Given that thereโs a Chinese restaurant on just about every UK high street, going to one for dinner isnโt usually that special an experience, but Hutong is in a class of its own, writes Colette Doyle. For a start, the setting is simply breathtaking: perched on level 33 of the impressive Shard building, the views are guaranteed to get your guests talking.
At the Shanghai Bar opposite the restaurant youโre greeted by those iconic symbols of china: red lanterns and green dragons. The cocktail list takes this somewhat kitsch theme and spins it into a brand new take on Chinese mixology, offering up โbing chaโ, or iced tea punches, that combine premium spirits with fine teas and which come served in traditional teapots. My companion and I try the Fujan Breeze, which blends Hendricks gin with mint and white tea, and the Moli Hau, a delicious combo of jasmine tea with vodka, egg white and peach bitters.
Once inside the restaurant itself, we find the outlook gets even better after dark โ quite literally, as the panorama below us unfolds in a display of twinkling lights that encompasses sights both old and new, including St Paulโs and the Tate Modern. The room is darkened, presumably to enhance the view outside, and the lanterns on the tables impart a subdued light that makes for an almost clubby vibe.
For starters, we opt to share the dim sum platter, which features scallop and pumpkin, crystal crabmeat and โ especially enticing โ ones made with shrimp and rosรฉ champagne. If dim sum are your thing, then youโll be pleased to hear that thereโs a special lunch menu available Monday-Friday from noon to 2.45pm, when a whole gamut of these divine silky parcels are served up steamed, fried, baked and even as dessert.
The prices for the main courses are indicative of the generous portion sizes โ the Red Lantern dish of soft shell crab with Sichuan dried chilli that my plus-one orders costs ยฃ32, but itโs a helping that would easily feed three or four. The presentation is so magnificent I just have to take a picture of the freshly caught crustaceans, sitting aloft a gleaming golden cauldron studded with chillies.
I stay with the seafood action and order lobster with Ma Po tofu in a chilli sauce, which has quite a kick to it. On the side, we pick seafood rice โ super-tasty with a hint of ginger โ and incredibly flavourful string beans with spicy minced pork โ who knew greens could taste this good?
Dessert is where Chinese cuisine often falls short, so we stick with the ice cream and are happy with our choice, as slivers of stem ginger lift it out of the ordinary. We match this with some Chinese ice wine, Changyu Golden Diamond Vidal, which our server explains combines pear, lychee and honey. This luscious concoction is so moreish we order another round.
Before you leave, youโre encouraged to write a note and append it inside a red envelope on the wishing tree (red being the colour that signifies good luck in Chinese culture). What better message to write than โhope to come back here soonโ.
Level 33 The Shard, 31 St Thomas Street, London SE1 9RY; 020 3011 1257; hutong.co.uk
