B A R B I C A N L I F E


because of the spicy dishes which it followed – but we might have preferred crispy duck instead which we could see being prepared in the duck oven at the end of the restaurant. Alongside this there was spicy


The really attractive décor of the Hutong restaurant


courses and is perhaps ideally suited for large parties all sharing. Not really knowing where to start for just two people we chose the set Signature menu (£55 a head for a minimum of two people) – effectively an eight course tasting menu. Perhaps a bit of a cop out, but then this is effectively the restaurant’s own choice so should give a good cross section of the kind of food served. In this we were not disappointed. No eating utensils are provided,


Red Lantern: crispy soft shell crab on a bed of ultra hot chillis


apart from chopsticks and one wouldn’t dream of losing face and asking for a fork, but eating two of the starters with just chopsticks in terms of very slippery chilled thinly sliced scallops and almost equally slippery chilled spiced razor clams was indeed something of a challenge for someone brought up with knives, forks and spoons. But we managed! A third starter – Hutong’s crispy vegetable spring rolls was less of a problem. Having seen off the starters, all


excellent, the real pièce de resistance arrived in terms of a large round red ornamental bowl – the restaurant calls the dish Red Lantern – filled with crispy fried softshell crab on a bed of Sichuan dried chilli peppers. We asked the waiter if they were edible – he said yes – but wouldn’t advise us trying. We didn’t, but when we tweeted this on the barbicanlife twitter feed a young lady responded that her boyfriend did and almost cried! Apparently a wise choice on our part. They apparently are mega hot! However the peppers served to infuse the crispy coated softshell crab with about the correct degree of heat and the overall effect was both visually and gastronomically extremely pleasing. Along with the softshell crab we


were served with the other seafood dish – fried prawns with jasmine tea – the tea leaves being cooked a bit like crispy seaweed, a standard Chinese speciality. Again beautifully presented and very tasty. There was actually some confusion with the waiting staff as to whether the tea was jasmine or possibly oolong, but either way this unusual combination worked well. This was followed with crispy de-


boned lamb – served perhaps similarly to Peking Duck – with pancakes, a sweet-sour sauce and thin slivers of spring onion. Very pleasant but somehow the lamb seemed to lack taste, but perhaps that was just


16


minced pork fried with thinly sliced green beans and chilli. One couldn’t complain about lack of taste here – my companion described this as the best dish of all. Then came dessert – mango cheesecake with sesame dumplings and passion fruit sauce. The dumplings were coated with peanuts (not flagged in the menu and definitely not for those with a peanut allergy) and were melt in the mouth along with the delicious cheesecake and a pleasant sauce. We followed this seeming


marathon with coffee (no decaf available) and jasmine tea. All in all a very pleasant eating experience. Service was truly excellent. The price compares with that of tasting menus in many other good restaurants – and the views incomparable (except I suppose from those from the Shard’s other two current restaurants). We washed the meal down with


wine by the glass – a reasonable selection. We had a New Zealand sauvignon and I had to venture to taste a Chinese red wine which was smooth and very good at a reasonable price. Like its sister restaurant, Aqua


Shard, two floors below, Hutong is a great special occasion destination with its breathtaking views over the City, an attractive décor, good ambience and great northern Chinese food served with style. Hutong is at Level 33 The Shard, 31 St.


Thomas Street, London SE1 9RY. For reservations (advisable) call 020 7478 0540.. Hutong is open 7 days - Lunch: 12-3pm, Dinner: 6-11pm.


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