I remember my first visit to the original Yauatcha in Soho; I had some of the best dim sum I’ve ever eaten. I was excited then to hear they were opening a new one in Broadgate Circle (that new posh food court near Liverpool Street which is home to José Pizarro, Franco Manca and the soon-to-open Crab Tavern).

It’s a strange layout; a huge semicircle at the very top of the development, meaning it’s a fairly long and narrow space. The walk to the toilets was epic.

We started with some scallop shui mai (£8.20), har gau (£6) and king crab Shanghai siew long bun with pork (£6.90). The latter was steamed buns filled with pork broth which were simply heavenly.

Curry taro croquettes (£5.80) lacked any noticeable curry flavour but the crisp fried exterior and the light filling more than made up for it. Taro is a tropical Asian plant FYI. The venison puffs weren’t ready 😱, so instead we went for the wagyu beef puffs (£7.80) which were so sweet they were like a pudding – in a good way. We also tried the black pepper and wagyu beef dumplings (£8.20) which were gorgeous steamed buns.

Prawn and bean curd cheung fun (£8.20) was the best thing we ate. The sloppy outer layer with its crunchy centre was such an explosion of textures I didn’t quite know what to do with myself. The sesame prawn toast (£8.90) was served at a volcanic temperature but it was worth the impending ulcers.

Spicy soft shell crab with really moreish crispy almonds (£13.80) was a bit of a dud dish; it had a slightly undesirable presentation and I would have preferred more of an attack on my senses from the chilli.

Jasmine tea smoked ribs (£13.90 – exactly the same thing can be found at Duck and Rice which is a bit weird) were perfectly smoked and the meat fell off the bone without turning into baby food. The lobster vermicelli pot (£38) saw chunks of shell-on lobster atop a giant mound of vermicelli which was a messy but ruddy lovely bowl of food to get stuck into.

We managed to find some room for pud, as they all looked so very pretty. The chocolate ‘pebble’ was a rich, indulgent end to a humongous lunch.

I absolutely loved the new Yauatcha; apart from Hutong in the Shard, it’s the best dim sum I’ve come across in London (bear in mind I don’t know a lot about these things). Considering they’d only been open a few days, for such a large menu, the food really was impressive. Those City boys are lucky.

5/5

I dined as a guest of the restaurant