The dim sum story
Dim sum is an important part of our menu at Hutong, in particular for our lunch service. Dim sum is a traditional Chinese cuisine that originated in Southern China but each region now has its own distinct array of dim sum.
Dim sum is an important part of our menu at Hutong, in particular for our lunch service. Dim sum is a traditional Chinese cuisine that originated in Southern China but each region now has its own distinct array of dim sum.
We have a new dish on our a la carte menu – a poached monkfish and lamb broth. This dish takes on an unusual property of being both warming and ‘fresh’, with clean flavours and a rich depth, it is finished with goji berries to give a zest to the dish. The lamb enriches the broth without overpowering the fish, and that monkfish is particularly good to use as the texture and flavour stand up to lamb.
Although of course the best way to enjoy our cuisine is by joining us for lunch or dinner in the restaurant, we know that sometimes guests like to try replicating our recipes at home. Many of the techniques used in our Sichuanese and northern Chinese dishes are very specialised, but some are less complicated and to that end chef Bing Luo has kindly shared this recipe for one of our most popular appetisers, Wilted spinach with Sichuan ginger sauce and toasted sesame.
To make the dish at home you will need:
500g Spinach
10ml light soy sauce
5ml sesame oil
3g salt
10ml Chinese black vinegar (available from Chinese supermarkets and some supermarket speciality aisles)
5g sugar
10g fresh ginger blended with water
20ml water
20g fresh ginger, thinly-shredded then deep-fried until golden
5g sesame seeds
Then follow these simple steps: Read more +
Golden Week, from 1st to 7th October, is a Chinese national holiday celebrating the country’s National Day on 1st October and extending into a week-long bank holiday. With easier visa applications and new air routes linking more and more Chinese cities to the rest of the world, many Chinese people use Golden Week as an opportunity to travel abroad – including to London.
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As Mid-Autumn Festival, which falls this Sunday 27th September, approaches, we were honoured to see our special celebration menu and Chinese drinks pairing reviewed in the warmest possible terms by prestigious cultural title The Glass Magazine.
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To complement the complex and varied flavours of the Mid-Autumn Festival menu, our sommeliers and bar team have put together an optional drinks pairing highlighting Chinese wines and spirits.
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Our special menu celebrating Mid-Autumn Festival will be available at dinner from next Monday 7th September and we are excited to bring you details of the delights we have in store!
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Mid-Autumn Festival, which falls this year on 27th September, celebrates the tale of Hou Yi, the archer, and his wife Chang’e. Legend has it that in Hou Yi’s time there were ten suns in the sky, the heat of which scorched the earth and burnt plants causing people great hardship. Hou Yi shot down nine of the ten suns, leaving only one for light, and the people were very grateful.
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Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the most important Chinese festivals, falling on the fifteenth day of the eighth month in the lunar calendar during a full moon. Celebrating the legend of Chang’e, the moon goddess, and Houyi, the archer and falling this year on Sunday 27th September, Mid-Autumn Festival is a time for gathering, thanksgiving and praying.
To mark the festival, throughout the month of September a special celebration menu created by head chef Bing Luo will be available every day at dinner. Designed for sharing in the spirit of the festival, the menu starts with two cold appetisers, Braised cuttlefish salad with Sichuan pepper and Wilted spinach with ginger sauce and toasted sesame, pictured here.
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Since introducing our new set lunch menu, one dish has been causing particular interest – the Guaiwei prawn and cuttlefish in pickled chilli sauce. Exhilaratingly spicy but at the same time rich and sweet, the dish offers diners a rare opportunity to experience guaiwei – the so-called ‘exotic taste’ prized in Sichuan cuisine but virtually unknown outside of it.
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