New Fortune Cookie

Old-school Chinese dining den 

Stir fry lobster and noodles in ginger and spring onions

New Fortune Cookie, the old-school Cantonese restaurant in Queensway has to be the best value-for-money Chinese restaurant in the whole of London. I have eaten there a few times over the year and I can say the quality of the cooking is well above many other Chinese restaurants in London, and the price of this place is insane, with most dishes costing around the £12 mark. The menu is large, so you won't be bored with it as I still have so many dishes I really would love to try. For my 4th visit, I rounded up a group of friends for a traditional Chinese feast to celebrate Chinese New Year.

Mandarin Kitchen

Chinese seafood feasting overdrive

Steamed brown crab

Mandarin Kitchen, the infamous Chinese restaurant in Queensway is best known for its seafood dishes, especially its lobster noodles, which now has a cult status, with people traveling from far, especially for that dish. I personally have eaten there about 5 times now and not once I could avoid not ordering the lobster noodles. Besides seafood, the restaurant served a range of dishes that you would find in a typical Chinese restaurant, from egg fried rice, and crispy duck to black bean chicken. But I would suggest coming here for seafood as it is what makes this place special.

Noble Palace

 Chinese private menu dining den

Steamed king crab legs with udon and chicken oil

Noble Palace, the under-the-radar fine-dining Chinese restaurant in St James is doing something rather unique. While on the front of the website is all about tasting menus from 6, 8 to 10 courses. It has a hidden offering 'no menu concept which allows diners to pre-order what they like in advance, meaning you can request a Chinese bespoke menu as you wish and the restaurant would offer you a quote to cater to your request. This means you can always try something new whenever you visit. below is captured a recent visit to a specially created 8-course tasting menu. Interestingly enough it was my 8th visit too.

Sketch Lecture Room

A funky french tasting journey 

Pumpkin, gnocchi, white truffle, squid

Sketch is one of the handfuls of 3 Michelin-starred restaurants in London. The modern French restaurant is always more than just a restaurant. From the funky staircase leading to the dining room to the Pop-Art like grand dining room itself, dining at Sketch is always going to be a special experience, not to mention the super slick service. This is my 3rd visit to Sketch, I have experienced its set lunch menu as well as the a la carte menu, so it was only fitting for me to go for the tasting menu for a full-on Sketch experience. 

Angler

Classy British seafood done right

Roast turbot, pumpkin, chestnut cream

Angler, The British seafood restaurant on the top floor of the South Place Hotel in the City, is the only Michelin-starred restaurant within the D&D group. I have been to a good number of D&D-owned venues over the year, from Skylon to Avenue. They are usually overpriced for what they are. Apart from Launceston Place and Angler. In fact, Angler's quality of the cooking is easily Michelin star level for me, and the price seems to be fair considering it us using fresh premium British seafood ingredients, such as hand-dived Scottish scallops and Cornish lobster. The below captured my 3rd visit, tasting menu style.