Hakkasan, London’s stylish Chinese
restaurant, is an express route to food heaven. From the inventively
delicate morsels of food to the impeccably stylish service, the entire
experience seduces. The food is so good that hours (even days) later,
when you’re back at home moodily chewing your own (rubbish) culinary
creation, your taste buds can still recreate that magical taste. From
memory, they continue to pinpoint every flavour. I mean, it really is that
good. From the signature roasted silver cod with champagne and
chinese honey to the stir fry Chilean seabass, and the pan-fried wagyu
beef to the exquisite lotus and gai-lan stirfry, the menu offers pearl
after pearl. And I haven’t even started describing the dim sum yet. For
that, the menu is genuinely staggering: parcels of heaven including
tender Alaskan snow crab wrapped in crisp fried vermicelli and xo
sauce, puff-spiced with cardamom and fennel seed and mooli spring roll
with bean curd puff and yam roll to longingly list just a few. Never
has dim sum been so sophisticated and original. All the Chinese
takeaways you’ve ever consumed (and there are a lot of them) gradually
line-up in embarrassment, hanging their greasy heads in shame. For
Hakkasan serves Chinese cuisine with a twist of fusion- updated,
enhanced, and turned on its head by westernized flavours. It’s by no
means authentic Chinese food, but neither is the fare offered by your
local takeaway store (yes tourist prawn toast, I’m looking at you).
Instead, Hakkasan’s culinary creations are a salute to one of the
best-loved cuisines in the world – proof that Chinese food can be just
as stylish as its Japanese cousin.
You only need to breathe in the
subtly-spiced incense and admire the sleek wooden décor to understand
where Hakkasan’s owners are trying to go with their franchise. We ate
downstairs, in the Mayfair branch on Bruton Street, a subterranean
vault with mellow nightclub lighting and relaxed background music that
seemed perfectly calibrated to the restaurant’s insistent chic.
Delicately carved lattice screens separate this space into intimate
dining areas- ancient China smuggled into the 21st century.
The New York nightclub feel is wonderfully reflected in the cocktail
menu (what meal is complete without a good drink?) The rose-petal
martini was offensively girly (it was served complete with an actual
flower, but I don’t care- it was delicious) as is the pink Mao-Mao –a
wonderful concoction of watermelon, strawberries, Belvedere vodka,
Akashi-tai sake, and strawberry liqueur that was delicious but,
unsurprisingly, incredibly pink. One not to try is the curiously-named
Sushi Bartender’s Breakfast- that was a rookie error - a meal in itself,
it nearly filled me up before the food had even begun. Curiosity
killed the cat.
It isn’t difficult to see why the newer,
shinier Mayfair branch trumps over its original, older sibling in
Hanway Place. I found the staff to be much friendlier, and I always
felt the dodgy alleyway entrance to the original Hakkasan behind
Tottenham Court Road to be more seedy than it was sexy. In the end,
though, both serve the same epicurean delights – meaning that whichever
of the two branches you choose, you and your tastebuds will be blown
away. Just make sure you can dig deep into your pockets- those who
complain about the prices aren’t telling you a lie. But, then again,
you will be paying for heavenly quality that won’t disappoint - making
Hakkasan a firm favourite amongst those who enjoy an all-round dining
treat.
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