Min Jiang (Chinese) – London, England (6.5/10)
Jul 13th, 2009 by admin
Background:
I really wanted to like Min Jiang because I’m always on the lookout for excellent Chinese restaurants in London, particularly for dim sum. Ever since the Singaporean Chinese restaurant group of two opened a sister restaurant in London, I’ve contemplated eating there. Min Jiang specialises in Beijing kaoya (Beijing roast duck), which I also love, but I wanted to try their dim sum first. One recent Sunday lunch, I visited with a friend and dim sum enthusiast.
First impressions:
The restaurant is located on the tenth floor of the Royal Garden Hotel, with a splendid view overlooking Kensington Gardens. In the main dining area, the tables are laid out in two rows, one by the huge windows. The decor is reminiscent of Hong Kong / Singaporean hotel dining spaces, although the clientele was more mixed, with few Chinese having traditional Sunday yum cha. I was soon to discover why.
It wasn’t to be the serene and relaxed dim sum lunch I had been envisaging. Firstly, even though I had made the reservation weeks ago, we weren’t seated by the window. More importantly though, the service was terrible. I don’t want this post to be one long rant about service, but it ruined the entire meal to the extent that we didn’t leave a tip (and had service charge been added to the bill, I would have complained to the manager). It’s probably the first time since a brunch in NYC back in 1999 that I’ve not paid the service charge.
When the waiter was taking our tea order, he didn’t even wait for me to speak but walked away with just my friend’s order. He had to be waved at from where he was preparing the tea so that he could return to take my order as well. At Min Jiang, whether you share a pot of tea with a friend or order your own pot, you are charged the same amount – so if a pot cost £5.20 and you share the pot, you’ll be charged £10.40. Quite ridiculous. Which is why I insisted on ordering my own pot (Hairy Crab Oolong). And he poured the tea before it was even ready, so the first cups were just coloured water.
The service continued to be brusque, rushed and unfriendly. It became worse towards the end of the meal, when a waitress asked if we wanted to see the dessert menu but then never reappeared with it. I had to ask another one to bring it, but she also neglected to bring it. We were then handed the bill (without having asked for it!) by a third waitress, at which point I protested and demanded the menu, out of principle.
I hope the service isn’t like this in the Singaporean branches, because people are far less forgiving over there. Only in London…And for all those diners who have complained about Yauatcha‘s service, just wait until you eat at Min Jiang.
What we ordered:
- 1 pot of Rain Flower green tea (£5.80)
- 1 pot of Hairy Crab oolong tea (£4.20)
- baked char siu puff (£4.00) – three miniscule puffs arrived, slightly overbaked. They didn’t look particularly appetising and the filling was a little too sweet for my liking. I generally like this dish, but not Min Jiang’s version
- har gau (steamed prawn dumplings) (£4.20) – also somewhat disappointing, as the skins were sticky and thicker than they should have been, while the prawn filling, albeit crunchy, didn’t make me jump for joy either
- steamed crab meat dumplings (£4.50) – these dumplings and the ones below were indistinguishable apart from the fact that the pumpkin dumplings were orange in colour. They weren’t bad in term of taste, but for the price, every single dish should have been perfect
- steamed pumpkin dumpling with mixed seafood (£4.50) – see above
- xiao long bao (Shanghai soup dumplings) (£6.50) – the star dish of the meal. The skins were perfect, not too thick, not too thin, and there was a lovely burst of soup upon the first bite. Unfortunately, for the exorbitant sum of £6.50, we received a grand total of 3 dumplings. I’ve been on a quest to find the best xiao long bao in London, and although these ranked highly in taste and quality, I think they must also be the most expensive I’ve ever eaten in the entire world
- crispy Beijing duck rolls (£4.20) – I ordered this thinking that it might give us a taster of their famous dish. This was the third best dish. The rolls were nicely fried, and very big (they were cut in half and yet each piece was substantial), filled with shredded duck (a little dry) and a piece of cucumber and served with plum sauce
- fresh mango cream with sago pearls and pomelo (£6.50) – I wanted to compare this chilled Chinese pudding to the one I had at three Michelin-starred restaurant Lung King Heen in Hong Kong. It was beautifully presented and very refreshing, with tiny diced pieces of mango. However, instead of pomelo, there were tiny segments of pink grapefruit, and I had to really hunt for the sago. Overall, though, delicious
The verdict:
Regular readers will know that I’m usually fair and try to find something positive to write about when I visit a restaurant. However, the dim sum at Min Jiang is overpriced (double the price that most restaurants charge, although I don’t include Yauatcha, Hakkasan or Shanghai Blues in this price group) and I only liked three out of the seven dishes. I have no problems paying top price for dim sum, but only if it’s worth it. Even so, £6.50 for three xiao long bao is a lot of money. And the Beijing duck might be excellent according to various reviews, but I’d rather return to Beijing and have it at any number of outstanding restaurants there. Thank goodness my friend had a sense of humour, but I won’t be recommending Min Jiang to anyone based on my experience today.
Dim sum for 2 cost £44.40 without service charge. Even the total cost was unlucky (the number 4 sounds like ‘death’ in Cantonese and Mandarin)…
Here is my post on Where To Eat Dim Sum In London, which I’m in the process of updating. And click here for the set of Min Jiang photos on Flickr.
10 – Perfection, 9.5 – Sensational, 9 – Outstanding, 8.5 – Superb,
8 – Excellent, 7.5 – Very Good, 7 - Good, 6.5 - Above Average, 6 – Average
All the London restaurant reviews on World Foodie Guide
Contact details:
Min Jiang
Royal Garden Hotel (10th Floor)
2-24 Kensington High Street
London W8 4PT
Tel: 020 7937 8000
www.minjiang.co.uk/home.php
oh dear….so sorry to hear that. i’ve not tried the dimsum at min jiang but i found the a la carte lunch ok. service was a little slow though but i’d put it down to inexperienced staff cos it had just opened not long before. pity.
I’m on a similar quest to you but in Sydney (to find the best Xiao Long Bao). The service here sounds terrible and good on you for ordering a separate pot (how was the Hairy Crab oolong? It sounds intriguing!). I can’t believe how expensive the XLB were-for 3 of them!
Such a shame, though I half-expected it wouldn’t live up to expectations. Thanks for saving me the trouble!
Oh deary me. That’s not good enough at all, especially as it’s so expensive.
Hmmm, this does not sound good. One thing I am a bit confused about though – why did you give it 6.5 – above average if it was so bad? Is that because the standard of dim sum in London generally is rubbish so even if this place was bad it was above average? Wow, that’s a depressing thought…
£6 for a pot of tea?!?
lise – I left it long enough before visiting, so I don’t think it’s due to inexperienced staff. There was no coordination or communication, it seemed. Worst of all, not all the dim sum was up to scratch.
Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella – I’m on a permanent quest to find the perfect xiao long bao! Are there many options in Sydney? Hairy Crab Oolong was good, but I don’t quite know how to describe teas. Smooth?
Kate – perhaps I had a very off day, so don’t discount it just because of me! A few things were good…
Lizzie – I was disappointed. I wouldn’t have minded so much if at least the dim sum had wowed me. But most of it didn’t.
Helen – Good point! Wondering that myself now. I think because a couple of things were very good – the mango pudding and the xiao long bao. And the surroundings and view were great. But I really had to mark it down for the service and the rest of the dim sum.
Chris – yes! There were more expensive ones too. I’m not a tea connoisseur but I’d rather buy expensive tea and drink it at home than pay for it in a restaurant.
Helen Yuet Ling
Oh dear. Rude service does ruin a meal. I hope that they read this! There is really no excuse.
I adore Xiao Long Bao, these ones were quite pricey, although they do sound delicious.
Oh, how disappointing. I think this one’s moving further down my to-do list on the basis of this…
I don’t think a fiver a pot is an unreasonable price to pay for good tea that will stand up to multiple brewings. Compare it to the amount that people spend on wine! But it does have to be good tea — and also brewed properly, which doesn’t sound like it was the case here.
I second everyone’s comments above about bad service… but I also want to say that the mango cream looks YUM! One of my favourite desserts.. one that I can always fit in, even when doubled over in pain from being full.
The per head tea charge is scandalous even allowing for it’s poshness ! I don’t mind £1 per head tea charge with dim sum but I remember the days when tea was served gratis.
Because of the dearth of really good dim sum places near me, I tend to be quite forgiving about any aspects of food and service that are subpar, simply out of desperation for any dim sum. But even I would have a hard time stepping into Mian Jiang after hearing about such an experience. For the price and locale, expectations should be high; I’d rather be pleasantly surprised by wonderful service and great food at a ‘hole-in-the-wall’. And nearly US$12 for 3 bao?!?
Hi Helen, I made it to Min Jiang for dim sum a few weeks back, you can read my thoughts in the following Chowhound thread:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/627840
Overall, I had a better experience than you did (especially on the service front) although none of the items especially wowed me. I agree about not paying over the odds for tea which you can brew at home so I stuck to tap water and was served a jug without ado.
A much better 1st impression was created by Phoenix Palace which I am now itching to revisit. And I made it back to Pearl Liang where I was more impressed than by my 1st time there for dim sum last year, the bean pastry with bamboo piths mushroom consomme was a revelation, the very essence of umami.
Hope that you’re enjoying lots of good summer eating!!
Well done on not paying the service charge and I am surprised after all this that you still gave it a 6.5 (although I realise this is at the low end of your scale). Even if the meal was disappointing the photos still look great (I presume with your new camera?)
Oh dear, it sounds like the service was truly appalling. I’ve been thinking about trying this place for a while now, but this has well and truly put me off! I’m definitely going to consult your list of recommendations before parting with my money. Beautiful photos by the way….
Niamh – I can’t stand poor service anywhere, but particularly in restaurants. The xiao long bao were good, but ridiculously priced!
Kake – I didn’t even ask whether there would be a charge for topping up the water. You know some restaurants charge for that?!
catty – the mango cream was very good, but I really had to trawl for the mini sago….
Sung – free tea?! Gone are those good old days. I was chatting with my mum about the subject of tea and dim sum the other day. I don’t remember when it was last free!
Tangled Noodle – I agree with you about your ‘hole in the wall’ comment! Now I know why it took me so long to make it to Min Jiang…
Oonth – thanks for the link! I’m also planning on revisits to both Pearl Liang and Phoenix Palace (the latter was really slipping in quality a few years back but it was my regular and recommended place then).
Gourmet Chick – it’s certainly at the lower end of my scale! I didn’t want to be completely unfair as three of the items were good. And yes, my new camera is in action!
gastrogeek – oh, don’t let me put you off! I could have had a really bad day (as in they were having a bad day, which I experienced).
Helen Yuet Ling
Yikes, I’m not sure what the restaurant market is like in London but here they are desperate some blogs have a weekly RIP list of some really good restaurants that could not survive. I was curious after your post, and knowing that Yelp has made its way to your shores to see what was posted there. It got a 5 star review and it did not seem like you were talking about the same restaurants. Here, you can tell that the restaurants read the feedback – usually about service and you can watch the improvements.
http://www.yelp.co.uk/biz/min-jiang-london
Like TN noted – wow, those prices are crazy!
Wow… the restaurant seems to hv gone quite downhill since I last visited. My friend who loves the place said pretty much the same thing when she revisited 2 weeks ago. I wonder what is going on in the kitchen/ management front because if the har gaus when I visited were amongst the finest I had in London (you can see from my pics they were literally translucent). Was there a change of chef? Loss of staff? Who knows!
Interesting. I live in Portland, Oregon and the dim sum restaurants here make me not want to linger on for long. I am living through you eating at all these restaurants.
admin Reply:
August 3rd, 2009 at 11:48 am
Chee – what a shame there aren’t great dim sum restaurants there! At least I have a choice here in London…
Helen Yuet Ling