Camden Town is not what I would call a London hotspot for dim sum eateries. Far from Bayswater and Chinatown, Yum Cha is the only dim sum restaurant on Chalk Farm Road challenging two very common prejudices.
The first is that authentic dim sum can only come from areas with an established Chinese community. The second is that any good Chinese restaurant will have a majority of Chinese customers.
I was lucky to join Kelvin of FoodCycle, Jen of Dashi Dashi, and Louise of Penguinette Cooks at Yum Cha recently and find a fairly busy restaurant mostly occupied by Western tourists from nearby Camden Market.
Occupying the premises of former Silk & Spice restaurant on Chalk Farm Road, the restaurant has a modern, Ikea-style décor with much use of intense red colours. It is not an elegant restaurant but neither is it unattractive.
Service was attentive but unobtrusive, and soon after our order was taken, our dim sum dishes started arriving. These were:
“Sesame Prawn Roll” @ £2.40 – these were deliciously crispy with a generous filling of prawns and coriander, and tasted very good.
“Char Siu Bun” @ £2.40 – I was pleasantly surprised by the lightness of these buns and by the flavoursome char siu filling, a first-rate version of a staple dim sum dish.
“Shanghai Dumplings” @ £2.40 – these were excellent, and nearly as good as the ones from Leong’s Legend. The dumplings’ skin was thin and delicate, holding a good amount of highly flavoured broth.
“Chiu Chow Dumpling” @ £2.40 – these are among my favourites at Royal China, and Yum Cha’s version was second to none. I loved the combination of peanuts, radish and pork in these dumplings.
“Scallop Dumpling” @ £2.40 – gorgeously presented, these dumplings had a delicate flavour and were filled with some meaty scallops.
“Crispy Duck Roll” @ £3 – not a dim sum I would normally have ordered, I find these uninspiring at best, but Yum Cha’s was crisp, and not too greasy.
“Beeftripe” @ £2.40 – I love tripe but had never eaten it for dim sum. Jen chose this dish, it was surprisingly delicious and with a good texture.
“Fry Dough Cheung Fun” @ £3 – since trying this type of cheung fun at Phoenix Palace, I became a real convert. I loved the different textures and delicate flavours in this dish.
“Prawn Cheung Fun” @ £3 – the prawns were large and chunky, and were the perfect accompaniment to the light cheung fun skin. It was one of the best versions of this dish I have had.
“Beancurd & Beefballs” @ £2.40 – the beef balls had some interesting flavours particularly of coriander root and ginger. A simple but well executed dim sum.
“Pork & Prawn Dumpling (Shumai)” @ £2.40 – Yum Cha’s version was a real step up from Phoenix Palace’s, they were meaty but soft, and very delicious.
"Pan-fried Turnip Cake” @ £2.40 – these were also excellent; they were crispy on the outside but slightly gooey inside and with a generous amount of dried meat.
“Mini Egg Tarts” @ £2.40 – I am not a huge fan of these even though Yum Cha’s pastry cases were deliciously crumbly and sweet.
After some disappointing dim sum meals recently, I am thrilled to have found Yum Cha in Camden Town. I cannot remember having such good dim sum at such affordable prices in London and am very surprised that it is not completely heaving with customers.
Yum Cha serves dim sum throughout the day (including dinner) although the cheung fun is only available at lunch time. The restaurant will take bookings for dim sum at weekends.
Cost: £41.60 (or £10.50 per person) including 10% service and £1.20 for tea per person.
Likes: Good service, affordable prices and endless/unsolicited refills of our tea pot. I thoroughly recommend the Shanghai dumplings, the prawn cheung fun and the pan-fried turnip cake.
Dislikes: High density of tables meant that some of us were uncomfortable at peak times due to the cramped conditions.
Verdict: One of my favourite dim sum venues in London, serving excellent quality dishes at very affordable prices. I cannot wait to return. Highly recommended.
