From Victoria to Belgravia

Saturday, September 12th , 2020

 

I am still being cautious in visiting restaurants at the moment in these pandemic times, selecting places that take social distancing seriously, and favouring ones that have outside seating. This week I revisited two old favourites that both have appealing outside seating on pavement terraces. Zafferano is an old favourite and recently has benefitted from a new head chef Daniele Camera, who used to be sous chef here in its glory days when it had a Michelin star. A silky saffron risotto was particularly impressive at this meal.

A. Wong serves the most interesting dim sum in London, with Andrew Wong applying a modern twist to many classic recipes. A particular success was a scallop cheung fun with strips of char sui pork nestling between delicate filo pastry layers (pictured), which was a real triumph and an example of the innovation going on here. The technical skill in the kitchen is high here, with for example very good xiao long bau dumplings that have been injected with a little shot of vinegar. I particularly like that you can order dim sum by the individual piece, which means that you don’t have to fight over the last dumpling, and as a solo diner you can try a variety of dishes.