Hot on the heels, okay well two weeks after, of Yauatcha being sold by creator Alan Yau to a subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority Pat and I decided to finally check out the dim sum on offer by the restaurant. The premium price tag on the dim sum has previously prevented us from treating this place as an every day dim sum dining experience but we thought we better get in to check it out before there was any change to the formula that has so far proven to be a major success for Alan Yau.

Blue is the overriding colour when you first behold the sight that is Yauatcha. Upon entering the restaurant you will see before you an elegant brightly lit modern and cleanly designed room. I’m not sure if bookings are still essential but today at just after noon we were able to dine as walk-ins. We were actually taken downstairs today where there is still a theme of blue from the frosted glass that covers the kitchen and the chefs to the long aquarium running across the front of the bar filled with bright colourful goldfish but suddenly we were plunged into darkness – a Ping Pong-ish style of decor.

The service is as you would expect in a restaurant of this calibre – efficient, friendly and accommodating. Upon first sitting you are presented with the drinks menu which is an almost overwhelming list of teas and wines. You won’t find bottomless pots of simple tea here – not like the pots of tea you get at regular dim sum places at any rate. There’s a large variety of blue tea, black tea, green tea and flower tea on also. Not to mention they also have a wide selection of iced teas amongst which I can recommend the Lime and Passion Ice Tea which is what Pat had and the Melon Ice Tea – both of where were extremely refreshing.

The dim sum menu features some of the regulars such as Har Gau, Shumai, Cheung Fun, and Steam Pork Bun. There were also a number of items I’d never seen before on a dim sum menu a couple of which we tried out including Ostrich Dumplings (quite delicious and self-saucing) and Baked Venison Puff (very similar to Barbecue Pork Puff but obviously with venison.) As the prices were quite high we couldn’t be too adventurous but it would have been interesting to try other dishes such as Chilean Sea Bass Mooli Roll, Native Lobster in Black Bean Sauce, Wagyu Beef Cheung Fun, and Box Dumpling. We couldn’t resist the Jasmine Tea Smoked Organic Ribs, which we also sampled when we went to sister restaurant Hakkasan. They weren’t too bad but not nearly as tasty or fall off the bone as the ones from Hakkasan.

I’ve read plenty of reviews of this restaurant – some good and some bad. I’m happy to report that our experience falls into the good category with no complaints at all about the service or the quality and taste of the food. We didn’t even have to deal with the two hour turn around policy for our table – which I wasn’t even aware of – but that was probably because we ate our food pretty darn quickly. The price tag for our one meal today would have bought us two meals at any other restaurant but it was worth it to check out the hype that is Yauatcha.