For The Grown-Up Alice

Move over cutesy tea-parties. If you are looking for some magical cups of that perfectly brewed Jasmine tea and equally delectable bites in an authentic teahouse, albeit a bit noisy, Yauatcha is going to delight you.

London’s favourite Michelin-starred dim sum teahouse, Yauatcha, has arrived in Delhi, with eclectic and exotic food expression as its trump card. Does it work? Yes, it does, if a sumptuous Cantonese meal and some hot and refreshing cups of Jasmine tea, or some chilled, unusual cocktails, in a chatty teahouse is your thing. Perfect for groups looking for some soul-soothing food that wraps traditional Chinese recipes using methods of cooking true to a thousand years of Chinese tradition, in the measured appeal of modern sensibilities. Not so perfect for those looking for table-for-two cosy evenings.

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Ambience: It’s a teahouse, after all. And the décor and the noisy vibe befit that. We walked straight to a community table set right in front of a dramatic bar perched at the centre of the restaurant, where people sit with their drinks, sharing kimchi, authentic dips, and some stimulating conversations. Guests are encouraged to shift to their tables from here, once done with their drinks. The open kitchen with masterchefs at work and lots of tables and chairs set next to each other with handmade ceramic shades hanging on top, embodies the atmosphere of an affably vibrant ‘gossip shop’, akin to the traditional Hong Kong dim sum restaurants. That they had preserved this authentic feel was a touch we enjoyed. Beautifully embroidered Chinese motifs on the leather chairs complete the graceful teahouse picture with a flourish.

Food: The menu covers Cantonese cooking exhaustively, offering a large selection of dim sums, wok preparations, fragrant rice and noodles, and modern European desserts placed next to some traditional gems. What caught our eye was the inclusion of certain dishes that are suitable for Jain dietary preferences and a special vegetarian dessert menu. Being a dim sum tea house, the restaurant is expected to have an impressive selection of teas, and it does serve the finest green, blue and white teas. Spot on. However, we decided to skip the teas and dive straight into steaming hot dumplings. It was a task to choose from a selection of over 40 dim sums, steamed, baked and pan-fried. We decided to start with highly recommended Prawns and Chinese Chive Dumplings. It turned out to be a disappointing start—predictable and rather average. Then we were served the Truffle Edamame Dumplings. Yauatcha takes pride in its extensively crafted vegetarian fare and Truffle Edamame Dumplings were played up as the star of this spread. They were soothing to the senses, but again nothing we were sold over. Just when we were beginning to slip into that ho-hum mood, Poached Peking Dumplings arrived on our table, packed with hot broth inside, served in a cup with warm soya sauce poured on top of it. A comforting bite for a nippy winter evening! Warmed up after this treat, we decided to look away from the creative takes on dim sums and try a traditional specialty. We chose the Three Style Mushroom Cheung Fun, and I must say, the traditional recipe wins hands down over the modern incarnations of dim sums. Any day.

A serving of crunchy veggies was on our mind. The chef suggested Stir-Fry Water Chestnuts, Sugar Snaps and Black Fungus. Crunchy and palette-clarifying as desired!

All of this was sufficiently punctuated with their refreshing signature mocktails: Nara Iced Tea and Virgin Lalu, both of which we highly recommend, Virgin Lalu more than the former. The cocktails, of course, will make for a completely different review as the restaurant had still not managed to get its alcohol licence in place when we dropped by.

Next up was the main course. We chose seafood Ho Fan Noodles with Pei Fong Tong Soft Shell Crab. The noodles were usual and the soft shell crab, unusual. Succulent, delectable, and well plated with a contemporary flair—subtle yet thrilling. However, it was the dessert that made us smile and upped the entire experience for us a notch higher. We hovered over many chocolatey desserts and finally decided to settle for a more authentic taste: Jasmine Tea Cake. Essentially, chocolate sponge with jasmine ganache, milk chocolate jasmine mousse, caramalised honey milk panna cotta, served with a scoop of vanilla honey ice cream. Tantalizingly sumptuous!

Service: The service pleased us as much as the dessert did. It’s just how the service at a restaurant should be: very attentive, yet not intrusive. The food suggestions were made keeping our tastes in mind and a lot of care was taken to ensure that our drinks were refilled and our dishes arrived hot. But what instantly got my attention was the fact that our main course dishes arrived together and were all served hot. It may seem like a simple detail, but it’s surprising how even the best of restaurants serve the main courses to two people sitting together never at the same time, and sometimes even as much as fifteen minutes apart. Luxury for the eyes is easy to put together. Luxury for the taste-buds is an acquired skill and gains points for the effort. Impeccable service with attention to detail stands for the concept of luxury that woos the heart. Full points to Yauatcha there.

Where: Ambience Mall, Level 2, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi.

Our recommendations: Pei Fong Tong Soft Shell Crab and Jasmine Tea Cake.

What we yearn to try the next time around: Asparagus Cheung Fun, Lotus Root Roll, Scallop Shui Mai, and Steamed red snapper in Asam sauce.

From the January 2014 issue of L’Officiel India.