New Culture Revolution make their noodles fresh everyday and none of their dishes contain MSG! It really does feel like you are having a healthy meal and you can definitely tell the high quality of the food. I found that the food was not oily and the portions were big. It’s a good place to go for a satisfying lunch!

The vegetarian Chow Mein was great with its pieces of tofu, carrots, celery, baby corn, onions, mushrooms, mange tout and pine nuts. It was not laden with soy sauce like you would get in most restaurants. It also made a refreshing change as the noodles were the thin rice vermicelli ones instead of egg noodles. It was a filling meal without the heaviness that you normally get with noodle dishes. I would say that New Culture Revolution has got this Chow Mein perfect!

If you fancy something a bit more warming and hearty, then the Tong Mein is a good choice. This is a soup based dish with thick noodles, mange tout, spring onions, carrots, Chinese leaves and chicken. There were big pieces of chicken and plenty of vegetables too.

The staff were really friendly and it was a relaxing atmosphere. The decor is very simple with beige furniture and white walls but it works! Look out for the philosophical quotes that are hung on the walls!

New Culture Revolution, 42 Duncan Street, London, N1 8BL

Our Rating:
5 out of 5 stars

A variety of steamed, fried and oven baked dim sum was had, each having their own unique delicious flavour . My favourite was the mini onion pancakes. These were little round oven baked parcels with spring onion. The steamed vegetarian dumplings presented in the bamboo steamed baskets were good.

The rice pasta with peanut sauce and yellow bean sauce were rice tubes with a gooey consistency. Two of the fried dim sum that we had were the vegetarian roll and the crispy dough stick. The former had lots of vegetables but was just that little bit too oily. I would describe the crispy dough stick as a fried layer of dough which was then wrapped in the rice pasta! Most of the dishes come with various dipping sauces.

After resting for a while and after lots of talking, we had room for the sweet delightful treats of the dessert dim sum! The chilled mango pudding is a must for mango lovers! It is a bit like a mango blamanche! A different option is the black sesame in a gluten ball. It tastes far better than it looks! I was surprised by its jelly like consistency!

I was looking forward to the egg tart but I was a little disappointed by it. The reason being it tasted more eggy rather than sweet. Saving the best for last, it had to be the steamed cream custard buns. These had the best sweet creamy filling!

The service was really great, very friendly and efficient. Phoenix Palace is quite a large restaurant. On the big tables, there is the rotating glass turntable so that everyone can get access to the dishes really easily! As you enter/leave the restaurant, take a look at the photo montage of the famous people that have dined at Phoenix Palace. See if you can spot the politicians, foreign officials, actors and tv presenters!

Phoenix Palace, 5 Glentworth St, London, NW1 5PG

Our Rating:
4.5 out of 5 stars

There was not a great range of vegetarian steamed dim sum but we did have the vegetarian Thai spring rolls. These were crispy and not at all oily. This made a change as spring rolls are normally seeping with oil.

We were given quite a big portion of crispy seaweed. The steamed pork dim sum was very tasty and all the dipping sauces that came with the meal were really nice.

To drink, we shared the Keeman black tea. This was served by the pot. They also had a range of coffees, juices and cocktails (alcoholic and non-alcoholic).

The service at Yum Cha was great. There was a lot of attention to detail and the staff were friendly. Service with a smile is what we experienced. The seats by the window are perfect for people watching. The carved wooden panels on the walls makes the decor unusual.

If you are a karaoke fan, then Yum Cha also hosts karaoke nights! This restaurant can be easily confused with the similarly named Yum Chaa Tea Space located in Camden Lock Market!

Yum Cha Silks and Spice, 28 Chalk Farm Road, London, NW1 8AG

Our Rating:
3.5 out of 5 stars

The Pad Thai noodles were nice although they would have been better if more vegetables had been in the dish. We really enjoyed the sweet corn cakes- very moreish! The vegetable dumplings were good too. They were not like the usual dim sum style dumplings; they reminded me more of Italian ravioli. The raw juice was a refreshing drink to accompany the meal.

The Banana Tree Canteen, 412-416 St John Street, Islington, London, EC1V 4NJ

Our Rating:
4 out of 5 stars