Yauatcha!

Every so often my friend N and I are patted on the head by our husbands and told, sorry love, we've made other plans- but you wouldn't like it anyway! We know immediately they're about to indulge in some awful non-veg culinary celebration of epic proportions. (St. John's was first, this time was Terrior; veggies, these are two restaurants to avoid at all costs - even the vegetables are non-veg).


This time we decided to have our own fun and went to Yauatcha. What a fun name, if difficult to spell. N, knowing my obsession with dim sum and all things dim sum related, chose well. I dropped the hubby off at Charing Cross and walked the short trip across Theatreland (aka Shaftsbury Ave) to the restaurant. After almost sneaking in through the back by mistake, we made our way in  the front entrance and downstairs to our seats. The dim blue lighting was sleek and cozy and once we descended to the low seats, we were quite comfortable. The restaurant was packed, but the tables were far enough apart that we had elbow room - and could still peek at other diners' selections! The cocktails were a nice start - refreshing and not too sweet (though it helps that I make it a point to avoid liqueurs). On the table were bitings of pickled cucumber with two chilli sauces. One of these - the chilli oil - has fish sauce, which the waitress replaced with fresh chopped chillies that we doused in soy sauce.

Then, on to the exciting part: the dumplings. Yauatcha has an extensive selection of vegetarian dumplings, allowing us to try only half despite over-ordering.

The first to arrive were winter melon dumplings, lovingly shaped and coloured as carrots, complete with little leafy tops! The flavour was just as impressive. The filling ingredients went together so well, all the way to the fresh leafy top. The pastry was perfectly steamed, not too gooey or stiff.  This was my favourite dish of the night. This dish alone was well worth the trip.

The next dish was the fried sweet potato dumpling. The filling was good and the wrapping was crispy, but the taste of the filling was overshadowed by the multitude of wrapping layers. Eating this made me somewhat nostalgic for my mom's thin Indian fried snacks.

Three-style mushroom cheung fun came next, freshly doused with sauce by the waitress and cut at the table. Not too slimy (enough stickiness that we could pick it up with chopsticks without it falling apart)  - well cooked with a strong shitaake taste, though lukewarm as cheung fun often is. Some of the mushrooms were tough and chewy and there could have been more filling, but overall I was happy.

Pan-fried Shanghai vegetable dumplings came next. Good standard dumplings but with a surprisingly sweet sauce with hints of date, fig and cinnamon, reminding me of Christmas mince pies. (N wasn't convinced on the mince pie comparison, but she did agree it was unusual). I generally shy away from sweet sauces, but I can see how people might appreciate the variety it brings.

To freshen up the meal, we ordered a red-and-green salad with cooked cherry tomatoes and cucumbers. The tomatoes were juicy and it was a refreshing break.

We ordered one last plate of mushroom-based steamed dumplings. There were funny doughy balls perched on top which N liked but I could've done without. The filling was nice- nothing exceptional but good solid veggie dumplings.

For the main, we ordered salt-and-pepper tofu for N, claypot dau dau for me and stir fried mangetout, sugar snap peas, edamame and carrots to share.

The salt-and-pepper tofu was crunchy but greasy. It was covered in very appetisingly crunchy crumble and colourful bits of chillies- unfortunately they were just for show and weren't very spicy.

I know it's not everyone's cup of tea but I really enjoyed the claypot dau dau. It had tofu, edamame, peanuts and that funny processed tofu that's meant to look like meat. The fake meat was chewy (though airy - probably pretty low on the healthiness scale), the tofu was soft, I always love edamame in any dish, and the sauce was full and tasty. My favourite part, surprisingly, was the peanuts. They were the big, juicy, mushy type I've had in India that's meant to be boiled in salty water and eaten as a snack, or added to daal. It's a full, homey dish that's comforting on a cold, rainy day - the Chinese equivalent of a hearty stew.

The fullness of these two dishes was well-balanced by the fresh stir fry. The mangetout and sugar snap peas were bright and crisp and seemed to almost cancel out the heavy food we'd eaten.

Although we had absolutely no room for dessert, we did have a quick peek at the menu - and the cakes delivered to neighboring tables. Yauatcha is known for its extensive tea selection, which you can peek at by the entrance. It's cakes (non-vegan) looked amazing - apparently you can buy a nice box to take away, if you have dinner guests to impress at home. It also has an exotic fruit plate on the menu as a healthier (and vegan) option.

Overall, I enjoyed the meal. Only two dishes really stood out to me- the winter vegetable dumplings and the clay pot dau dau. The rest were somewhat forgettable but nevertheless good, well-cooked fillers.

Thank you, N, for the lovely suggestion and the fab company. I can eat dim sum all day every day and I will certainly be back to Yauatcha, particularly for those carrots... not the real ones, the dumplings in disguise!

Taste: 7.5/10
Veggie Selection: 10/10
Cost: £50/person including one cocktail, no dessert, and lots of food
http://www.yauatcha.com/
15 Broadwick Street
London W1F 0DL
020 7494 8888