So just over a week ago Sandra and I went to Royal China Club for dinner. Because of plans that fell through last night (thanks a lot Heathrow!) Pat and I ended up coming to Royal China Club today for yum-cha. Long story but here we were.

We were seated near the windows this time and surprisingly were seated at a table normally suited for four people rather than at the tables for two towards the back of the restaurant or by the aquarium (where we notice one particularly enterprising crab was working on his escape.) We were pleased by our table because this meant more space for our food! Heh heh.

Since the tea at Royal China Club was sooooo expensive I opted to try something different from the norm so tried an iced tea (Mango & Lime Tea) and Patrick tried the Jasmine Peach which ended up being a flower tea. At least they kept topping up his tea with hot water.

I made certain that this time that I got to try the yum-cha dishes that I was keen to try last time – Steamed Lobster Dumplings in Rice Wine Sauce and Fillet of Dover Sole Cheung Fun. The lobster dumplings were tasty though served in Royal China Club sized portions (2 for £6.20.) The dover sole cheung fun was a nice change from the prawn one we normally go for and I liked the touch of colour inside the cheung fun from the peppers. For our other dishes we tried the Deep Fried Crispy Duck Puff which was exquisitely tasty, and Steamed Shanghai Juicy Pork Dumplings with Crab Meat which were just how shanghai dumplings should be – soupy and hot. Of course we also couldn’t go past a serve of steamed pork buns.

Finally we bulked up the meal with a serve of Salt and Pepper Squid (I couldn’t resist) plus some Hokkien fried rice (off menu.) The quality of the food can’t be faulted but the portions were tiny! On the one hand I could understand the higher prices because of the detail in the food but not its like Royal China went one step further and reduced portion sizes too.

Although we nearly double what we normally would for yum-cha it was worth it to try it once.