China Tang

Definitely the most fun of The Dorchester’s dining options, China Tang is a deeply glamorous experience evoking inter-war Shanghai – all heavy gold chopsticks, plush carpets, sexy lighting & art deco design touches. It’s rather like eating on a 1930s ocean liner, an effect compounded by super-attentive, clued-up staff wearing jaunty white uniforms. Much of the food is an ultra-posh version of high-street Chinese &, for the most part, it’s done well. From the lunchtime dim sum menu, Shanghai pork dumplings were packed with juicy flavour while gai lan cheung fun had terrific crunch; from the evening carte, roast duck pancakes featured moist meat swaddled in comforting fat, steamed black cod was firm & sweet, & chocolate fondant was excellent. Bland dishes such as prawn dumplings, stir-fried beef in black pepper, & roast banana cake, have been deemed ‘over-priced’, but the consensus is firmly in China Tang’s favour. It has a fantastic bar, too (see separate review).