The classics haven’t been cancelled in this library but instead deliciously reimagined.
You may remember this location as pizza restaurant Luci, and if you don’t then the presence of a giant wood fired pizza oven at the back, plus one of those electric jobs, may remind you. I can only assume taking them out when changing direction was more expensive and far more trouble than it was worth.
Not that money is a problem, Dim Sum Library is the 25th venue from Aqua Restaurant Group and Chef Jian Jia and Dim Sum Master, Chef Leung Kwok Wah have brought this concept from Hong Kong where it’s been doing well since 2016. Aqua also has Aqua in the Shard as well as Agua Kyoto and Agua Nueva in Regent Street.
What distinguishes all the others all is they’re classy, the sort of place a certain kind of young successful person likes to be seen in. Someone who may well own a white Mercedes coupe with tinted windows.
Dim Sum Library is not like that, the interior is very smart though, much smarter than other places on Long Acre, but it is less intimidating to the averagely waged. Not that shoppers in the TK Max next door will be rushing in, but it is affordable luxury.
Even if you don’t go in, watching the man making Dim Sum in the window is a good way to spend five minutes and grab an Insta, he really is mesmerising and very skilled.
Inside, a long counter temptingly displays a wealth of fresh dishes, reminding me of the old Chinese restaurants in Soho that had displays of plastic dishes to lure in punters. Soho’s Chinatown of course is just a few minutes away, if you prefer your Dim Sum delivered in a terse fashion on a dodgy formica table.
Here the tables are elegantly dressed and the staff are very warm and welcoming, although our nice waiter spoke so softly I had trouble hearing him and taking his menu advice. This is Dim Sum for the Westerner and the concept is to reimagine dim sum and classic Cantonese dishes. The menu is very large though, split into appetisers, dim sum, cheung fun, mains, rice and noodles, vegetables and dessert and it takes time to take it all in.
Guided by the almost inaudible waiter we order up and sit back with our pots of superb tea, they take tea very seriously here.
First up in the steamer are baked Char Siu Bao, fluffy delights filled with pork and crispy on the outside. There is quite a bit of sweetness to the bun, I wonder if they have sprinkled sugar on the bun before baking to kind of cheat the golden exterior? It doesn’t detract from a very good bun, but it was a bit distracting.
I don’t know why I order Shrimp Rice Noodle Rolls, or “ha cheung”. They are the most annoying things to eat, slipperier than a greased Peter Mandelson. You’d have more luck trying to pick up a live fish with your chopsticks. I drop mine onto my plate from height, causing soy sauce to splash in all directions. I am pretty sure some hits the back of the person at the next table, but I keep quiet about that and stoically press on.
On the plus side, once we get them in our mouths I remember why I always order them, they are excellent with lovely plump prawns so I guess the trouble is worth it. We fight amiably over the last one, Dim Sum always come in threes, which may cause issues on a date night.
Luxury comes in the crispy shape of Wagyu Beef Puffs. The exterior is remarkable, a lattice of puff pastry carefully deep fried to perfection with not a hint of over browning. It’s so friable it dissolves in the mouth and leaves behind the sauteed wagyu in the house sauce. Delicious all the way to the end. I didn’t need the napalm level chili sauce on the side, but a little anointing with soy sauce worked well.
Dan Dan Xialong Bao are very popular with good reason, it’s the Sichuan’ savour of Dan Dan noodles in a steamed pork soup dumpling. You have to pop the whole thing in your mouth and hope the soup is not too hot, unless you want to pre puncture the Bao to let some steam out.
The folds on a Bao are a crucial guide to quality and these have eighteen perfect ones. On the bite the flavours of the chili oil, sesame paste, and peanut butter are just wonderful. As you can’t successfully cut one of these in half, I graciously offered all of the the last one to P, who defied my expectation (and my hopes) by accepting it.
It’s not all Dim Sum at the Library though, there’s a whole range of dishes including Black Cod, which used to be only found at the priciest restaurants.
We went for chicken, no ordinary chicken but ‘Black Truffle Crispy Skin Chicken’. This was flat out fantastic. I got truffled out in France last year at the Truffle Festival but this reawakened my love of the ‘Devil’s’ fungus.
First up though, that crispy skin. I could have eaten my own body weight of this, crispy of course but with a layer of melted fat under that was magnificent. The chicken itself was shredded and the truffle could be seen dotted all about, as well as picked up on the nose.
The texture of the chicken was soft, but not pappy, and eaten with big spoonfuls of excellent plain rice it was standout good. We chased every last bit out of the bowl. Definitely a must have dish.
Desserts were short in number, as they usually are in China where dessert is not a big thing, and took a European angle. Some seriously good custard tarts, as good as any to be found in Chinatown, all eggy and clearly showing their Portuguese pastel de nata heritage they went along with an Oolong Crème Brulee. The tea added a nice tint to the creme and a subtle flavour bonus.
We hadn’t eaten all that much, not by past accomplishments, but we had eaten enough to leave sated but not struggling to walk.
We liked the Library, it’s a posher deal than you get in Chinatown and more expensive of course, but at least the clientele aren’t making terrible hawking noises between courses. They also do a rather good looking sconeless afternoon tea
136 Long Acre, London WC2E 9AD