Genuine Cantonese & Dim Sum Come To North Essex

[bakerestates]

Had dim sum here and throughly enjoyed it. Well done out warehouse sort of space, lots of dark wood, silk wallpaper, fake orchids, next to a garden centre on the outskirts of Colchester. Team of 12 in the kitchen preparing what was very tasty and genuine dim sum.

I am not sure of any other places in the area that offers this.

Had this between two (yes I know a lot but I was eating with the farmer who supplies my meat - he's not small and had been lambing since 5am so rather hungry)

Steamed Dim Sum

1 Scallop Dumpling with Asparagus £3.00

3 Prawn Dumpling with Diced Bamboo Shoot £3.00

6 Pork Siu Mai £2.50

10 Baby Cuttlefish in Curry Sauce £2.50 - excellent, fishy stock, mildly spiced

12 Chao Zhou Fen Guo £2.30

13 Stuffed Bean Curd Roll £2.30

16 Char Siu Bun £2.30

Fried & Deep Fried Dim Sum

20 Cuttlefish Cake £3.00

Cheung Feng

32 Shredded Pork Cheung Feng £3.00

33 Beef Cheung Feng £3.00

34 Char Siu Cheung Feng £2.80

Special Dishes

40 Slice Pork Boiled with Sauce £2.80

43 Whelks in Satay Sauce £2.80

44 Baby Squid in Chili Sauce £2.50

45 Beef Tripe in Hot Spicy Sauce £2.50

For those who live in the area and are searching for something good and pretty correct, you can do no worse. Am returning next Monday with my wife.

http://www.banquet1408.co.uk/index.html

[Gavin Convery]

Sounds good to me! And it's the right side of Colchester for me - thanks for the heads up.

I must say I am intrigued by the "Pig's Skin with Tulip and Fish Balls"!

Even the winelist looks OK - in fact looks like it's from Lay and Wheeler.

I'm off to "Jamie's Pub" on Sunday, so shall report back on that.....

Edited March 30, 2007 by Gavin Convery (log)

[Ian]

Sounds very interesting. Thanks for the heads up!

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Ian

[bakerestates]

Sounds very interesting. Thanks for the heads up!

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Ian

←

It really is, I don't think my topic heading did enough justice to it. Ate again and can't get over how good something like this is for this area. The service is slick, the food is light and flavours at many stages in each mouthfull - the baby squid in curry spices (the waiter wouldn't reveal what they were) was really good, tender, clean squid, real mild curry spices (nothing specific) and then really pure seafood broth flavour. Had tripe also which was cooked exceptionally well.

I know two other people who have been and can't believe how good it is either. My fishmonger delivered £1000 worth of lobster last weekend and they paid for it in crisp £100 notes from a briefcase Lots of local Chinese people also seem to be eating there. Looking forward next week after crazy bank holiday here.

[Gavin Convery]

Finally went here the other week. Wow! This is a superb chinese restaurant....even on the Tuesday lunchtime after the Bank Holiday it was pretty full, mostly with Chinese people. Dim Sum was everything Bakerestates described. Favourite for me was the fried turnip cake - sounds boring but was delicious. The spare ribs were transformed from the usual scarce pieces of meats in radioactive sauce to thick chunky local pork ribs with vibrant deeply flavoured sauce. We requested the egg custard tarts for dessert and were politely told that if we didn't mind waiting they were just cooking them....arrived a few minutes later fresh from the oven....delicious.

Service was friendly and very competent. Decor was surprisingly stylish for a restaurant attached to a Wyevale garden centre. Good winelist from Lay and Wheeler.

Back there next weekend and I may take my camera. Thanks Bakerestates!

For those of you off to Suffolk from London, an easy stop off as it is right by the A12, probably an exit marked Marks Tey...

Edited June 7, 2007 by Gavin Convery (log)

[CFT]

I must say I am intrigued by the "Pig's Skin with Tulip and Fish Balls"!

That's a typo! It should be daikon/mooli/white radish. It is in fact the same vegetable as in your "turnip" cake. Try it, it's very nice. Deep fried pig skin simmered in a broth with daikon and fish balls.

[Gavin Convery]

Bump.....and 4 years on and innumerable meals later this is still a favourite.

Probably only of interest to Essex/Suffolk readers or those en route to Suffolk from London, but this still remains one of our favourite restaurants in the area and the quality never slips and that includes the service. The turnip cakes are still our favourites but can also recommend the duck in plum sauce for more of a main course. Even our foodie friends from Winchester insist that we go here every time they come to visit with the added benefit that all our kids love the chicken and noodle soup which they make extra plain just for them.....can't be faulted

[bakerestates]

....... our kids love 'it'

and our said so following an extreamly poor experience at wagamama on wigmore street over half term. They devour various dumplings and some milder noodle dishes.

We had our staff party there a couple of years ago and asked them to cook a traditional feast - it was superb..multiple dishes, really memorable.

Gavin - have you tried the bull and willow tree at great/little totham?

[Carlovski]

Don't blame them - not much decent Chinese to be had in Winchester!

[Gavin Convery]

Hi Bakerestates - No not tried the Bull and Willow tree - looks nice from the website. Would you recommend both the gastropub and the fine dining?

[bakerestates]

Just the pub part so far - a beef cheek and shin stew (a little dry, lacked depth) then chocolate torte. Will try the restaurant.

[bakerestates]

Dinner here for the first time in about three years was outstanding (usually go for dim sum at lunch). Started with a Chicken Broth (£6.50 for 2) with pork, duck egg, mushrooms and chinese broccoli - clean deep flavour, light and refreshing. Then crab skeweres (£4.50) with fried garlic & some exceptoinally good dim sum (£6.50 for 8). Then onto the standout dish which our waiter recommended as I couldn't decide what I wanted - chili beef (£8.60) from a Sichuan recipe. Strips of beef cooked in a really hot chili broth with lettuce. The broth was a rich reddy/brown with many layers of flavour and lots of long dried chilies. Pork Hot Pot (£7.80) was about 6 slices of soft succulent pork in a ceramic dish with a rich sweet sauce. A bowl of pack choi, rice and a bottle of wine made a bill for 2 about £75.

Service was excellent. At the end I asked where the chili beef was on their menu - they said it wasn't, it was from the Chinese menu for their Chinese customers. We'll order from that menu in future.

I can not recommend this restaurant enough if you live in North Essex.

[CFT]

some exceptoinally good dim sum (£6.50 for 8)

What was the dim sum?

[bakerestates]

some exceptoinally good dim sum (£6.50 for 8)

What was the dim sum?

I'm afraid I can't remember now but the texture was excellent, casings light/translusent and just fresher and more flavour than I've had before.

[PhilD]

some exceptoinally good dim sum (£6.50 for 8)

What was the dim sum?

I'm afraid I can't remember now but the texture was excellent, casings light/translusent and just fresher and more flavour than I've had before.

You realise "Dim Sum" is a collective term for a vast range of different dishes? It is a bit like saying I had "exceptionally good meat".

[bakerestates]

some exceptoinally good dim sum (£6.50 for 8)

What was the dim sum?

I'm afraid I can't remember now but the texture was excellent, casings light/translusent and just fresher and more flavour than I've had before.

You realise "Dim Sum" is a collective term for a vast range of different dishes? It is a bit like saying I had "exceptionally good meat".

Sorry.....'The dumpling casings..' Can't remember what was in the dumplings.