Seamless Mr Wing is hard not to like
By Alex Larman, published on 5 December 2011
Ask most people where the best place in London to get a really good Chinese meal is, and the answer, delivered loftily, is nearly always the same. ‘Oh, you’ll want to go to Chinatown for that.’ If pushed, a few people might, grudgingly, concede that Bayswater has its fair share of excellent establishments, most notably the Four Seasons and the Royal China. Yet the problem with many of these places is that the food can be variable but the service is uniformly brisk at best, positively rude at worst. No wonder that many people look around, in virtual desperation, for another option.
If you’re anywhere near Kensington or Chelsea, your best bet might well be the excellent Mr Wing, situated in the Earl’s Court area. The first thing that you notice on a visit is that the staff here are genuinely friendly and polite, making a visit a pleasure, rather than a chore. The second thing you notice is that the ambience, especially downstairs, radiates old-school glamour. On our visit, a pianist gently tinkled away as we admired the enormous fish tank by our table. A couple of glasses of Deutz champagne – the most oddly underrated major fizz there is – set the tone, as we decided what to choose from the substantial menu.
Unlike, say, Hakkasan or Kai, there’s nothing here that’s trying to push boundaries. However, when you’re having dishes as excellent as these, then it’s hard to quibble. A couple of dim sum of pork and coriander dumplings and steamed prawn siu mai represent nibbles at their absolute best – if you were looking merely to graze, the dim sum menu on its own would be a more than adequate snack. But this would be to miss out on gorgeous, melt-in-mouth aromatic crispy duck, offered as an ‘intermediate’ course and one of the best I can remember having. Following this, mains of stir-fried ribeye beef and Kung Po chicken seemed almost too much, yet the delicate flavours (helped immeasurably by a side order of excellent pack choi) were a fine balance and deliciously moreish. A fine bottle of 2009 Chianti was exactly the right compliment.
So, a lovely setting, fantastic staff and excellent food – what’s not to like? Well, only that the titular Mr Wing didn’t appear to be in residence when we visited, which disappointed my companion immensely. However, nobody ever want to Joe Allen’s and expected to meet Mr Allen (well, not these days anyway), so this can only be, at worst, a very minor quibble for what is otherwise a superbly seamless experience.
Mr Wing, 242-4 Old Brompton Road, London SW5, Tel: +44 20
Seamless Mr Wing is hard not to like
A lovely setting, fantastic staff and excellent food – what’s not to like?
