Royal China is a popular chain of gourmet Chinese restaurants, with six restaurants in London and three restaurants internationally. Across all branches there is one menu for diners to peruse. Royal China is renowned for its dimsum, which is served until 5pm with an evening dimsum platter offered only in the Fulham branch.
The smallest of the restaurants in the group, The Fulham branch has a distinctly intimate feel.The restaurant’s exterior is dark and inconspicuous with a black and gold-themed décor including a quirky wave and bird mural design and an ornamental arrangement on the bar. Quirky decorations aside, the professional and knowledgeable staff and the crisp white tablecloths help to create the impression of a well-oiled machine.
Throughout our meal a head waitress cast a watchful eye over the dining room and even spotted my napkin as it slipped off my lap without my knowledge. The staff were also quick to help with the menu, something I’ve found very helpful thanks to my new-found indecisiveness when it comes to ordering!
The smallest of the restaurants in the group, The Fulham branch has a distinctly intimate feel.The restaurant’s exterior is dark and inconspicuous with a black and gold-themed décor including a quirky wave and bird mural design and an ornamental arrangement on the bar. Quirky decorations aside, the professional and knowledgeable staff and the crisp white tablecloths help to create the impression of a well-oiled machine.
Throughout our meal a head waitress cast a watchful eye over the dining room and even spotted my napkin as it slipped off my lap without my knowledge. The staff were also quick to help with the menu, something I’ve found very helpful thanks to my new-found indecisiveness when it comes to ordering!
Without hesitation, we ordered the steamed chilli pork dumplings (£6.80) to get our dim sum fix and they were perfect silky mouthfuls of umami.
Next up was the pork chop with salt and chilli (£8.20), which I always use as a benchmark of a good Chinese given its combination of the well-seasoned coating, moist and tender meat and the zingyness from the fresh chillies and spring onions that adorn it. For me, it’s the perfect dish and they do it very well here.
To accompany our meal, we needed a bit of veg for colour, so we opted for the sautéed green beans with minced pork (£10.80), a popular Sichuan dish and one of my favourites, which was gorgeous.
Next up was the pork chop with salt and chilli (£8.20), which I always use as a benchmark of a good Chinese given its combination of the well-seasoned coating, moist and tender meat and the zingyness from the fresh chillies and spring onions that adorn it. For me, it’s the perfect dish and they do it very well here.
To accompany our meal, we needed a bit of veg for colour, so we opted for the sautéed green beans with minced pork (£10.80), a popular Sichuan dish and one of my favourites, which was gorgeous.
I adore chilli and I really crave spicy food, so our main course was selected to incorporate this. The Sichuan prawn (£13.50) was a touch too sweet and sticky and lacked those qualities we associate with the province (numbing peppercorns, chilli bean paste), but the extra punch of the birds-eye chillies (at our request) was a welcome touch.
The Chiu Chow chicken (£10.80) was beautifully smoky and savoury and the classic Cantonese-style roast duck (£11.20) was rich with glazed skin and doused in the most moreish sweet soy. Steamed rice (£3) with a hit of chilli oil on the side was all that was needed to soak up the delightful juices.
For our chosen libation for the evening, we selected the Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon (£20.50), a very palatable wine that's smooth yet tart enough to cut through the strong flavours of the food we selected. We found that the wine list and the drinks menu was varied in both region and price to cater for your every whim.
The Chiu Chow chicken (£10.80) was beautifully smoky and savoury and the classic Cantonese-style roast duck (£11.20) was rich with glazed skin and doused in the most moreish sweet soy. Steamed rice (£3) with a hit of chilli oil on the side was all that was needed to soak up the delightful juices.
For our chosen libation for the evening, we selected the Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon (£20.50), a very palatable wine that's smooth yet tart enough to cut through the strong flavours of the food we selected. We found that the wine list and the drinks menu was varied in both region and price to cater for your every whim.
And finally, to end where we began, we ordered Vietnamese pancake rolls filled with pork and prawns (£5.80) as our 'dessert'. If some people adhere to the motto ‘life’s short, eat dessert first,’ then is this really that unacceptable?
Food and drink: ★★★★★
Ambience: ★★★
Staff attentiveness/friendliness: ★★★★★
Royal China
805 Fulham Road
London
SW6 5HE
www.rcguk.co.uk
Luci Lyne
Ambience: ★★★
Staff attentiveness/friendliness: ★★★★★
Royal China
805 Fulham Road
London
SW6 5HE
www.rcguk.co.uk
Luci Lyne
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