Victoria's Grand Imperial London
Amid the hustle and bustle on Buckingham Palace Road - in the heart of London's Victoria - it is easy to get swept along with the crowds, and miss treasures and hot-spots situated on busy streets surrounding major transport terminals.
With so much passing traffic and people 'on the go' you could be forgiven for missing a little corner of oriental delight - nestled within landmark heritage hotel, The Grosvenor.
Grand Imperial London is a stunning Cantonese restaurant - situated on one of the busiest corners in the heart of our nation's capital.
Chef Rand Cheung is bringing his wealth of experience and expertise to London for the very first time, with a unique restaurant that offers exquisite cuisine for the discerning gourmand.
Featuring original pieces of artwork and calligraphy excerpts, the restaurant has been designed around the ancient practice of Feng-shui, along with traditional artefacts.
Your Source went to explore.....
We were warmly greeted and shown to our table; immediately being offered fresh water, menus and a wine list.
The dining room is spacious enough but not too open; still affording an intimate atmosphere without feeling that the adjoining diners are crowding in. Private dining is also available within the restaurant and can cater for up to 20 people; ideal for any occasion, including celebrations or business meetings.
Just two days prior to our arrival we had informed Grand Imperial London that one of our party required a 'special' diet - gluten, wheat, dairy and sulphite free.
This can be quite an obstacle to eating out in most restaurants - but especially so when dining Cantonese, as so many of the sauces and dips used will contain sulphites. Dairy and gluten can be easier to eliminate and alternatives found but this usually leads to a reduced menu - with little imagination, taste or creation.
Grand Imperial London showed that they are truly amongst the 'top tiers' when it comes to putting together a 'special' menu that still includes those with intolerance issues as part of the group meal experience.
If dining starts with the eyes then we were not disappointed with the presentation of any dish set before us.
Starting with vegetable spring rolls, deep fried wanton and wasabi prawns - the evening promised a delight for all. Combining prawns with pineapple, strawberry and wasabi is a stroke of genius and the standard of food was second to none.
Aside from a delicious, intensely flavoured, twice boiled chicken soup, in place of the array of appetisers selected and enjoyed by the rest of the party - the alternate main course did not look out of place amongst any of the dishes served to our table.
While the main party tucked into honey-glazed barbecue pork, roasted duck, chicken in black bean sauce and crispy noodles, accompanied by vegetable rice - the 'specialist' menu was of an equal quality consisting of shredded chicken with sesame oil, cucumber and garlic; pan-fried black cod; crispy vegetables with bean sprouts and vegetable rice.
Sometimes when you are on a 'special' diet you expect a bland array of dishes to be laid out in a haphazard fashion but Grand Imperial London takes pride in all of its dishes and these were no exception. Plated and served with an equal attention to detail, all four dishes were full of flavour and as appealing as the main meal served to the rest of the diners.
Although stripped of gluten, dairy and sulphites - these dishes more than excelled in taste and design.
After so many delicious savoury dishes it was a tough decision on whether to indulge further or relax with a coffee.
While we studied the choice available our waiter enchanted us with a detailed description of the double-boiled bird's nest desert listed on the menu, although this is only available with a two-day advance pre-order.
Our chosen desert was an array of chocolate dim sum; crispy dumpling, freshly prepared and filled with a warm silky chocolate sauce made with 70% cacao.
The platter consists of four individual parcels; the crispy 'Canton Cracker' pastry, the 'Pumpkin Bundle'; a miniature pumpkin made with pumpkin essence and lemon zest, the 'Cashew Crescent'; a half moon pastry topped with cashew nuts and icing sugar and the 'Coconut Doughnut'; rolled in coconut shavings and tangerine zest.
Need we say more......dessert......heaven.
The Imperial waiting staff hold a diverse knowledge on what is available and what the restaurant has to offer - from wine suggestions or selections to accompany the food ordered - to in-depth knowledge of the menu and what each dish contains, and how it is prepared and presented; this advice even extended to whether the selected dishes would be ample enough to cover the party size, as many went for a selection to share.
With an extensive menu; a combination of al la carte, set menus, afternoon tea plus express dim sum lunches, Grand Imperial London caters for an array of clientèle and is just as suited to a quick 'pop in' to re-fuel after a morning's shopping or a working business lunch; as well as being ideally situated for pre-theatre dinner or a full evening meal.
You would not feel out of place in this friendly, welcoming atmosphere regardless of where you were coming from or going to.
A truly outstanding dining experience in the heart of London.
For more information visit www.grandimperiallondon.com