New World, (not so) New Year!

Well, this little post is rather late, isn't it? I had meant to write it up just after the New Year, but we are now nearly a quarter of the way into 2012 which means I have failed rather miserably. 

I know that I've claimed quite a few times in the past that Dragon Castle was my favourite dim sum place in London, but I'm afraid that is a lie. It's actually only my second favourite, having been pushed out by a new contender. That interloper happens to be New World in Chinatown - an old stalwart which I've recently sort of 'rediscovered'. 

Rice noodle rolls with prawns

Deepfried savoury dumplings with a minced pork filling

Tripe with...stuff

Prawn dumplings - har gow

Deepfried prawn and pork spring rolls

Crispy roast pork belly

Roast suckling pig

The dim sum served here is more or less similar to the prawn and pork mince-based items served in most dim sum places, along with a few other specials including roast suckling pig. I was particularly excited to try the suckling pig. It proved, however, to be slightly disappointing - while the meat itself was tender and succulent, the skin (which I had looked forward to) was hardly crisp and crackly, probably a result of having sat too long in the cart. 

Oh yes, the carts! Probably the main reason why New World is now top of my list - the waitstaff here trundle around with little carts stacked full of dainty dishes. The carts are brought round to your table, where you can point at the dishes that take your fancy. It makes for a much more entertaining meal, as well as negates the need for the guessing game that sometimes occurs when faced with a long list of dishes. 

Other carts are filled with boiling stock and topped with nests of noodles, much like street food carts in some Asian countries. You can ask for freshly cooked noodles in soup, made right in front of you. I resisted the temptation to go for a bowl of noodles this time, but that's not to say I won't be so wise in future.

Deepfried prawn springrolls wrapped in beancurd skin

Dessert soup thing of mango juice with grapefruit and mango bits 

This little bowl of soupy dessert has now become my new favourite dim sum dessert. The first time I went to New World, I asked for my usual dessert option of mango pudding - the delicious but boring choice - but was offered this because the pudding was out of stock. The cold, sweet and slightly citrusy 'soup' is light and just refreshing enough after a heavy dim sum meal, and definitely much more interesting than a mango pudding. But I still love you too, mango pudding...

New World

1 Gerrard Street

W1D 5PA

Dragon Castle Dim Sum

Plain rice noodle rolls (left) and fried turnip cake (centre)

Two-in-one celebrations require twice the amount of food, right? Since Valentine's Day and the Lunar New Year both fell on the same day this year, I felt it was my duty to eat for two (no, I'm not pregnant, I'm just fat!).

If you've read any of my other paltry attempts at 'restaurant reviews', you're probably aware that I tend to order  waaaayyyy too much food; I wonder if my being born in the Year of the Pig has anything to do with it?

Anyway, The Mancreature and I trooped down the hill to Dragon Castle, just behind the Elephant and Castle. It's hard to miss, housed in a Soviet-style blue square building with huge red doors and the obligatory pair of stone lions standing guard in front. We got there just after they opened, which proved to be a good decision, as the place started filling up pretty soon after that, and there was a fairly long queue by the time we left.

On to the food; I'm not exaggerating when I said we ordered too much. The thing about dim sum is that everything seems so deceptively tiny, so you keep ticking off the dishes until, before you know it, you've got 11 dishes on the list, and someone (it wasn't me, I swear!) says "Let's make it an even 12." Infamous last words, indeed.

(A note on ordering: this isn't one of those places where you have the ladies pushing trolleys of food around, so you can't point at what you fancy. There is little dim sum menu with numbered pictures of the dishes, and the names of the dishes are in both English and Chinese. You'll have to tick off the dishes you want on a piece of paper provided - its got names in Chinese, so if you can't read Chinese, just match the numbers up. There's also a separate a la carte menu you can order from.)

Minced prawns wrapped in fried bean curd skin.

I didn't take photos of everything we ordered (because I was too busy chowing down) and I can't remember everything that I ordered, so I'll just describe what I remember.

Fried turnip cake (first photo): sooo good! It was soft and smooth on the inside, with little bits of Chinese sausage scattered around, and the crisp, fried bits on the edges were just right. Best of all, it wasn't too greasy, so I didn't feel like I was just sucking down oil, even when it got cold.

Minced prawns in fried bean curd skin (second photo): Possibly my favourite item. Juicy pink prawns with a really 'bouncy' tender, wrapped in crispy layers of golden fried bean curd skin. Bean curd skin is really underrated, it's awesome!

Plain rice noodle rolls (left, first photo): These are called 'cheeong fun' in Cantonese, I think. We ordered the plain, steamed ones, and they came in a little layer of soy sauce and sesame oil, which kept them from getting dry. They also gave us a little dipping bowl filled with hoisin sauce and peanut sauce (like a really smooth, more liquid version of peanut butter). I've never had them with that peanut sauce before, and I'm definitely a convert! I reckon I could eat it for breakfast for a whole week (not more than that though, I'd probably get bored with it).

Steamed turnip dumplings

Steam turnip dumplings (both photos above): I think these were the Mancreature's favourite. They have some minced pork and bits of peanuts in them, and they were surprisingly most inside, unlike the...

Shanghai Xiaolongbao: Ok, maybe it's just me being stupid, but I always thought that a 'Shanghai xiaolongbao' had broth inside them? They were described as 'Shanghai minced pork dumplings' in English, and the Chinese characters seemed to say they were 'xiaolongbao'. My Chinese is fairly rudimentary though, so it could have been my fault. Anyway, these ones didn't have any broth in them, just a lot of very dry pork. I had one and could barely finish it. 

Har Gow (steamed prawn dumplings)

Har Gow (photo above): I order har gow as a yardstick to test how good a dim sum place is. There's no good reason for that, now that I think of it. I just like these dumplings, and they're fairly simple, so I tend to think a place is no good if they can't even pass the 'har gow test'. Dragon Castle's were awesome - pale pink balls of prawn wrapped in soft, yet firm and translucent skin. I didn't even dip them into any sauce because I just wanted to enjoy the unadulterated taste of them. (Oh, by the way, they actually come in fours, I ate one before I got around to taking a photo.)

Steamed beef balls in bean curd skin: Bleuurgghh! The bean curd skin couldn't even save these from being crap. They just tasted weird - a little too vinegary, and bland too. I've never ordered them here before, so I don't know if it was just an off-day, or if that's how they are. 

Siu Mai (more steamed prawn dumplings)

Siu Mai (photo above): More steamed prawns - not horrible, but not especially memorable either. They come in fours too, one of us ate one before this photo was taken. 

Mango pudding

Mango pudding (photo above): Another of my inexplicable 'dim sum yardsticks'. This was sitting in a pool of condensed milk, giving it just the right touch of sweetness (the pudding itself isn't very sweet). The pudding was very creamy, unlike the more jelly-like ones you get at some places. I love it - not so sure about that glace cherry on top though.

Steamed bun with lotus paste filling

Steamed buns with lotus paste filling (photo above): I love you, my little bunny-wunny. There was also half a salted egg yolk instead, which was a pleasant surprise. It was like eating a light, fluffy version of a mooncake. I find most mooncakes too dense, but I could have eaten at least 4 of these on my own, if I wasn't so close to exploding. 

Dragon Castle

100 Walworth Road

SE17 1LJ