Foodie Mom In London: HKK – 15 Course Chinese Banqueting Menu? Oh, Go On Then

Last week I had the pleasure of visiting the brand new HKK restaurant with my blogger bezzy @HungryBecs (seen on the left with some crunchy jellyfish).

The flash Chinese restaurant that offers just one daily-changing 15 course banqueting menu is the latest from Hakkasan group. We paired our Cantonese feast created by Michelin-starred head chef Tong Chee Hwee (formerly at Hakkasan Hanway Place) with wine, tea and cocktails.

I won’t witter on about each course in detail but I do want to tell you a bit about the highlights:

HKK: Lychee Wood Roasted Peking Duck

Any restaurant that uses an entire Peking duck, roasted in a special wood oven and then carved in the centre of the restaurant for each diner, is clearly trying to impress and impress they did.

We were initially a bit alarmed at the potential waste of decent duck but the manager assured us although not used anywhere else on the menu, that the rest of the duck did indeed go to a good home…basically the staff eat well at Hakkasan Group.

To simply call this a mere duck pancake would be an injustice. A ready rolled duck wrap came served on a plate, (at £95 a head it would be rude to make us roll our own), alongside what can only be described as a little slice of heaven. It was served alongside a crisp square of fatty duck skin and a dipping sauce of rich hoisin and herby sugar. Wow!

HKK: Osmanthus Flower Jelly, Water Chestnut Cake Served With Da-Hong-Po

Designed as a mid-meal palate cleanser we agreed that this fried water chestnut cake was not unlike a donut – a damn tasty one though. This was served with a softly scented jelly and a fabulous Da-Hong-Pao tea.

HKK: Dim Sum Triology

Purely for aesthetic reasons, this was my third favourite dish. HKK has really gone to town on its crockery. Beautiful white, black, grey and marbled, round, square and oblong dishes kept arriving with each course but the dim sum won hands down as it came with its own paintbrush for you to paint on your own soy sauce! As I am allergic to squid and prawns, the kitchen made me a special vegetarian medley version.

What also topped this dish was that it was paired with a mini fluorescent coloured cocktail – Bitter Fortune (Tanqueray 10, rhubarb liqueur aperol and grapefruit).