for Yauatcha, particularly as it specialised in dim sum, one of my all-time favourite cuisines.

The cocktails matched the decor of the venue: understated but elegant. There was an outdoor drinking  area which was disparate from the restaurant for you to unwind and relax with a drink (or two), as the waiters prepared your table.

Everything in the photo above was absolutely delicious! We had two different kinds of seafood dumplings (lovely, and the coating was the right amount of material without feeling too stodgy) as well as a vegetable dumpling to fill to vitamin A quotient. They were all very yummy, and the veggie dumplings in particular proved to be a flavourful surprise, as vegetables are not something I usually consume for their taste.

My favourite item was the rice noodle rolls (cheung fun) filled with prawn. It came doused in just the right quantity of soy sauce (a welcome change from certain other places which ration condiments as if we're preparing for the war), and the noodle rolls had been steamed to perfection! The fact that the chefs weren't stingy with the prawns either was a welcome change, given in most Chinese restaurants the cooks tend to give you more of the cheap ingredients and precious little of the expensive ones (which contribute to the flavour and nutrition).

Overall, I would definitely recommend Yauatcha as a venue for when one is in want of somewhere to celebrate a special occasion. Our waiters were attentive and the venue had a refined, yet welcoming ambience. The cocktails came in a range of flavours, to suit the drinkers' palate. And the dim sum was tasty and filling; I'd rank this place as one of the top 3 dim sum places in London.

Grade: A

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The rest of my restaurant and bar reviews can be found here.