We were taking out a couple, family friends of the hubby, who we’d been planning to meet for months and finally found a free date. The usual destinations were fully booked a month ahead so the hubby chose China Tang. I’d heard about the restaurant before, most vividly about the night a drunken Rod Stewart snuck in from a private party and conspiratorially hid a woman’s shoe under the hubby’s table, and had secretly been dying to go ever since. I switched my jeans for a skirt and heels and hoped it would compensate for my post-workout wet hair.
Arriving at the Dorchester, doors were held open as we whisked our way through the golden lobby and down the long hallway, which was scented with gorgeous, delicately fragrant fresh roses. The restaurant door is barely marked, like a secret club. We made our way downstairs and enjoyed a drink at the bar, giving in as well to wasabi peas and spicy rice crackers despite the knowledge that an amazing meal was right around the corner.
And amazing it was.
First of all, there’s a great vegetarian selection. In fact, a whole section of each menu (the dim sum & noodle menu and the full dinner menu) was dedicated to vegetarian food. Oh yes, and there’s that magical word again: dim sum. This place even does vegetarian steamed buns! Despite their fluffy appearance, they are actually dairy- and egg-free - a bit of yeast does the trick.
After ordering the wine, we started with steamed vegetable dumplings, vegetable spring rolls, vegetable steamed buns and gai lan cannelloni (aka cheung fun).
The vegetable dumplings were good, standard vegetable dumplings. Well-cooked pastry, good amount of filling and lovely when dipped in the tasty vegetarian chilli oil. The spring roll was wrapped in layers of marvelously crispy wrapping, which the hubby quite enjoyed; there was so much wrapper that I could hardly taste the filling.
The steamed buns were loads of fun - soft and airy with the tiniest ball of filling in the middle. It’s a bit like eating marshmallows that collapse between your teeth, but without the cloying sweetness and instead with a little gem of soy-garlic-not-sure-what-else hidden inside.
The best starter by far was the gai lan cheung fun. Rather than the normal indiscriminate medley of vegetables, the filling was simply long strips of stir-fried gai lan, a green Chinese vegetable similar to the stalks of tenderstem Chinese broccoli. The gai lan was cooked to perfection. I had feared it would be too crunchy for the dish and the effort of biting into it would precipitate the collapse of everything that was unfortunate enough not to make it in your mouth. Instead, each bite came apart easily. The ratio of filling to pastry was lovely as well. Definitely a must-order dish.
For the second course, we had vegetable lettuce wraps while the hubby had duck. I usually skip this bit since most Chinese restaurants smother the filling in salty soy sauce, the only respite being the fresh lettuce leaf (when it is indeed fresh). I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it here. The filling was well-seasoned and was brightened up by tangy celery, which complimented the crisp lettuce. I even scooped up the extra bits of filling left on the plate when everyone had had a turn! (For non-veggies, they only do whole crispy duck but even their second-best duck dish that comes in smaller portions was apparently very very good. So the hubby says.)
On to the mains. By this time we were filling up quite nicely but still wanted a good variety, which of course is easy here thanks to the great veg selection. I was intrigued by the "Floral Mushrooms" but was persuaded to go for a slightly less adventurous dish, Assorted Three Mushrooms. Our guests requested Mixed Vegetables in garlic sauce, which doesn't appear on the menu but the kitchen was easily able to accommodate using mixed Chinese vegetables. Finally, we debated between Spicy Aubergine and Spicy Bean Curd Braised with Minced Pork... without the pork of course! The bean curd dish is more commonly known as Mao Pao Tofu. Both were described as Szechuan dishes, which are known to be mouth-numbingly spicy when properly prepared. We ordered the aubergine and tried salt and pepper tofu instead. All of this was accompanied by steamed white rice, egg fried rice and bean sprout noodles. Vegans, they also offer vegetarian fried rice without eggs, but the noodles are egg-based. (The hubby thoughtfully tried to ask if their eggs are free-range but the waitress was unsure, saying they get whatever the supplier sends; either way I'm happy with steamed rice).
When the mixed vegetables came, we were somewhat (pleasantly) surprised that it didn't consist of the standard medley of onions, peppers and carrots - instead it was mostly gai lan accompanied by pak choi. The vegetables were lovely, crisp but tender, and the sauce was thin and light. It was beautifully green and fresh.
The mushrooms were moist and almost buttery (I'm always surprised by this taste, even when I cook mushrooms at home and know that absolutely no butter touched the dish) but not overpowering. I'm still curious about those Floral Mushrooms though....
The salt-and-pepper tofu was less crispy than others I've had in the past, with a very thin skin. This of course is a matter of personal preference... and personally I'm starting to shy away from all salt-and-pepper dishes but the thinner skin does mean there's less oil. Our guests enjoyed the dish, which made us happy.
The aubergine came sizzling hot, juicy and soft, almost falling apart with a touch of the spoon, and miraculously not drowning in oil, in fact there was no oil to be seen. The taste and texture were gorgeous, though I was somewhat disappointed by the level of chilli-spice. It certainly was not made with tongue-numbing Szechuan peppers; of course it is to be expected that no Cantonese restaurant will get that kick quite right. Without that expectation, however, the aubergine was delightful. The only time I've had better aubergine was in Mumbai, when the chef somehow got the aubergine and sauce to caramelise, but that's another review for another day.
As for the accompaniments, there were no complaints so I assume the fried rice and noodles were satisfactory at least.
I was impressed by the freshness and flavours of the food at China Tang. While there was no surprising and creative flair, every vegetable and pastry was treated well and cooked just right, there was a good variety of textures and tastes, and each dish was balanced and provided a new dimension to the meal. The waiters were attentive, but at these prices it would be surprising if they weren't. Even the sommelier came by periodically to refill our wine glasses. The room is spacious enough and though the decor is a bit gold and opulent for my taste, it is what you would expect from the Dorchester.
China Tang is a great place for a special occasion, with more than enough food for veg(an)s. Of course, 'special' is a relative term... the two children next to us seemed to be quite comfortable there.
Taste: 9.5/10
Veggie Selection: 10/10
Cost: £45/person, not including drinks
http://www.thedorchester.com/china-tang
Park Lane, Mayfair, London
0207 629 8888
