Brunch weekday and weekend, Cantonese restaurant Yauatcha makes brunching at City and Soho an everyday occasion.
Up to what hour can we officially call it brunch? And when does it become an early dinner? Or is brunch just a weekend thing? I got invited to test and answer those theories at the Cantonese restaurant Yauatcha.
For all of August both the City and Soho branches are running their unlimited Infinite Yum Cha brunch every day including weekdays with the last seating at 18:00.
We arrive at 5:30 on a Tuesday evening. Now is that too late for a brunch? Some might say so, I don’t think it is, especially since it includes bottomless dim sum.
I love a bottomless brunch, but their timing always confuses me. Bottomless items are tempting to indulge in so much that come dinner I’m not hungry enough for more, but then right before bedtime the hunger wakes up.
But when you have a late bottomless brunch say at five o’clock or later you’re all set for the day. And weekday it’s just a bonus on the way back from work.
Plus sometimes weekends are for lazing around at home and not commuting somewhere on a reduced service weekend train.
Now with the questions settled lets get eating. The brunch commences with a spiced strawberry margarita part of the £45 deal.
Don Julio Tequila Blanco a good brand I’ve been seeing popping up in many cocktails lately. It’s jalapeño spiced and mixed with Cointreau and strawberry lime for a tart touch.
Its light notes are a great pairing for the dim sum. We order all flavours from the menu to start with.
At Yauatcha the dim sum isn’t a mad dash but rather a slow dance, with steam baskets conveniently portioned for each person, giving freedom to savour at our own pace and order refills when needed.
Each variation is good in its own way, the green wild mushroom steamed dumpling is excellent filled with minced mushroom combo, just at the right grade, not too paste like nor too chunky.
Shui Mai scallop on the other hand is chunky, with a whole disk of scallop crowned with flying fish roe. Its squeaky scallop wrapped in stretchy dough is simply irresistible, we had quite a few rounds.
Alongside translucent prawn Har Gau dumpling, roughly chopped filling and delicate soft steamed wrap. We also indulged a few of those, since it’s seafood they are light and easy to have copious amounts of.
There is also my previously adored venison puff here, which I enjoyed during weekend brunch at Hakkasan. Both part of the TAO group so no surprise this popular item is here too.
The slightly sweet and savoury venison comes wrapped in baked puff crisp pastry, dangerously good and I just love that the refills are unlimited here. Of course we also have to have a few of the venison ones.
The mains shouldn’t be forgotten though. There are three to choose from, accompanied by a rice of choice: egg or jasmine.
For the mains it’s wasabi prawns, stir fried rib eye beef and sweet and spicy curry cod. For us it’s the first two. Tender thin strips of beef mingle with the crisp sliced bell pepper all coated in salty, garlicky bean sauce.
Dangerously addictive, it’s good thing the mains are not bottomless. The prawns are also rather good, with golden brown thin coating that is just right. Inside it’s juicy jumbo prawns, well drizzled with wasabi mayo.
Yauatcha is on the higher price range, at least the a la carte menu is, but the brunch portions are generous here while the quality is excellent. And the staff are very prompt with dim sum refills, so you definitely won’t be leaving here hungry nor disappointed.
The final course is honeycomb soufflé pancakes. It’s the Japanese viral type, so cloud and puff like they are almost as tall as they are wide, a little on the bready side but still deliciously sweet.
With the dessert complete, we better go – before we puff up ourselves.
Yauatcha’s brunch is an excellent spot for a dim sum fix, the menu is not huge but it has enough variety to satisfy a few different palates. Especially combined with a finer dining details it’s criminal not to dine here.
Yauatcha City, 1 Broadgate, London EC2M 2QS