http://trustedplaces.com/review/uk/london/restaurant/1a71q75/royal-china <b>Royal China</b><br />London, 3 Chelverton Road, SW15 1RN, United Kingdom en http://trustedplaces.com/uploads/placepics/trustedplaces.comaPlacePic['name']}.140.jpg http://trustedplaces.com/review/uk/london/restaurant/1a71q75/royal-china http://trustedplaces.com/review/uk/london/restaurant/1a71q75/royal-china/1u5768
Review by sue

Rating: 3.00
Tags:
It was Good Friday and I had a hankering for Dim Sum, so we headed to Royal China in Putney for a quick lunch. We didn't make a booking, but seemed to turn up at just the right time as several tables departed, and we were seated immediately. Service started out very slow, but they were friendly and apologetic.

The décor is certainly interesting - the black, Chinese design lacquered walls were a little OTT, but added to the oriental experience. We drank Chinese tea and Tsingtao beer, and ordered some Dim Sum dishes to share.

The food highlight for me was the House Special Cheung Fun - three separate soft gelatinous rolls filled with either prawns, pork or beef - delicious, though a bit tricky to eat with my amateur chopstick skills. We also really enjoyed the Prawn & Scallop dumplings, and the Seafood Asparagus rolls, though the Steamed Pork Buns were a little disappointing. Overall though it was an enjoyable experience, and cheap too. ]]> Sat, 22 Mar 2008 17:44:44 +0000 /review/uk/london/restaurant/1a71q75/royal-china/1u57681473952651 sue 51.462331 -0.21661 http://trustedplaces.com/review/uk/london/restaurant/1a71q75/royal-china/139646
Review by ilovelucy

Rating: 5.00
Tags:
Royal China Putney has been a firm favourite of mine and my family for Dim Sum for the last six or seven years. Conveniently situated for us balham/clapham dwellers, we go there regularly. Best if you go at noon or late afternoon on Saturday or Sunday to avoid the queues which are consistantly lengthy. They have recently extended opening hours until 5pm for Dim Sum on the weekend to ease the queues.

Last time I went was a couple of weeks ago with H. The first time I took him here for Dim Sum was about a year and a half ago. He was a Dim Sum virgin at the time and he was utterly impressed by the food and now he classes Royal China Putney as his favourite restaurant. As usual the food was top notch; I would recommend you order the yam croquettes with meat, turnip paste dumplings with prawn and chives, beef dumplings and vietnamese spring rolls and definitely the deep fried squid in chilli and garlic (which has just got to be the best squid I have ever tasted). The har gar and the sui mai dishers are also excellent.

The negatives are few but should be noted: Avoid the "ribs in black bean" which looks like bones with bits of fat in them. Also be aware that when the waitresses walks round enticing you with some delicious looking specials and asks if you want to try, ask her how much they cost before you agree. This is because on a few occasions we have greedily snapped up the delicious looking crispy pork or the baked pigeon or the fresh scallops we have always received a huge shock upon receiving the bill! Another point to note is that they also do not take cards - just cash, cheque and American Express.

I would say that you should try this gem Royal China Putney - it used to part of the group which bears the same name but in my opinion much better than Royal China Queensway and the Royal China Club (Baker Street) and a million times tastier than Chinatown standard fayre. ]]> Mon, 10 Dec 2007 12:42:58 +0000 /review/uk/london/restaurant/1a71q75/royal-china/139646521552320 ilovelucy 51.462331 -0.21661