Plum Valley Restaurant Review
When people think of Chinese food, one of the most popular misconceptions is that it’s a fast food style environment where food looks more rustic rather than refined. However if you know where to go, Chinese food can be elegant, vibrant and full of flavour – Plum Valley certainly elevates their cuisine to this level.
Now before your visit I would definitely suggest booking ahead, especially on a Saturday night! It’s not the end of the world if you don’t, but you might be in for a little bit of a wait. We probably waited for around 20 minutes in total for a party of 2.
The restaurant is across two floors with a mostly all black interior which is sleek, stylish and certainly resonates with a fine dining experience that they seek to maintain.
Service was relatively quick and it wasn’t long after being seated that we had our order taken and the dishes and drinks subsequently arrived soon after.
The highlight of the meal for me had to be the Peking duck. I’m a huge fan of crispy duck with pancakes anyway, but this wasn’t something you’d get from your local takeaway – far from it! This duck had been prepared roasted, chopped and they also served some of the crispy skin as well which was my favourite! The duck was succulent and roasting it in this way really allows you to savour the taste of the duck and the crispy skin gave each pancake some texture.
Another dish I would recommend is the lobster braised with ginger and spring onions on a bed of shrimp egg noodles. There are many ways to cook lobster but I’m not sure if anything quite beats just cooking it simply with ginger and spring onion. Being Chinese myself we use a lot of ginger and spring onion in our cooking as it is clean/fresh and if used in the right quantities it complements a dish rather than overwhelming the flavour.
I also really enjoyed the rice with roast duck, garlic and vegetables (bit of a theme going on here…) which was diced and cooked in a black bean style sauce – something else I really love! The slight bitterness of the black bean cut through the richness of the duck, not to mention adding plenty of flavour to the egg fried rice underneath.
We also had some Malaysian morning glory stir fried with shrimp paste and some foie gras dumplings which were quickly devoured!
So if you’re looking for an elevated way of enjoying Chinese cuisine, then I suggest heading to Plum Valley and discover Chinese food in a new light.
Plum Valley is also one of the few restaurants in Chinatown that serves dim sum all day which comes in particularly handy if you’re craving some Chinese afternoon tea goodness!
Do you have a favourite Chinese restaurant in London?
Love Sophia xo