DuckDuckGoose
5-6 New College Parade
Swiss Cottage
London NW3 5EP
Nearest Tube: Swiss Cottage
4.1 Yummy Stars
Average ££ £15-£20 pp for dim sum excluding drinks (at time of writing)
Egg custard tart at DuckDuckGoose (Swiss Cottage)
Buzz Factor 4.2/5 stars
Food 4.1/5 stars
Value for money 4.1/5 stars
DuckDuckGoose opened over the Chinese New Year weekend (end of January 2017) and took over the space previously occupied by China Garden. The place has been decorated with a contemporary feel. I am not sure about the paintings but art is pretty subjective. Each to their own. Comfortable seats and tablecloths even. With “posh” décor come higher prices. However, the dim sum doesn’t disappoint. More of this later.
I recognise some of the staff from before, though the restaurant is under new management apparently. All of them are really friendly. A new hand or two were learning the ropes. The restaurant was filled mostly with Chinese customers, which is a promising sign. It has a nice feel to it, now that it has become more open plan. After a fire next door, it has recently reopened after round 6 weeks.
The dim sum that we had were flavoursome. DuckDuckGoose claims to make it all on site which is pretty impressive. We particularly liked:
Peking Ravioli with Chilli Sauce – the wrappers were super thin. The dumplings were made with pork and sit in this spicy but delicious soup. Well worth a try.
(Vegetarian) Bean Curd Skin Rolls – these are deep-fried and served with Worcestershire sauce. The bean curd skin is quite different from the usual pastry/wrapper and has a distinct but subtle flavour. They were perfectly fried but rather small for my liking!
Har Gau - Steamed prawn dumpling – forms part of the usual dim sum fare.
Crispy Duck Roll – this kind of dim sum has now become our firm favourite in our dim sum staple. It is a bit like having crispy duck but without having to order a whole portion of crispy duck – but obviously without the pancake. However, dipping it in plum/barbeque sauce gives you the crispy duck fix.
Turnip Paste – again, another dim sum staple. It tasted great, though I normally like it fried a bit longer to give it a slight crispiness.
Durian Puff – This is quite an unusual to see on a dim sum menu in London. If you like Durian, then this tickles your taste buds. The pastry was superb – really flaking.
Egg Custard Tart – This is one of the best ones that I have had in London – quite comparable to the ones at Royal China Restaurant in Baker Street. The pastry was light and flaky and the custard filling was cooked to perfection.
Great to see finally a local Chinese dim sum restaurant in North West London rather than have to head into Central London for decent dim sum. The food over supper was pretty impressive too, particularly the chicken with red wine sauce.
If you are interested in learning more about dim sum, take a look at my Dim Sum Guide under Yippie Blog.
