Friday 5 February 2010

Yauatcha, Soho, London

Yauatcha. I can't help thinking that it thinks it's a little bit cooler than it actually is.

I had lunch there yesterday and it was nowhere near as packed as it used to be. I can live with that. But did they always have wooden chopsticks? And how can a Michelin starred dim sum restaurant run out of jasmine tea? And that only came to light after I had ordered about three pots of it off the same guy, who kept staring at me as though I were speaking in tongues. Just a hint of that aloofness and carefree attitude that is the hallmark of a place that has gotten up itself.

I console myself with a blanket order of all my favourites. Shock horror: the Chilean sea bass mooli rolls are gone from the menu. What possible reason could they have for taking them off? Food miles? I decided to have a look on their website to email in protest. It is the shittest website I have ever seen. Of all the restaurants in London that should have a cool website, surely this is it? Don't, whatever you do, look at it.

Thank the Lord above that the baked venison puffs survived this latest cull. The rich and crumbly pastry hides the meatiest, juiciest venison you can imagine. Somehow it remains incredibly delicate yet properly meaty, in a true pie sense. If they dropped this from the menu I think they would be buggered.

Everything else was good, of course. But it's not that good. Not Michelin star good anyway. Maybe the inspectors should head down to China Palace above the carpet shop on South Street in Worthing of a Sunday lunchtime, and try their dim sum. Crazy I know, but it's not so far behind. And the staff are human, and they smile, and they never run out of jasmine tea.

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