Chinese Cricket Club – Crowne Plaza London The City

6 Reviews on “Chinese Cricket Club – Crowne Plaza London The City”

• Amy Lau

  Something strange happened the other day.There was this feeling inside, that I simply couldnt hide anymore.The day that I realised that I clearly was meant to be a THE Master of Dim Sum.How did this life calling come about you ask?Well I was invited to the Chinese Cricket Club to test run their new dim sum making class.What a fitting place to learn how to fold, those delicious steamed parcels of joy.The Chinese Cricket Club Restaurant is one of the only dim sum restaurants in London that create house-made dim sum every day using the freshest ingredients.Under the watchful eye of Executive Chef Ken Wang, whose is known for his individual style of cooking which fuses modern technique, with traditional and authentic Sichuan flavours; & our Dim Sum Master: Mai Lan (previously of Hakkasan) we were taught a few trade-secrets on how to fold the perfect dumpling.But before that, we had to pass the 1st stage before we graduated into dumpling folding and that was to learn how to fold spring rolls. We were all given wafer thin pastry cut out in the shape of a large triangle, and the trick to create the perfect spring roll, is not to over-stuff it with the filling (pork, carrots, wood-ear fungus, cabbage, vermicilli noodles).The class passed the initial test with flying colours! Next it was time to make wontons! Mai Lan lovingly showed us how to fold like a professional, and we went on our way!The wonton filling was made with minced prawn, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, spring onions, & pak choi.We also made Scallop & prawn sui mai, the prawns were HUGE, the size of my palm. This dumpling involved a little more technique and talent to fold. Thankfully, Mai Lan had the patience of saint and help us all create our master pieces. After our hard work, our dumplings were sent off to the kitchen to be steamed and then we could reap the rewards of our efforts with a dim sum feast.THEN, we sampled some of the Chinese Cricket Clubs signature dishes.These included Slow-braised pork belly. My absolute favourite melt-in-your-mouth pork with a rich sauce that almost had that umami flavour, laced over sticky-rice. This was most satisfying and I just wish I didnt have to share it.Special Seabass the seabass was cooked to the point that it was still moist, flaky and covered in a spicy nutty sauce, adding texture and crunch.Emperors Peking Duck I havent had Peking duck quite like this The duck had a very crispy layer yet the flesh was still moist. Needless to say it was quickly demolished.I had a fantastic time learning to make dim sum, and to top it off they gave us the recipes so we can recreate them at home. Life skills for those domestic bliss moments. As you can see Ive graduated to become the dim sum master I always knew I had inside me. Thank you Chinese Cricket Club for unlocking my talents.Ken Wangs food is a welcome delight to the London foodie scene, and I will definitely return for the braised pork and Peking duck. Full review on the blog! yummei.com

  May 19, 2017, 9:43 pm

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• TheFoodaholic

  If youd said to me a few years ago do I want to go out for dinner and eat an all Vegetarian menu Id have politely declined. Its not that I dont like vegetables, but weve been so spoilt with our food offerings here in London that the promise of meat (for those of us who eat it) always seems like were missing out if we dont get our fix during meal times. I visited the Chinese Cricket Club at the plush Crowne Plaza Hotel during National Vegetarian Week and I can now say Im completely converted. Full vegetarian and all almost.The Chinese Cricket Club is headed up by head chef, Ken Wang who trained back in China for 20 years, subsequently brining his skills here to London along with some Sichuan spice to the City of London. Part of our incredible (and it really was) vegetarian menu here, were these delectable steamed vegetarian dumplings which surprisingly tasted a lot more meatier in flavour then youd expect they had a real depth of flavour which veg can sometimes lack. The dumpling pastry was excellent too, a little thick some people may say but for me its just the way I like it.Fried Buddahs delight was a dish I had my reservations about, but once it arrived, we knew we were in safe hands. Asparagus, egg tofu and mushrooms make up a very unusual dish which was full of textures. The soft, but firm tofu meaty aubergine and lashings of crunchy (garlic?) pieces. To be honest I wasnt entirely sure what I was eating, but either way it was too good to matter and we couldnt refrain from spooning it all up. Textures continued to surprise us and the sponge like tofu used its sauce soaking skills in this dish of sauted vegetarian abalone with lettuce wrap. A huge pile of crisp lettuce leaves are on hand to spoon this dish into and created a wrap. A little messy, but well worth every bite. Again there was that meaty depth to the dish yet not a piece of meat had gone anywhere near these dishes. Singapore pineapple rice was as expected pineapply, and was the perfect accompaniment to every dish here at the Chinese Cricket Club.One of the highlights of our meal here was without a doubt this gorgeous yu shang aubergine. It arrived nothing liked wed expected it too but instead rather modern in its presentation and styling. Chunks of lightly fried aubergine were piled high and doused in a lovely sweet, Sichuan chilli sauce whose heat was mellow, but left a nice tingle in the back of the throat. On comparison our least favourite dish of the evening, but by no means bad was the stir fried mixed greens with cashew nuts. The whole dish had a rather strange glutinous coating whose texture I just couldnt quite fall in love with. The vegetables themselves were all perfectly cooked however. Another standout dish was the wok-fried water spinach with garlic sauce crunchy, juicy, well-seasoned and heavy on the garlic. When it comes to greens, it really doesnt get much better than this, I could have eaten bowls of the stuff.We finished our meal here with an exotic fruit platter, which really wasnt very exotic but tasty enough. I cant remember the last time I ate a meal somewhere and left feeling incredibly full, but still feeling healthy. Thats what happens when I subject myself to endless plates of meat I guess. It was a refreshing dining experience visiting the Chinese Cricket Club and eating a full vegetarian meal, which not only had bags of flavour, but everything looked just as great too. You can really taste the passion in the food here and I for one cant wait to come back and eat my way through the rest of the menu. If youre looking for quality and authentic Chinese food that wont break the bank then look no further, because it really doesnt get much better than this. thefoodaholic.co.uk

  September 23, 2015, 7:25 pm

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• Ravishankar R

  Had breakfast here in the morning. Service was pretty good. Typical English breakfast, scrambled egg, sausages, tomato, beans. Pretty pricey I would say.

  September 21, 2015, 6:14 pm

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• Mugenio

  Great Chinese food!. I loved the food here! Wow! This place is great for a decent Chinese in a thoroughly British setting. The drinks menu is as good as the food and you won’t be disappointed by either. Definitely get a plate of crispy duck to go with your beer if you’re only here for a drink and wash it down with a sake of course.

  June 28, 2014, 1:43 pm

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• Jogging

  As a Chinese live in Sydney, I think it’s not easy to be pleased by just ordinary not authentic Chinese food. We had steam fish buck choi and chive prawn dumpling and numbing spicy chicken. All too salty.cant tast Sichuan pepper in the chicken which is essential ingredient for the tast of numbing. Fish is cooked tender but too salty. Rice tast not fresh but still. The worst part is 12.5% service charge was just too much for the service we received from a grumpy waiteress who really just wanted to finish her day and go home. The best thing is location, as we stayed here.

  November 5, 2013, 6:49 am

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• SPL

  Great food, fun menu. Not too busy the night we were there however.

  November 3, 2012, 10:37 pm

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