There’s loads of respectable sinophilic consuming available outdoors of Chinatown.
Vacationers, out-of-towners and folks new to London routinely head to Chinatown every time they’re in want of a hearty meal-by-chopstick. After all, that lantern-festooned patch of West Finish actual property doesn’t have the monopoly on corking Chinese language delicacies as opinions on this website have alluded to through the years.
Southwark’s Dragon Fortress isn’t fairly as grand as its identify, its excessive ceilings or its koi pond-equipped lobby would have you ever imagine. However it’s nonetheless an eminently snug place through which to spend a protracted, winding lunch with friends whereas quaffing basket after basket of dim sum.
All the dumplings right here benefitted from skinny and supple skins, with these gracing the decapod delegation suitably pearlescent and opaque. Every basic har gau got here fit-to-burst with plump, agency prawns. Prawn and chive dumplings took these alternative crustaceans and added the distinctive alliaceous crispness of chives. The prawn and spinach variant was suitably bittersweet.
The one prawn-based disappointment was the prawn and scallop variant, the place every dumpling was graced with solely a wee sliver of mollusc.
The thick and sticky skins of the pumpkin and tremella dumplings got here bulging with loads of the candy potato-like mash, however not sufficient of the fungus.
A pescatarian tackle siu mai was a greater demonstration of Dragon Fortress’s strategy to much less conventional dim sum. Slippery but meaty helpings of fish gleamed with a modest serving to of numbing Sichuanese peppercorn oil, all wrapped up in skinny, pleated skins that held collectively nicely.
Folds of cheung enjoyable have been thick, broad, slippery and shimmeringly opaque. Inside have been plump prawns with a agency chew, the entire thing reclining languidly in a pool of candy soy sauce. A variant added wafer skinny bean curd that had been fried to a fragile crisp, which contrasted neatly with the slippery cheung enjoyable and agency prawns.
The deep-fried choice wasn’t fairly as expansive because the steamed, however there have been nonetheless gems available, such because the agency and springy deep-fried patties of cuttlefish which absorbed sauces with ease.
Deep-fried curls of wafer-thin rolled bean curd have been each crisply brittle and addictively moreish.
Eating companion Tetra insisted on ordering the mock duck. Sadly the seitan right here was texturally one dimensional evaluate to Tofu Vegan’s effort, with not one of the puffiness or crispness present in that model.
For dessert, you possibly can’t go flawed with taro and sago in coconut milk. The graceful milky coolness of the liquified coconut pulp was a nice conveyor of the dense taro and its nutty sweetness. The beads of sago have been unusually small, however this didn’t detract from the enjoyment of this dessert.
The Verdict
With Dragon Fortress, I’m – for as soon as – recommending a restaurant the place there isn’t something uniquely distinctive concerning the meals. As an alternative, what’s notable right here is the choice to have extremely competent steamed and deep-fried dim sum with out having to schlep into Chinatown or out to the likes of Colindale. Should you occur to be on this nook of Elephant and Fortress/Southwark, you have to be very glad certainly to have Dragon Fortress at your fingertips.
Identify: Dragon Fortress
Deal with: 100 Walworth Street, Southwark, London, SE17 1JL
Telephone: 020 7277 3388
Net: https://www.dragoncastlelondon.com/
Opening Hours: seven days every week noon-23.00; dim sum served noon-17.00.
Reservations? most likely a good suggestion on weekends.
Common value for one particular person, together with smooth drinks, when shared between 4: £33 approx.
Ranking: ★★★★☆
