Ping Pong Dim Sum

chrisp

Dim Sum when you want it 6th October 2009

0 found this helpful

Before we go any further, Full Disclosure. I didn't pay for this meal. I was invited by the PR lady to try their new Autumn menu after I made some (unprompted) positive comments about it on Twitter, and of course I was happy to accept. But believe me or not, I have always had a soft spot for Ping Pong. Whether or not the traditionalists like it, dim sum lends itself extraordinarily well to post-pub dining, and although Yauatcha was probably the first place to promote the peculiar idea of serving food when the customers might want to eat it rather than when the restaurant decides is convenient for them, the raft of mini-chains that have followed in its wake (including Dim T) have proved that it's not that peculiar an idea after all.

When you think about it, it's obvious. A group of friends, some more hungry than others, some more drunk than others, some leaving early, some arriving late. Imagine trying to make a booking at a restaurant in Soho last-minute - "Yeah, between two and twenty of us, some not eating, some not drinking either. We'll be there any time in the next four hours." Not going to happen is it. But here stands Ping Pong: vast, reasonably priced and welcoming. Sure, you'll have to queue in busy periods, and it can get quite boisterous later in the evening, but for a reliably fun place to share food, sip fruity cocktails and not completely drain that month's budget, I can hardly think of anywhere more suitable.

We started small, with nibbles of Sichuan pork cracklings (not very Sichuan-y - in fact they tasted just like your average pub pork scratchings, albeit served with a really lovely chilli oil) and tamarind prawn crackers (the tamarind sauce was lovely and sharp, and the crackers themselves looked pleasingly rustic) while we supped on our largely successful house cocktails (my lychee martini was pretty good, although the Earl Grey julep was odd).

Seafood puff was a little low on filling, but what was there was tasty. The mooli and spring onion puff is described on the menu as containing 'a hint of garlic' but was so overwhelmingly garlicky it almost drowned any other flavours. Slices of smoked duck were a bit flabby but full of smoky flavour, and one of the new dishes, 'Beggar's Chicken' looked the part and tasted great with its sharp hoi sin dressing.

I won't detail everything we ate - you've probably had enough of the blow-by-blow style after El Bulli and the Sportsman - but some highlights were the char sui buns, usually a good measure of a dim sum restaurant and which passed that test perfectly, being light and gooey and with a great tasting sweet pork filling. The seafood dumplings also tasted as good as they looked, folded into a cute tortellini shape and stuffed full of sweet prawns and scallops. Unfortunately I didn't think much of the honey-glazed spare ribs, which looked a bit over-marinated and bedraggled, and although the crispy prawn balls looked spectacular in their nest of deep-fried egg pastry, there was simply too much grease for me to wade through to find the prawns.

Desserts, so often an afterthought in Chinese restaurants, were surprisingly good. Admittedly had I been paying I probably would never had ordered them, but the mango pudding was lovely and fresh tasting - straightforward but deliberately so - and the "Ping Pong Delights" (which I'm told are also known as mochi) were great fun, with a spongy pastry coating three radically different flavours of ice cream. We particularly enjoyed the vanilla and mango with a quite unexpected chilli heat. Only the chocolate and wasabi mousse was a bit of a let-down, the fiery horseradish sitting very uneasily with the sweet chocolate.

If you've ever been out in Soho or Oxford Circus and been looking for somewhere to eat, chances are you've already found Ping Pong and none of this is news to you. And in fact they seem to have struck a chord with Londoners at large, judging by the alarming growth rate of what was once a mini-chain - there are now twelve branches. Ping Pong is a fine example of the way London can enthusiastically adopt a cuisine from another country and twist it just subtly enough to meet its own local needs. No, it's not strictly "traditional" to eat dim sum in the evening, but this is after all London, not Hong Kong. We do things differently here.

Tony12

8th September 2009

0 found this helpful

Had a thoroughly enjoyable evening at Ping Pong restaurant in Soho the other night. Food was excellent, service was friendly and it was good value for the money. Has a range of exciting cocktails and delicious dim sum. No complaints!

marky31

Ping Pong Soho 24th August 2009

0 found this helpful

Having been to a few of the Ping Pong branches I think they've done well making dim sum more available outside of Chinatown and all through the day. I haven't had a bad experience here, on the contrary, I've never had any complaints. The food is of good quality, the service efficient and the restaurants themselves always clean with stylish interior design. This is a great place to come for a quick lunch or an evening with friends. Try one of the novel 'flowering teas' or cocktails from the extensive drinks menu. Ping Pong may have received some mixed reviews but I would recommend it all the way.

vegimari

High priced stodgy dim sum 9th August 2009

0 found this helpful

I’ve loved dim sum for years and it’s good to know that the concept is breaking into the mainstream after so long being confined to a few Chinese restaurants and is available at any time of the day, any day of the week. However, to me, this isn’t dim sum. The number of dishes is very much restricted – really to a choice of two - sticky rice and steamed buns.

I struggled to understand why, at a time when Londoners are becoming more health conscious by the day, this chain continues to expand. To me an enjoyable and healthy meal consists of, and I’m estimating this as no restaurant meal has ever prompted me to think about it before, around 40% green vegetables, 40% carbs and 20% vegetable protein. That would certainly represent a typical Chinese meal. To make up the 40% green vegetables I would have to order around 12 portions of Pak Choy or Choy Sum – each is served in 60mm x 50mm x 6mm portions (about 10p worth of Chinese vegetables if bought at a Chinese supermarket). At nearly £4 per serving that would make for a very expensive vegetable dish. Because the portions are miniscule, the greens were overcooked and tasteless. There wasn’t a single vegetable protein dish on the menu. From what I could see, most diners seem to order a couple of portions of sticky rice and a couple of stodgy steamed dumplings, most of which had small quantities of meat or fish. I can live with a high carb diet – the previous day I’d just returned from a business trip to West Africa. Long work days confined me to a hotel where they don’t really do anything non-meat/fish, so I’d lived off rice for 5 days. But in London? At 95% carbs, this just isn’t my sort of meal!

The service was OK; averagely efficient. I’d asked for a Southern Comfort and had been told they didn’t sell it but saw it at the bar on my way out ... and there’s something about restaurants that add 12.5% to your bill when the service is just about acceptable! We ate here as the Ping Pong close by - Eastcastle Street -had been told to close early (8pm) as they’d been too quiet that day. I wonder, are they regretting opening quite so many branches?

I won’t be going again, to this or to any other Ping Pong.

londoneye

Expensive dim sum 6th March 2009

0 found this helpful

These new dim sum restaurants are springing up all over London town. Ping Pong and,it's double act, Dimt are westernised Chinese/Asian fusion style restaurants.

The quality of the Dim Sums does vary a little, and the selection tends to be very limited compared to the more traditional China town eateries.

The flowering tea and the like do add to the experience, as does the locale, more so than the service which is distinctly non-Asian. Service is generally good, Wong Kie's (notoriously rude service) it is not.

All in all, it has a sort of re-hashed theme and sanitised (limited selection) feel to it, which comes at a greater price than a regular meal in China town -- something I haven't had in a while. Now if only I could find a restaurant like Beijing's Da Dong in London!

misstravelbug

Good ambience, so-so food 9th September 2008

0 found this helpful

So it's not the most authentic chinese dim sum restaurant it's more asian fusion and caters to western tastes. The decor is always cool and the service is great. The dim sums are fairly hit and miss...a bit overpriced for what you get. The jasmin tea with the opening flowers is pretty cool. It's a classier joint that your typical chinatown dim sum restaurant.

AndrewS

What you expect in Ping Pong 2nd September 2008

0 found this helpful

Food tastes OK, but not fresh, food like you buy in supermarket,then put in microwave......

chrisp

Perfectly good 20th August 2008

2 found this helpful

It's not world-beating, the food isn't stellar and the prices aren't rock-bottom. But for good-enough dim sum in a central location, washed down by some rather nice cocktails, you can do a lot worse. Of the two major dim-sum chains in London I'd say Dim T just about has the edge, but I've always enjoyed my experiences in Ping Pong. As other reviewers have pointed out, it's perfect for a boozy lunch or evening with a group of mates (it's huge so you're likely to get a table, at least) and if you treat the dim sum like glorified bar snacks and don't worry too much about their providence, you can't go far wrong.

topruss

Ping Pong Dim Sum 23rd June 2008

0 found this helpful

ive never tried dim sum before but loved what i ate here , the resturaunt looked cool and quite a funky crowd

ilovelucy

Gimmicks galore 18th March 2008

3 found this helpful

Having heard my friends rave about Ping Pong and declaring it to be the best, I thought I should better give it a go.

Arrived hungry at noon with cousin Jacky at the Great Marlborough branch last Sunday. We decided to go for the Lazy Sunday deal where you can eat as much as you like off the menu - excluding the specials and signature dishes for £16.50.

Excitedly we started ordering off the menu - ticking off about 12 dishes on the dim sum sheet they give you. Soon enough they arrived - we asked them to come in two batches so as to clutter our small table.

Good points
- Ingredients, in particular the seafood and meat were very fresh. The dumplings are handmade unlike some Chinese restaurants.
- Service was good and friendly - although they first of all charged us the full price which we had to rectify
- Innovative dumplings - great choice of fillings
- Unlike a lot of chinese restaurants, they have lots of choice of vegetarians

Bad points
- Smaller portions and more expensive. Sticky rice came in 3 small wraps - and hardly any meat or prawns were in it
- Vietnamese spring rolls - tiny and burnt in some places
- Steamed tofu and wasabi - tasted really odd
- Choi sum came in a tiny little dish
- Tables were so close to each other - and people were seated right next to us even though the place was empty
- Pastry for the dumplings had a thicker texture and therefore stuck to the baskets
- Not sure about the glass for the tea - was too hot to hold it

All in all it was good to try Ping Pong, I think if you had never eaten dim sum in a traditional restaurant before you would think it was great. The place does look modern and sophisticated, the waiters in their uniforms blend in beautifully and little touches such as the golden teapot and the flower tea made the whole experince very pleasant -not what you'd expect from somewhere in Chinatown. I do give the Ping Pong team credit as they have pulled off a great marketing feat in promoting a cuisine that has been in the background for some time. Even the chinese restaurants have profited from the burst in the cuisine's popularity and started to serve dim sum later and later and places such as New World - have encouraged Westerners by hiring English speaking staff. Hopefully it will give novice dim sum lovers the courage to try the more traditional restaurants such as the Royal China chain, Imperial China and Phoenix Palace.




Bad points
-