Joy King Lau

dee234

Sunday lunch 19th September 2008

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Great family restaurant.
Good authentic food, also god to ask for the things that are not on the menu like chinese vegetables!
Due to one othing or another havent been in a while but my mouth waters at the thought of it!

gizmogirl

it's average 20th November 2007

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USed to come here for dimsum all the time...I think they prob change the chef cause the dimsum aren't that great anymore!
Won't recommend

sazzle

Work lunch favourite 3rd October 2007

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I agree with Meriem - this was a work favourite when I was working in Covent Garden. Someone's birthday? 'Let's go to Joy King Lau'. Someone's leaving lunch? 'Let's go to Joy King Lau'. It has a great atmosphere both lunchtimes and evening but best to go at lunch for the dimsum menu. I have tried practically everything on it as we always order lots of dishes and they are always empty after 20 minutes!

Mez

Best Dim Sum in London? 29th September 2007

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I would say so. A friend (Nikos) introduced me to it yesterday and all I could bring to the conversation was the word 'awesome', uttered at every bite I had of whatever I was sampling at the time

I travelled to China recently and had made a stop in Xian, home to the incredible Terracotta warriors and also famous for its dim sum. I obviously loved what I tried there, but I can say confidently that although I’m by no means a subject matter expert, what I tried in this restaurant yesterday was of equal if not better quality. The texture of the steamed dumplings was perfect, the fragrances subtle and never overpowering, and anything fried was cooked to perfection. Fantastic thin crispy pastry, goldened in just the right amount of oil.

I tried the prawn, the scallop, the beef with onion and ginger dumplings, the Vietnamese spring rolls, the fish cakes, the fried prawn wraps, and ended with an exquisite bean curd dessert (a Chinese version of an elegant doughnut.. See the pictures).

The restaurant is just off Leiceister square (which made me raise an eyebrow initially) but don't worry about any tourist invasions. It's literally a palace in terms of size (something you’d never guess from its pale entrance) and stretches over 3 or 4 floors. Its clientele is overwhelmingly Chinese which made me feel I was right back in China. Although the décor is bland and rather uninspiring, it makes up for it by the incredibly good value for money it offers with a great meal for just under a tenner.

Just writing this makes me want to pay it another visit today… and I probably will..