China in your hand

Ever since I went to Shanghai in 2004 I've been on the look out for good Chinese places in London. It's now the standard Time Out line to assert that the days of bad tempered waiters and MSG on Gerrard Street are over; but it's still hard to find places that really hit the spot. I'm not a Chinese purist but what I want is the tastes and colours of the orient. my that sounds colonial.

Of course, there's Hakkasan, where I went, unexpectedly, for dinner with J a few weeks ago. Sadly my unpreparedness meant I was carrying a luminous yellow Snappy Snaps carrier bag. Pure class. Not necessarily my accessory of choice for a place so stuffed with carefully produced women in expensive clothes. However, I don't think it's so much better than Bam-Bou that it can justify its eye-watering prices. Bam-Bou: heaven, via Caprice Holdings. I could eat their salt and pepper beef forever. And the bar at the top is one of the best kept secrets of the west end. Don't really know why I'm talking about it here in fact. Shanghai Blues also deserves a mention - the food's not anything special, but I love their upstairs cocktail bar and they play great jazz.

However, for those times when a full-on meal is not in order, there's always Yauatcha. Though it's not easy to get in there - in which case I am seriously impressed by a new discovery - Dim T. I went to the one on Charlotte Street, but there are others, including one at London Bridge, otherwise known as a depressing food desert. Really good dim sum, amazingly cheap and would you believe it, they even have a branch in Maidstone. That means there is a reason to go to Maidstone. Incredible.

Other places I'd like to try but haven't yet: Pearl Liang (Sheldon Squ), Royal China Club (Baker St), and Bar Shu (Frith St)...