Plum Valley

"On Chinatown’s red lantern-strewn Gerrard Street, Plum Valley looks small from the outside, but it’s actually a multi-storey labyrinth of a restaurant. Follow the server’s clandestine direction of “go upstairs, turn right, then left”, and you start to feel hopeful that you’re about to be inducted into a secret dumpling society. And with more than 100 daytime dim sum options and the packed-out buzz of happy tourists and in-the-know students, it’s a society we’d like to be a part of. The food is neither hit nor miss, just Cantonese classics set to satisfy and lure you into a second order of the glossy barbecued pork buns. Come for a midweek cheung fun solo dining session if you work in the area, and then inevitably return with all the fun members of your group chat so you can make use of the lazy susans and secure one of the big, squishy booths. photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch photo credit: Heidi Lauth Beasley photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch Food Rundown photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch Roasted Pork Cheung Fun These long, thin noodle tubes require a steady hand and a silent prayer that the filling won’t flee the scene before it reaches your mouth. They could be wrapped a little tighter or packed with a smidge more pork, but the flavours are on point—sweet, notes of soy, a little whisper of barbecue. photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch King Prawn Cheung Fun The rice noodle roll is chewy, slippery, and satisfying but you’ll need to call on old faithful, soy sauce, to give these prawns a flavour that extends past ‘vague memory of ocean waves’. We like the meaty cheung fun here better. photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch Crispy Roasted Pork Puff Pastry Presenting: dessert by way of pork. And that’s not a complaint, it’s a compliment. These buns are sweet, wonderfully dense, and biting into that golden shell feels indulgent." - Heidi Lauth Beasley

"Chinatown’s Plum Valley is among a host of restaurants in the central London area taking advantage of new outdoor dining permits. Plum Valley might be the pick for dim sum outside in the sun: XO turnip cake, cheung fun, xialongbao, and more with 50 percent off. Available at lunch and dinner Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday." - Adam Coghlan, James Hansen