Chai Wu – Review

Chai Wu                                  Knightsbridge

Fifth Floor at Harrods, 87-135 Brompton Road, SW1X 7XL

020 3819 8888/ chaiwu.co.uk

I reviewed Malaysian restaurateur Eddie Lim’s  Mango Tree Thai restaurant in Victoria a few years ago. Since then he has expanded into Harrods with three outlets, another Mango Tree, the sushi and sashimi bar Pan Chai and Chai Wu, a contemporary Chinese restaurant which I have been invited to review. Executive chef is Australian Ian Pengelly who specialises in pan-Asian food and whose CV includes E&O and Gilgamesh. The interior design of the restaurant is apparently inspired by the five elements in Chinese philosophy; fire, water, wood, earth and metal with a mix of marble, wood and leather creating a comfortable if intimate space. Finding anything in Harrods is a bit of an ordeal but having located Chai Wu a hapless waiter informed me that the loo was a floor down. On my return after a lengthy trek I discovered that the restaurant had its own…

However a glass of Dom Pérignon 2006 (£34 per glass) went some way to alleviating my annoyance…it’s a rich muscular wine with enough minerality to stop it being too cloying.

If I see eel on a menu it’s a must-order for me. Grilled barbecued eel with rice (£26) was a perfectly constructed dish. The soft caramelised eel was sweet and richly flavoured on a bed of perfectly cooked rice.

Deep fried Chilean sea bass with salted egg yolk (£21) was a slightly unexpected dish. The egg yolk was dry, wrapped in slivers of the fish and then deep fried with a crisp batter. I didn’t think I liked it initially but it grew on me…we ate them all up…!

Mixed seafood grilled platter (£100 per person) was beautifully presented; it consisted of a half lobster, tiger prawn, king scallop and Alaskan king crab legs.

The scallop was perfectly cooked, seared to within an inch of its life but translucent and juicy within. This plate of food was a fantastic seafood feast-unadulterated luxury.

Chai Wu fried rice (£22) was a blend of rice, prawns, scallops and fresh veg. It’s probably the best and most expensive fried rice dish I have ever had! It was really a main dish rather than a side-it was full of flavour and a great plate of food.

Desserts were a lot of fun. Green tea chocolate fondant (£14) oozed suitably but my favourite was the Chocolate sphere with berries and toffee caramel (£9). Dessert heaven!

The staff were eager to please and seemed to have an understanding of the food they were serving. Prices at Chai Wu are eye-watering but I guess if you are shopping and eating in Harrods then that shouldn’t be an issue. What the restaurant lacked for me was the glamour and wow factor that you find at Park Chinois, Sexy Fish or even at this price point somewhere like the Ritz. But maybe that’s not the point and the restaurant seems to be doing quite well pulling in well-heeled shoppers of Chinese origin. For those of us without big new money behind us with a little careful ordering you can eat here without breaking the bank. I’ll be back for the eel and seafood rice!