Imperial Treasure
9 Waterloo Pl, St. James's, London SW1Y 4BE
Nearest Tube: Piccadilly Circus
3.8 Yummy Stars
Price £££ Dim Sum £7.50-£19; starters: £12-£36+; Peking duck £100; mains £18 - £120/seasonal price (at time of writing)
☏ 020 3011 1328
Peking duck at the new London Chinese restaurant, Imperial Treasure
Buzz Factor 3.7 /5 stars
Food 4.4/5 stars
Value for money 3.7/5 stars
Imperial Treasure has gone where others may fear to tread. Its 24-restaurant empire in Asia, with 4 Michelin stars among 3 of its fine-dining Chinese restaurants, has embraced its first European site at a former bank in St James, and is reported to have taken 3 floors on a 25-year lease. Having been to Imperial Treasure in Hong Kong, I was excited to try out its London offshoot.
It enlisted the services of a renowned celebrity interior designer, Christian Liaigre, who has also designed Hakkasan restaurants. Elegant with a sense of opulence and grandeur with its sky-high ceilings and ornate cornices, the place looks like a high-end modern European hotel, with the space partitioned by imposing tall dark oak screens, quite a departure in style from its counterpart in Hong Kong. Sitting on a banquette, we could feel a disconcerting drumming sensation. The mystery was solved when one staff member explained that it was probably from the heavy bass emitting from the subwoofers residing right beneath us. He apologised and turned off the subwoofers.
The waiting staff (mostly European) was courteous and attentive without being intrusive, changing our plates between courses.
With its subdued, graceful and restrained décor, it could be a good place to fall asleep in, as there weren’t many customers on either of my visits. The restaurant had a solemn feel. Was everyone just stunned into silence by the prices, thinking: “We had better enjoy this meal”?
The food, however, did not overall disappoint at all.
Its signature Peking duck, with its beautifully bronzed crispy skin dipped in sugar with heady notes of five spice, tasted divine. Slithers of duck with perfect ratio of skin, fat and meat were then presented with what looked like hand made pancakes, hoisin sauce, toothpick-sized threads of spring onion whites and cucumber chunks. The meat was so full of flavour, juicy and tender. On our visit, they were only serving 1 course from the duck but following an onslaught by the famous food critic, Jay Rayner, they now offer a 2nd course from the duck (with bones). However, is it worth its £100 price tag + 13.5% service charge and so costing £113.50? From my research, at least 3 other high-end Chinese restaurants in London (namely, Min Jiang, Duddells and China Tang at Dorchester Hotel) charge on average around £70 (plus service charge) for its Peking duck (as 2 courses). Was it the best Peking duck in London to justify the 40%+ price hike? Mmm, I think not.
Dim sum was generally also of a high quality. The Wagyu Beef Puffs were twirls of transcendence with the layers of pastry as light as paper, cocooning daintily diced Wagyu beef. For £12 (for 3 pieces), I would have liked more Wagyu beef inside. Their Venison Puffs were flaky on the outside, sealing in a juicy filling. The Beehive Taro Croqette with Chicken similarly had the lightest of pastry like copper-toned lace floating in the air. With the Crystal Lobster Dumplings costing a whopping £16 (for 3 pieces), I expected some out of body experience in dim sum heaven. Gosh, did they deliver! The lobster, perched on some greens and topped with a gold leaf, was fresh, sweet and delicious with the other fillings encased in an insanely thin translucent rice dough.
Not all dishes were spectacular though. The BBQ pork [char siu] with its smoky and sweet notes was pretty good. The crispy pork, on the other hand, had way too much fat on. The skin wasn’t crunchy like a parmesan crisp. The chicken with Szechuan chilli and Ho Fun (rice sticks) with beef (a noodle dish for £28!!!) were nothing special.
For dessert, we had the steamed charcoal buns with custard. They were visually captivating, mysteriously jet black in colour and bling-painted in gold. Their arrival made my heart beat a little faster in anticipation. Watch out that you don’t get your tongue burned by the piping hot lava of the decadently rich and mesmorising egg custard. The bright yellow custard oozes out as you bite into the marshmellowy soft bun, which has a smoky flavour. They were a dramatic and delicious end to an overall satisfying meal.
With soaring rents and business rates, it is no surprise that eating out is costing more and more in London, but this is at a different level. I dread to think what the prices would be like if it is awarded a Michelin star. This is a place for uber special occasions or if money is no object or someone else is paying.
February 2019
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