Dim Sum and Duck

Cantonese

124 King's Cross Rd, WC1X 9DS

£

I have always thought that in London you need look no further than China Town for decent Dim Sum. However, I’m not always in the mood for a trip into the West End, which after a long day can feel garish, loud and intense. After a move to North London earlier this year, I was looking for something a little closer to home, so was pleasantly surprised when I saw a number of people I admire raving about Kings Cross joint Dim Sum and Duck.

I called ahead to try and book and they told me they had a group of 10 coming in at 7:00 so they couldn’t take any more bookings, but that we were welcome to try and get a walk in table. Arriving at 18:45, I was able to secure the last table outside, and within 10 minutes a queue started formulating outside the restaurant. Run by a Dim Sum chef with over 30 years experience, the recommendations have flown out, the hype has begun, and now Dim Sum and Duck is known as some of the best Cantonese food you can get in London.

Onto the good stuff. From the Dim Sum menu we ordered the Prawn & Chive dumplings (£4.6), The Pork Dumplings in Chilli oil (£4.8), and the Char-Siu Cheng Fun (£5.4). To my surprise, the pork dumplings were actually superior to the prawn, bursting with flavour and swimming in a delightfully rich chilli oil. The Prawn dumplings were cooked to perfection, but lacked the body and flavour of ones I’ve had before. We opted for a pork Cheng Fun, which was the right choice: perfectly caramelised, tender pieces of meat encased in a thick, soft rice paper dressing and immersed in sweet soy – another garlicky, sweet, salty, sour flavour explosion. Cheng Fung was a dish my Dad would always get at our usual spot Gerard’s corner in Chinatown, and I remember lovingly referring to it as ‘shlop’ because of it’s appearance. It’s not something I’ve personally ever ordered, but it is now a new staple on any order I will do in future.

Onto the fried stuff. A delightfully large portion of perfectly crispy and seasoned Salt and Pepper Squid (£6.8), topped with all the delicious best bits you’d expect (garlic, chilli, spring onion). Followed by ¼ Crispy Duck (£12.8), and Crispy Chilli Beef (£9.8). The duck was good, a large portion and cooked well, with a crispy, fatty outside and mostly tender and moist interior (there were some dry bits). The beef on the other hand, was sublime. I haven’t ordered a chilli beef in a few years, after having one too many dodgy batches in a takeaway: too chewy, too tough, the sauce not quite right – so this was a risk, but one that paid off tremendously. Thin piece of perfectly crispy beef were coated in a divinely thin, sticky, sweet sauce – it was so good that it was gone before I even thought to take a photo.

We did of course order some greenery to make ourselves feel better: a Stir-Fried Choi Sum topped with garlic and chilli (£8.2) and two Asahi’s each to wash it down with (£4.5). Dim Sum and Duck actually used to be a BYOB joint, however, due to popular demand and the obvious benefits for them, they are now no longer. No booze appears on the menu, and some of the waiting staff aren’t the most willing to engage in much conversation, so I just ordered whatever I saw on everyone else’s table. You might be thinking that we ordered a lot of food for two people… we did. So much so, that when we were putting in our order the waitress stopped us in our tracks with a simple “no more”. Haha – I’m not sure if this was due to the fact she literally thought we would explode, the fact she hates food waste, the fact it wouldn’t all fit on the table, or the fact that we would take too long eating it all and they wanted to serve more customers. Either way, I’ve never been told ‘no’ (a little embarrassing, mostly hilarious). Begrudgingly she was probably right and I’m glad we didn’t get those extra noodles, but safe to say we finished everything regardless (my lovely dining companion was once named “the hoover” by my uncle after she came out for a curry with us and finished everyone’s plates).

Our bill came to £77.44 including service, a pretty large bill for such a cheap place, but given the amount we ate an absolute bargain. Dim Sum and Duck is a no-frills, authentic and iconic 20 seater. You’ll be hard pressed to get a table here most evenings, but if you’re willing to queue it’s definitely worth the wait. The service may feel salty, but the flavours you’ll get for the price are worth the slight on-edge feel you get when asking for another drink. You can definitely do this for cheaper: I’d recommend 2 Dim Sum dishes, A Duck Dish (I’ll try the roast duck next time), 1 fried option, some greens and some rice/noodles – which would probably work out at only £25 each (without drinks). It’s been a revelation for me, which means I never need to go to Chinatown again.

OVERALL RATING: *****

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