Celebrating the Year of the Monkey at Hakkasan

Name: Hakkasan (Chinese New Year Menu)

Where: 8 Hanway Place, London, W1T 1HD, http://hakkasan.com

Cost: Hakkasan’s Chinese New Year menu consists of 4 courses, or 9 dishes, costs a lucky £88.88 per person, and includes a cocktail each.

About: Opened in 2001, Hakkasan has long been a favourite of mine for its exquisite dim sum and Chinese food and is one of the few places in London I return to often. Hakkasan is the jewel in the crown of its group, which also includes two other Michelin-starred restaurants – Yauatcha and HKK.

Celebrating the Year of the Monkey at Hakkasan

I visited Hakkasan recently to experience their Dim Sum Sunday Menu (see review here). I believe this is still one of the best and most reasonably priced lunch menus in London right now – for £58 per person, guests can enjoy a 4 course lunch, ½ bottle of Champagne (or a full bottle between 2 people) and 2 cocktails each.

Chinese New Year is a great time to visit Chinese restaurants of this calibre as many will have specially designed menus for the occasion. So I hurried along to Hakkasan Hanway Place to try their Year of the Monkey menu which is available from 22 January until 22 February 2016 only.

What We Ate: The CNY menu is divided into 4 courses – soup, dim sum, mains & accompaniments and dessert. 

Course 1 - Soup of double-boiled fresh ginseng and chicken with bamboo pith and wolfberry

The broth had an intense chicken flavour with fresh ginseng root, which with its earthy, burdock-like flavour, was for me the highlight of the dish. I also enjoyed the gossamer-like texture of the bamboo pith. 

Course 2 - Japanese Wagyu beef with pine nuts in a crispy golden cup and a selection of dim sum

With little pieces of Wagyu beef, stir-fried with tiny cubes of Chinese chives, peppers and onion served on crispy pastry cups, this had a delectable crunchiness, wok-breath and richly flavoured beef.

The dim sum arrived in a platter of four. The har gau were well presented and delicate, while the scallop shumai had a thick slice of plump scallop, with a scattering of tobiko eggs – the pastry was ethereally light and so fresh it melted in the mouth. The Chinese chive dumpling with prawn was also good, and the duck and yam bean dumpling had a great hit of cracked black pepper.

Course 3 - Selection of 4 main dishes plus 1 rice

The wok-fried lobster in a spicy truffle sauce had chunky nuggets of tender lobster that tasted deliciously buttery and were topped with slices of aromatic fresh black truffles, Chinese black fungus, choy sum and tiny pieces of crispy deep-fried pastry which added an extra layer of texture to the dish. This was without a doubt the highlight of our meal, and one of the best lobster dishes I have eaten recently.

The Pipa duck is a regular favourite at Hakkasan, with its lovely crispy caramel-like skin, a sweet little layer of fat, and richly flavoured, slightly gamey meat.

The grilled Chilean seabass was also terrific. With a honeyed, slightly charred exterior, and a buttery texture to the flesh, the fish came with a scattering of well-made tempura of shimeji mushrooms.

The vegetable dish was an intriguing stir-fry of Hericium mushroom, with a meaty texture and delicately earthy flavour, combined with lotus root, asparagus and lily bulb in black pepper.

The dried scallop and crabmeat fried rice was a luxurious accompaniment to the duck, fish, lobster and vegetable mains.

Course 4 – Dessert: The Golden Halo

A ring (halo) of soy caramel and peanut brittle, topped with banana delice ice cream, a sphere of chocolate mousse encased in a wafer-thin chocolate shell, and flakes of real edible gold leaf. This was a light but intricate dessert with intense flavours of banana, peanuts and caramel. A monkey’s delight!

What We Drank: The CNY menu features one '9 Hou' cocktail per person, included in the set price. Made from Eldorado 3 year old rum, Amontillado sherry, banana, guava, lime, agave syrup and walnut, this was complex, well balanced and refreshing. 

With our meal, we shared a bottle of Sylvaner 'Sylvacello' 2012, from Cave de Turkheim, Alsace (£29) chosen by the sommelier. Straightforward, this had fresh, grapefruit notes but lacked any complexity. 

Likes: the lobster dish was the highlight, the rice of dried scallops and crabmeat was also terrific.

Dislikes: none.

Verdict: With Wagyu beef, truffled lobster, Chilean seabass and the finest Peking duck, Chinese New Year menus don’t get much better than this. Don’t wait too long, this special Year of the Monkey menu by Hakkasan ends on 22nd February 2016. Highly recommended.

The Fabulous Ling Ling Menu at Hakkasan

Words and Photography by Caroline Ghera and Luiz Hara

Name: Ling Ling at Hakkasan

Where: 8 Hanway Place, London W1T 1HD, http://www.hakkasan.com

Cost: The Limited Edition Ling Ling Menu is available throughout the summer at £35 per person and includes a welcome Ling Ling Collins cocktail, 3 dishes, Jasmine rice and macarons. There is a choice of 3 menus that cater for different dietary requirements and can be ordered by the same table providing a great opportunity to savour an exciting range of dishes. The Ling Ling menu is also excellent value when compared to the a la carte menu where starters average £13.90 and equivalent main courses range from £19.90 to £39.90.

Hakkasan serves a comprehensive and imaginative selection of drinks. Most cocktails at the strikingly long bar average £12.50 while wines can be ordered by the glass, with 175ml ranging from £7.10 - £33.70 and 250ml from £10.20 - £19.60. Bottles of wine are £29 - £80 and above. 

About: Opened in 2001, Hakkasan quickly built its reputation as one of the top Cantonese fine dining destinations in London. Its innovative menu is accompanied by an award-winning interior decor, designed by Christian Liaigre, immersing diners into a darkly mysterious dining room enclosed by dark wood screens and surrounded by the subtle blue glow emanating from the cocktail bar on one side, wine cellar, and a translucent wall concealing the kitchen on the other. 

The restaurant was awarded a Michelin star in 2003 and has successfully maintained its achievement since then, going on to open other restaurants in locations across the globe, from San Francisco and New York, to Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Shanghai, as well as a second restaurant here in London, in Mayfair.

Without a doubt, this is one of my all-time favourite restaurants in London and one of very few I return to regularly (reviewed here and here).

What We Ate: On this latest visit, we tried the limited edition Ling Ling Summer menu which celebrates the group’s latest opening this summer, Ling Ling in Mykonos– a new concept where a list of innovative cocktails and an izakaya-inspired menu of smaller Cantonese dishes take diners on an evening of drinking, dining and dancing. In keeping with that idea, the London restaurant is offering a signature cocktail and 3 choices of menu, “Fish and Seafood”, “Meat and Seafood” or “Vegetarian”.

The Fish and Seafood Menu

We started with a trio dim-sum platter that showed some of the kitchen’s classics - the har gau was a perfect combination of the freshest rice pastry packed full with plump prawns. The Chinese chive dumpling was equally delectable with its open chive-coloured rice pastry, fresh prawns and garnished with a single goji berry, while the scallop shumai offered a tender scallop encased by an egg-based wonton ribbed cup, topped with tobiko caviar – the simple combination of textures and prime ingredients was spot on.

We were then presented with our next dish, a crispy aubergine and shiitake salad. Pramesh, who was helping us on the night, explained was a vegetarian version of their signature crispy duck salad. We loved this dish - crispy battered strips of aubergine and shiitake mushrooms served with a mix of lily bulb and four types of cress: affilla, sakura, rock chive and tahoon, topped with pine nuts, pomegranate seeds, a deliciously sweet vegetarian hoisin sauce. It was so enjoyable that it should definitely be incorporated into their a la carte menu!

Moving on to the main course, a finely textured grilled Chilean seabass with a honey glaze was served on a bamboo leaf and garnished with deep-fried battered strips of mushrooms. The sweet glaze gave the fish an attractive presentation that complemented the buttery fish. Steamed jasmine rice was served as an accompaniment to all three menus.

The Meat and Seafood Menu

Like the fish and seafood menu, the first starter of the Meat and Seafood option was the trio of dim sum described above. So let me skip straight to our second plate, the jasmine tea smoked organic pork ribs coated in a delectable barbecue sauce and garnished with an edible flower. The meat was melt-in-your-mouth tender and had a delicious smokey character from the Jasmine tea. It was absolutely moreish.

One of my favourite Hakkasan dishes followed – a magnificent curry of spicy prawns with lily bulb and almond – this was an utterly delicious plate of large butterfly prawns, fresh lily bulbs, spring onions and flaked almonds all immersed in a creamy sauce topped with curry leaves. The sauce oozed freshness, aromatics, spiciness, and a good amount of heat. Simply put, Eastern-Asian curries do not get any better than this!

The Vegetarian Menu

For me, the vegetarian menu was the greatest revelation of the evening and one I would thoroughly recommend ordering. The salt and pepper homemade pumpkin tofu had a crunchy peppery coating with a silky smooth centre flavoured with pumpkin, and was topped with savoury fluffy soybean flakes that were an extraordinarily successful vegetarian version of Chinese pork floss. The flakes melted on the tongue and were mixed with crispy finely sliced seaweed, chopped chillies and sesame seeds, imparting texture and heat to the dish.

The main course was equally intriguing. Stir-fry black pepper vegetarian chicken cubes made of yellow soy beans (tofu) had not only the appearance but also the texture of real chicken and were served with fresh sugar snap peas and red pepper. We loved this.

The main course was accompanied by steamed jasmine rice and stir-fried baby broccoli and preserved olives with crispy seaweed and pine nuts.

The meal came to an end with a stunning selection of macarons. The shells had a perfectly crumbly skin with a chewy centre and were generously filled. The crunchy sesame seed and milk chocolate macaron was superb, while the tangy yuzu macaron offered a sharper contrast to its chocolate centre. The rose and raspberry macaron was fragrant, delicate and accomplished.

What We Drank: As part of the Ling Ling menu, we started the evening with a Ling Ling Collins cocktail made of Beefeater gin, cranberry and grapefruit juices, Chartreuse Green liqueur and garnished with a Shiso leaf. This was a refreshing drink with contrasting fruit and herbal notes.

To accompany our main courses, we decided to order white wine by the glass. Hakkasan’s head sommelier, Tobias Brauweiler, whose previous experience includes working at the Ritz and the boutique wine shop Hedonism, has put together a comprehensive wine list which includes some unusual varieties. Luckily, the choice offered by glass spans a good spectrum so we were curious to try the 2014 Avesso “Cazas Novas”, Quinta de Guimaraes, 13% vinho verde, made from 100% avesso grapes from Portugal (£11.90 for 250ml). Dry with a round limey acidity, but without the spritz found in vinho verde, this wine also had lovely notes of apricot and peaches and a flavoursome weight that stood up to the fish.

Our second choice to match the spicy prawns was a 2013 Chablis 1er Cru “Les Fourneaux”, Alain Gautheron, 13% Burgundy, 100% Chardonnay grapes from France (£19.60 for 250ml). Dry with fruity hints of apple and citrus and a creamy roundedness, we also found this wine matched well with the spiciness of our dish.

Likes: We thoroughly enjoyed the spicy prawns, a dish so fresh and fragrant that its memory lingered for days. Equally memorable were the vegetarian versions of well-known dishes such as the crispy aubergine and shiitake salad, pumpkin tofu with vegetarian floss and stir-fry vegetarian chicken. They were a revelation and proof that vegetarian choices can be just as satisfying as their meaty counterparts.

Dislikes: None

Verdict: At £35 per person the Ling Ling summer menu offers excellent value and is a great opportunity to try old Hakkasan favourites and exciting new dishes created specially for this menu that will blow you away. Highly recommended.

Hakkasan: For A Very Festive (& Glamorous) Chinese New Year!

Words & Photography by Matthew Brown and Luiz Hara

Name: Hakkasan

Where: 8 Hanway Place, London, W1T 1HD, http://hakkasan.com/

Cost: The number eight is lucky in Chinese culture - and Hakkasan’s Chinese New Year dishes are all centred on this number. The 9-course Signature Sharing Menu is priced at £88.88 per person, including a special festive treat, and is available for groups of three or more. Other New Year dishes are priced comparatively with the a la carte menu, with starters and small dishes from £12.88 to £18.88, and a main dish of Abalone and Dried Scallop Fried Rice, £23.88. 

Hakkasan has an impressive and varied drinks selection - most cocktails from the room-length bar are £12.50, and a New Year special, the Kumquatcha, is £11.88. Most wines are priced at £40 and above, but thankfully many are also available by the glass, both 175ml and 250ml. 

About: The Hakkasan Group is a formidable force in Chinese cuisine, with restaurants in New York, Las Vegas, Mumbai and Shanghai, as well as London. Opened in 2001, Hanway Place was the first Hakkasan, awarded a Michelin star in 2003, it has always been my no.1 favourite restaurant for dim sum and Chinese fine dining in London (reviewed here). 

Hakkasan’s design is as striking and innovative as when it first opened 14 years ago. The Christian Liaigre interior is atmospheric, with beautiful wooden screens and hanging birdcages. The 16-metre bar supplies great cocktails, and gives the dining room a glam atmosphere.

Tong Chee Hwee, Executive Chef at HKK, whose Chinese New Year Menu we reviewed just a week ago (see review here), has also been in charge of Hanway Place since its launch. Thankfully, this means that the two New Year menus he has created are very different, but equally delicious. As you enter the restaurant, the handwritten wishes of other diners hang above you, and the Celebration Menu includes a special secret element! 

What We Ate: Our meal began with a Dim Sum Platter, featuring a scallop shumai and dumplings made with Chinese chive and celery and prawn. We rank Hakkasan as one of London’s best Dim Sum venues, and this trilogy was a reminder why. The scallop was soft and flaked away on the tongue, a rare achievement as they can so easily turn hard and chewy. Elsewhere, the chive and celery flavours gave their respective dumplings a light and fresh flavour, ideal for a first course.

These were followed by a Spicy Lamb Lupin Wrap, served with Hakkasan’s own Hoi Sin Sauce. This was a special alternative to traditional Peking duck and pancakes for 2015, the year of the goat/sheep. The crunchy wrap was cut into easy-to-share pieces, and the lamb filling was mixed with spring onion and chilli, giving it a gorgeous aroma.

The third and final starter, golden fried soft shell crab, was served with an incredible nest of egg floss that added to the crab’s delicate bite. This dish, glistening with a sweet glaze and topped with a curry leaf, is exactly the kind of thing you leave the house to eat - complex and satisfying at the same time.

The five different main courses arrived at once, and were served to share. Spicy prawns, served with almond and lily bulb, were thick and fleshy. The curry sauce in which they were served was just enough to give them a creamy but intense heat.

Stir-fried black pepper beef was soft and untextured, lacking the bite and crunch of the prawns. The merlot and black pepper sauce was rich and sweet, however, and the beautiful vermicelli cone in which it was served add some needed texture.

Better still was the grilled Chilean sea bass in honey, its soft flesh glistened under the marinated skin. The stir-fried lily bulb and garlic shoot was a great accompaniment, it was crunchy with fried chilli and salty with soy; utterly addictive.

The best, though, was the abalone and dry scallop fried rice. Beautifully creamy, and with the clean, salty flavour of the scallop and the softness of the abalone, this is a very special dish indeed. If you visit and don’t opt for the Celebration menu, then don’t fail to order a bowl of this succulent rice to accompany your meal.

The theatricality stepped up a gear with dessert. A wishing tree arrived with two bright orange caramelised macadamia nuts hanging from it and an envelope containing a gift from Hakkasan to each diner!

The plate itself was decorated with a dusted cocoa tree, alongside servings of chocolate ganache, kumquat sorbet and cocoa rocks. The mixture of cocoa and citrus works beautifully, and the kumquat flavour and biscuity cocoa are truly innovative elements.

What We Drank: We began the meal with a Kumquatcha, a cocktail made with Brazilian cachaça, campari, kumquats and lime. This is the perfect drink for lovers of caipirinhas, with the kumquats adding a whole new level of flavour and colour.

For the wine, we ordered a 2013 Albarino “Marinero” Terras Gauda from Rias Baixas in Spain. The combination of roundness and acidity makes the Albarino grape a suitable match for both seafood and Chinese cooking, and it is no surprise to find it on the wine lists of many top Chinese restaurants.

We ended with a dessert wine - a glass of the Tokaji Late Harvest ‘Bodvin’, with a wishing tree on the table, we couldn’t resist the urge to celebrate! This is a complex glass, and the notes of oak, honey and apricot added new elements to an already fantastic final course.

Likes: This Chinese New Year Celebration Menu is a fantastic chance to try some of Hakkasan’s best dishes (the dim sum and garlic shoot and lily bulb especially) alongside an incredible new dish, the abalone and dry scallop fried rice.

Dislikes: None. 

Verdict: The Chinese New Year Celebration Menu is a great way to experience Hakkasan, with the atmosphere at its warmest and a strong selection of its best dishes available to share. It’s a fantastic insight into the power of the traditional elements of Chinese New Year, from kumquats to abalone, to public wishes and surprise presents, all of which combine to offer real festivity. 

Lobster Kitchen - Disappointing.

Name: Lobster Kitchen

Where: 111 Great Russell Street, London, WC1B 3NQ, http://www.lobsterkitchen.co.uk

Cost: lobster roll including a soft drink & side priced from £15 to £19, whole lobster + side at £19, lobster tails at £17.50, sides from £3.50 to £7.50. Beers priced at £4.50 and wines from £23.50.

About: Opened on Tuesday, the 28th October 2014 by friends Abigail Tan and Valeria Cinaglia, Lobster Kitchen is located next door to the infamous YMCA just off Tottenham Court Road. Inspired by New England’s lobster shacks dotted along the Maine Coast of the US, this new London restaurant serves lobster in a variety of different ways.

Lobster Kitchen takes no reservations and most tables are communal. With only one cash register (diners pay on ordering before eating), on the Friday evening we attended, there was a lengthy queue and finding a seat was tricky. Still, if you would like to brave these, November is a good month to do so as the restaurant is offering 50% off food for those joining their Claw Club, details here.

The décor evokes a maritime theme with lobster traps hanging from the ceiling and other fishermen’s paraphernalia. The overall look is busy and cluttered in my opinion, which does not help considering this is a relatively small one-room restaurant.

Lobster Kitchen is a casual eatery more akin to a café than a restaurant – think communal tables, plastic cutlery and cups, disposable food containers.

What We Ate: The Garlicky One lobster roll (£15) was served in a fluffy, soft hot-dog style bap, rather than a toasted brioche as advertised, it had plenty of lobster meat in it, but sadly lacked flavour, seasoning and most oddly garlic.

A marginally better option was The Cocktail lobster roll (£15) – the Mary Rose sauce (brandy, Tabasco, Worcester sauce, mayo and ketchup) lifted the flavour of the lobster but tasted straight out of a jar.

We also ordered two lobster tails – The Garlicky One (£17.50) had the same problem as its sister roll – it lacked seasoning.

The Thermidor (£17.50) with bechamel, cheese, herbs was the best lobster dish we had although it could have done with a little more sauce. The ultimate flaw however for both tails was that they were tough despite being almost raw in parts. Odd.

To accompany our rolls and tails we had three sides – of the fries (£3.50), there is little I can say about them but that they tasted pre-manufactured.

The lobster Mac n’ Cheese (£5.50) was the greatest disappointment – stodgy, floury and with little if any cheese flavour. A lost opportunity here, and one I really hope they will take a fresh look at.

The Deep Fried Clams (£7.50) were tiny little things, tasting and looking more like cockles. Deep-fried and very crunchy, they were surprisingly well seasoned with salt and chillies, and with a lovely kick to them.

What We Drank: We shared a bottle of Albariño by Domingo Martin from Spain (£28). Retailing at around £11 a bottle, this was a young, fruity wine but nothing else.

Likes: central London location.

Dislikes: the lobster mac n’ cheese was the greatest disappointment, as were the rolls and tails – the meat was tough, lacking in flavour and underseasoned. I may be mistaken but I thought some menu items were mis-described – baps for brioche, cockles for clams. In addition to the quality of the ingredients, the pricing also needs to be looked at – a similar restaurant also opened last week and (reviewed here) prices their lobster rolls at £7 to £9, so I question the value of Lobster Kitchen’s 50% discount.

Verdict: It’s very early days for Lobster Kitchen - there are quite a few issues to be ironed out post-soft launch week, and I sincerely hope they will be. I would have loved to love this restaurant, but on the basis of my visit, I cannot recommend it.