Eating at Hutong will not come cheap, but if you do you be awarded with the panoramic views of the London skylines. I decided to treat my cousin who was holidaying in London and the family to some dim sum lunch.
Booking the night before I nab some a table for the afternoon, whisk away from the ground floor to the 33rd floor. Following the staircase to the top of the building the receptionist greeted us before making our way to our table. Hutong is part of the Aqua restaurant group, with Aqua on the floor below. Hutong specialises in Northern Chinese food.
Layout and interior are spectacular, a tree in by the bar with red envelopes hanging from the branches, dark wooden furniture, and furnishings. One corner of the restaurant you see the famous roasted Peking duck hanging on hooks ready for the duck cutting ceremony.
Since going to Min Jiang for the duck many people told me I must try Hutong one. Served in two stages our half duck was cut up and sliced expertly by the chef, clear juices of fat dripping from the meat. The first serving is to have it with pancakes then the rest gets taken away to be cooked in another dish.
We ordered a selection of fine parcels of dim sum, rose champagne shrimp dumplings, shanghai style xiao long bao, baked wagyu beef puffs, crispy prawn mixed seafood rolls, scallop siu mai, and seafood fried rice.
The seafood-fried rice may seem like the simplest dish, but it had to be most outstanding fried rice I’ve tried in my life. Seasoned enough to bring out the seafood elements, balanced flavouring, and evidence of that wok-fried taste in each bite.
Dim sum has proven to be good, not the best in my opinion but still better than most places. A lot pricier than your average Chinese restaurant rounding from £7+ per 3 portion plate. The bill for 4 people did come up to around £135 with tea.