Mickey L.
Yelp
Enter a realm of superior seafood, where lobster and other shellfish of exquisite freshness and expert preparation will boldly take you to worlds where no humans have gone before!
After 4+ miles of fun-filled sightseeing and urban hiking from the London Eye, we were so glad to see our destination: dinner! We love seafood and were like sweet-toothed kids in Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory! The heavenly and varied selection of crustaceans, bivalves, mollusks (sea cucumber, abalone), and fish made us uncharacteristically indecisive--but in a good way.
Our server recommended the lobster, and after seeing a neighboring couple savor it, we were sold! Normally, we enjoy our seafood as pure and simple as possible, so we were considering to have it raw or just steamed. Our server seemed a bit more than suggestive in getting us to order it with ginger, scallion, and noodles--a popular choice--which we were really glad we did :-D
To start, we had Phoenix Prawns with Chili and Scallions. At first, it was a sight to behold: each prawn was BIGGER than most lobster tails! The accompanying sauce appeared to be strong, but served to complement the incredibly flavorful crustacean.
Then, the lobster arrived and we were stunned by how incredibly flavorful it was: totally superior, cleaner, and more succulent than any of its Maine relatives served at $$$$+ restaurants!
The ginger and scallions complemented the meat incredibly well, and the noodles were just perfect texture and seasoning as a complementary component for the star crustacean.
Not only could you taste the pristine freshness, it was clearly visible as the meat was plump in every crevice right down to the tiny swimmerets. Another point that stuck was how easy it was to extract the meat from the shells.
When we asked our server how the lobster was so tasty and so fresh, he pointed out that they get them straight from the Scottish Sea and the chef is an expert in carving up the lobster so that all of the pieces cook perfectly and the patrons have an easy time eating their meal.
By that time, we were quite satisfied but curious to try dessert. Since our server was perfect so far, we asked him to select our dessert: a hearty and palate balancing red bean pancake.
All in all, this was a seafoodie's dream. I understand how the service can be perceived as brusque to efficient (the bus persons are a bit blunt), but showing an earnest interest in the restaurant and having a great server made for a wonderful evening of food and service.
When we stayed in London, the currency exchange rate was far more disadvantageous for Americans--everything seemed to cost double. The exceptions to the rule were with Starbucks (everything was half the quids as supposed dollars, and their sandwiches were amazing!) and Mandarin Kitchen, which proved to be a relative value for such a memorable experience (~47 quid for 3 amazing courses).
I just wish I could teleport to Mandarin Kitchen every now and then :-P