Year of the Pig: Chinese New Year at Yauatcha

In case you haven’t realised by now, Asian food is my absolute fave. From noodles to dim sum and BBQ, there’s nothing that I won’t touch. So with it being Chinese New Year, I just had to hit up Yauatcha Soho for their 8-course feast. It is Year of the pig, after all…

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This was my third visit to the swanky Soho spot; would it as charming as before? Well, for starters, the subterranean space was bustling to the point that getting in and out of our table was an actual mission. Think I’m joking? Tell that to my bruised thigh. The sparkling ceiling was adorned with lil red piggies too, it couldn’t get any cuter.

So, you wanna hear about the food? Kicking off with Yauatcha’s signature venison puff, we engorged a couple of flaky buns. Paired with the Nagami Fortune, this was a cracking start. A trio of dim sum then made the way for gems like freshwater prawns, Peking pulled pork and crispy monkfish. Parceled up with enoki mushroom and salsify, these were small but mighty, crispy on the outside yet meaty inside, the highlight of the night.

Drinks were just as show-stopping. How had I never gone for cocktails on my previous two visits? As well as the CNY cocktail, I opted for the Earth Asian. Combining rum with apricot, lychee, lime, jasmine and walnut bitters, this was one tall, sexy glass of sweet and sour goodness. Red wine didn’t go down as well and the matcha-filled choux paired with mandarin fell a little flat. But after stuffing our faces like actual pigs, we couldn’t have cared less.

Yauatcha’s Chinese New Year menu is available until Sunday 24th February. Get a taste for yourself.

Pigged out to the max: 9/10

What we ate:

Venison puff (£8)
CNY Menu (£60) x2

Dim sum:
- Spicy scallop dumpling
- Wild mushroom dumpling
- Prawn and chicken shui mai
Crispy monkfish cheek with enoki mushroom and salsify
Homemade prawn tofu with seaweed and water chestnut
Steamed freshwater prawns with chilli
Peking style pulled pork with golden mantou
Szechaun three-style mushroom
Sticky rice with chinese sausage
Mandarin matcha choux

What we drank:

Nagami Fortune: Beefeater 24 gin, kumquat, raspberry, lime (£13.50) x2
Earth Asian: Mount Gay black barrel rum, apricot, lychee, lime, jasmine, walnut bitters (£12.50)
Baron de Montgaillard wine (£29)

The damage: £196.50 (but all comped, thanks Yauatcha!)