A few weeks ago we went for dinner at Chai Wu, a contemporary Chinese restaurant in Harrods – Knightsbridge. We’ve been a couple times before and we always forget the long trek through the different floors of luxury all the way up to the fifth floor where Chai Wu is tucked away. The restaurant oozes luxury from the marble and leather as well as the fairly dim lighting, but then again we are in Harrods. There is also a charcoal grill/open kitchen in the middle of the restaurant where some of the dishes are made, which adds that little bit of excitement to diners being able to see their food prepared. We arrive for dinner at 6pm and the welcoming matre d’ checks us in and walks us to our table. The restaurant was half full with a few families and couples.
What we ordered
The staff at Chai Wu are always friendly and will always try to help with any questions – Amen’s the one with all the questions. When our waiter comes over I order the Salt and pepper squid, crispy smoked chicken and vegetarian dumplings for my starter and for mains I had the sweet and sour chicken served in a dragon fruit with rice on the side. Amen ordered the popcorn shrimp with a creamy spicy dressing, wagyu puffs and eel nigiri for his starters and had the sea bass with 3 flavoured sauces. For drinks I had my usual virgin mojito, which was one of the bests I’ve had, and well Amen had his still water with lemon and ice *rolls eyes*.
Review of the food
STARTERS
The food comes promptly and for us foodies who order a lot, it can be too much to fit on the small tables at Chai Wu. Although we ordered what seemed to be a little too much food, some of the “small dishes” are a little bit too small, which kind of worked for us to not over eat. But for others I would assume the quantity is not worth the price. The salt and pepper squid were served in three small dim sum baskets with chillies on top. The squid was light and did not taste like fish, which is what I like.
The crispy smoked chicken was one of my favourites, because it had a “smoked BBQ with a little bit of paprika” taste, But maybe that was just me because Amen thought it just tasted like smoked chicken. He did really enjoy it though. My vegetarian dumplings were the best dumplings I’ve had and I’ve had a lot of them. I also had Amen’s wagyu puffs, which were nice, but a bit sweet so I left them for Amen because he loves puffs. The popcorn shrimp with a creamy spicy dressing was really delicious. Amen left them to me, because he loves it when I enjoy fish, any fish lol.
Amen almost didn’t order the eel nigiri because it wasn’t available on the a la carte. But he asked and our waiter went off to check and came back with the good news. He was like a little kid at a sweet shop. He loved the eel nigiri. Thought it was the best, especially because they use a big chunk of eel and little rice, which is the perfect combo for him.
MAINS
The sea bass was Amen’s least favourite dish as he thought it was too sweet and he prefers spicy. My sweet and sour chicken was succulent and perfectly seasoned; you could also taste the dragon fruit on some of the chicken pieces. All the dishes at Chai Wu were presented very beautifully, some simple but elegant and others creative and colourful.
Verdict
All in all, Chai Wu is definitely a restaurant we will go to again. But the prices at Chai Wu can be obscene for some people; even compared to other fine dining restaurants Chai Wu is certainly the most expensive. However, if you’re looking to treat someone with a day of shopping and food in Harrods then Chai Wu is the perfect restaurant to do that. Even though the food was pricey we were both pretty full at the end. I would recommend Chai Wu for quality, delicious food as well as excellent service.
Dress Code: Smart casual
Cuisine: Chinese
Amen Star Dish: Eel nigiri
Shiima Star Dish: Crispy smoked chicken
Price: £75 each
Rating: 4 out of 5
Chai Wu – Harrods
http://www.chaiwu.co.uk/#home
Harrods
87–135 Brompton Road
Knightsbridge
London, SW1X 7XL
United Kingdom
Book a table online via their website or call 0203 819 8888
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