SHIKUMEN FINCHLEY ROAD

Shikumen first opened in 2014, their large flagship located in the Dorsett Hotel on Shepherd's Bush Green, which was awarded a Michelin Bib Gourmand in 2015. A restaurant offering Chinese fine dining, Shikumen is so called after the traditional Shanghai stone house architecture of the 1940's whose stone gatehouses were influenced by Western traders as they made their was to the gateway to the East. 

When it comes to dim sum, I tend to have a handful of regular/dependable places that come to mind: Royal China, A. Wong, Pheonix Palace, Imperial China, Yauatcha ... and of course there are plenty more others that I have yet to try when I find the motivation to make an +1hour journey across London ...

I've been wanting to try out Shikumen for a while having read and heard good things about it, and was happy to be informed about their latest branch that opened in Finchley Road within the O2 Centre - conveniently located only 15 minutes away from home (!)

I visited on a late Monday afternoon for lunch (a nice time to visit if you're looking for some peace and quiet), looking forward to some dim sum to refuel in between my dance classes - dim sum isn't just for weekends after all ...

We started with the steamed Dim Sum Platter, a combination of har gau, pumpkin seafood dumplings, Chinese chive pork dumplings, and crabmeat and prawn dumplings - a nice variety of delicately made dumplings, and each one was a tasty mouthful of goodness. 
There is some chilli oil and sweet chilli on the side as dips, but I tend to have mine plain to get the most out of the flavours.

 The skewers of beef with jasmine tea from the appetizer section, was tender, and the flavours of the jasmine tea was pleasant and came through really well.

I do love cheung fun, usually with either prawn of char siu, but we were intrigued to try the one with crispy grilled eel and seaweed, which has now been made a permanent dish on the menu following it's success as a temporary special in their Shepherd's Bush branch. 

Lovely, soft translucent cheung fun, silky with a slight sticky texture, wrapped around the flavoursome crisp eel that was grilled perfectly.

Definitely a must-order dish if you love eel as much as I do - cheung fun will never taste the same again ...

From the baked/fried selection, we ordered the Roasted Duck Pumpkin Puffs, which were shaped like cute mini pumpkins, crunchy on the outside with a hot, steamy filling. 

The Yakitori Platter gets you six different skewers: mixed vegetables, bacon wrapped asparagus, chicken with spring onion, chicken meatballs, miso marinated salmon, and beef with crunchy chilli, garlic and sesame seed. My favourite amongst them were the chicken meatballs and chicken with spring onion which had a nice marinade.

Other Robata grilled dishes that weren't part of the platter included the lamb chop with miso herb butter and scallop wrapped in herb bacon that both sound equally good - I will be keeping them in mind for next time.

Finishing off with something sweet, we had the steamed cream custard buns, and black sesame balls in ginger tea. Both simple and satisfying, although I would have liked the custard to be a bit creamier and more runny ...

Overall, the food was enjoyable and the menu has a good variety of dishes to choose from - great for a quick solo meal or larger groups. 
There is only so much that one (or two) can consume in one visit, so I'll be sure to pop back in again to try more from the menu, particularly the Shanghai Xiao Long Bao (can't believe I forgot to order this), Crispy Aromatic Duck, and more of that Crispy Grilled Eel Cheung Fun ...

You can find out more about Shikumen on their website -  relaxing ambience, good quality food, and one more to add to my list of dim sum favourites.

The Cheekster, signing out x

The meal was complimentary, but views remain my own.

CAPHE PHO, SMITHFIELD

I seem to have a constant craving for Asian food lately, and Vietnamese food has always been one of my favourites, not only because it's healthy but also for their fresh ingredients and scrumptious array of dishes.

Located less than 10 minutes away from Farringdon station is Caphe Pho, a family-run Vietnamese restaurant which opened in June. Some of you may already know them well from their previous site in Bermondsey under the name of Caphe House.

The interior is rather large with plenty of rustic wooden furniture and flooring, and looked much more extensive than from the outside. By the front is a communal type dining table and at the back lies the open plan kitchen area.

Iced Vietnamese Coffee

I ordered a glass of Iced Vietnamese Coffee which sweet and refreshing.

There were plenty of tempting starters to choose from, but in the end we settled for the salt and chilli soft shell crab and king prawns, both served with sweet chilli dipping sauce. 

The prawns were juicy with a nice bouncy texture, and the batter was crisp and light. I enjoyed the soft shell crab just as much which was also light and crunchy. 

A good portion size for both starters which were filling yet not too greasy or heavy.

I love a good, hot bowl of noodles on a rainy day and went for the Rare Beef Pho which came with the typical side dish of bean sprouts, ginger, onions, spring onions, coriander, lemon and chilli. 
The beef was not as rare and pink, but still really tender and delicious.

A tasty and aromatic broth and great to have during these chilly autumn/winter days.
My dining partner, Marie, had the Spicy Coconut Chicken which was served in a claypot with a bowl of jasmine rice. The chicken was succulent and the curry was creamy with a hint of spice.

I like ending my meals with a sweet dessert, and I ordered the mochi ice cream which came with some frozen strawberries and blueberries.

Overall, we had a pleasant and satisfying meal, and with it's location I'm sure that it is a popular spot for city workers looking to get their Vietnamese lunch fix. For those in a hurry, they also have a takeaway menu with a decent selection of starters and mains.
I would be tempted to visit again to try out their Bánh mì, Bánh xèo, and many of their other dishes.

You may check out their website here for more information, or follow them on Twitter @caphepho .  

The Cheekster, signing out x

The meal was complimentary, but views remain my own.