Ping Pong (St Katharine's Dock)
our review
I like Ping Pong (and its transsexual friend, Pong Ping). They are located all over London, and while the chain may attract some criticism from purists, they are always consistent in quality and well priced. Anyone who has tried individual Dim Sum restaurants in Chinatown and elsewhere knows that the more authentic they are the earlier the queues begin, (Dim Sum being technically only served up to lunchtime and only with tea) and these places can be hard work for anyone not able to hold their own in the pushing and shoving stakes. Getting a Chinese waiter to pay you attention before the family of Chinese at the next table isn’t easy either.
So Ping Pong’s Westernisation of the food style, and its willingness to serve it in the evenings, is very useful. It’s a simple concept too; instead of some poor waiter standing next to the table sighing heavily while you chop and change your mind, you’re given a menu plus a separate slip of paper with all the dishes listed. You all debate what you want and then tick the boxes (note to Ping Pong – supply pencils with erasers!) and that gets taken away. Shortly thereafter the dishes start to pile up on the table. About three to five dishes per person is a good guide. Rather annoyingly each dish tends to be made up of three items so if you’re dining a deux, there is always a bit of a fight over who gets the spare one. I find a chopstick in the eye tends to win the debate.
This new Ping Pong is in a great location because this side of the Thames gets most of the day’s sunshine. The presence of multi-million pound boats bobbing cheerfully a few feet away makes it all rather posh too, spoilt only by the sight of the breathtakingly ugly hotel the other side of the basin. Inside and out, this Ping Pong radiates modernity and it’s a nice eating option to the rather more predictable places either side of it, all slinging bowls of pizza and Frisbee sized pizzas about. Nothing we ate disappointed; from soft shell crabs to fried oysters, from seafood steamed dumplings to Thai chicken spring rolls, it all was tasty and the day’s special of squid in satay sauce was tender and caused a furious clash of chopsticks over it.
Wonton soup was the usual minefield of scalding hot dumplings in a tasty broth and as well as the seafood and chicken options, there was a vegetarian choice too. Of course we had to have the famous teas with the ‘sputnik’ unfolding flower, but there’s a large cocktail list (yes, I know, very inauthentic) and beers, plum wine and sake too
If you’re looking for a lunchtime flavour fix without fuss, or want to go somewhere quick before the cinema, Ping Pong delivers fast food that doesn’t make you feel guilty and greasy afterwards. It calls itself a ‘teahouse for the 21st Century’ and that seems fair enough to me. You may be able to criticise the place on some specific points, but overall it is as authentic as Yo!Sushi! Which is basically to say ‘Who cares?’ Just eat and enjoy.
N.H. - July 2008
your comments review this restaurant and win a bottle of champagne
Went to ping pong on a nice september evening (thurs) and it was suprising quiet - that may have had something to do with us getting a seat around 6pm - everyine was in the bar next door!
The service was prompt and polite - when i asked how many were in each dish, the ladies responded helpfully. luckily i know a bit about dim sum so my friend trusted me to order the dishes (and no of portions).
the setting was very beautiful (except for the ugly hotel opposite). we had the water and boats infront of us, tower of london to the side and people strolling past like you were at a cafe in paris. if you can cope with a little bit of a breeze, sit outside as it makes it that much more enjoyable.
decor inside and out was modern but still authentic. it is definately not traditional chinese atmosphere - dont come here expecting lots of chinese people, families etc having a fun meal (as you would get in a more traditional place).
This place is especially useful if your friends have never tried dim sum before, as I found it was great that there was tradtional dim dum and baked, and some more westernised food too. If your friend doesnt like something as much as you, that means you get to finish it off. most dishes come in three, some in four.
recommendations: chicken puffs - i was sceptical, but they were declicious! (and well as the port ones); har gow - the most delicious and truely authentic dish,,, absolutely loved them; spicy pork dim sum - quite spicy be warned; jasmine chicken rolls (like spring rolls but chicken); hoi sin duck rolls( like above); char sui buns - fluffy buns which look mighty strange to anyone not used to dim sum, but are delicious! (even converted friend!!)
prices are very reasonable - we have lots of dishes(normally 2 orders of each dish) including veggies and rice, two drinks each and the bill came to GBP57 including a 12% discreationary service charge - slightly cheeky if you ask me - i much prefer giving a tip without being forced to, but hey, i suppose in london its the only way the waitress staff get any money!
the menu is easy to use, you write the number of portions next to each dish you want - my only slight complaint is that it all came out very quickly and at one,,, would have been nicer to have in stages... as we were running out of room on our table for it all.
overall a really nice restaurant close to the city, in a great location, declicious food and polite and prompt service. give it a try
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Andrea
Overall rating 
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 8
Friday, September 26, 2008
My first visit to a Ping Pong and I have to admit the whole experience was much better than I expected.
Service was friendly and quick although I think their system of crossing of your food on a list as they bring it a bit strange (at your table).
The actual Dim sum was good and tasted fresh, had a lot better elsewhere but had a lot worse as well.
It was a bust Friday night so the music was loud and the place had a nice buzz.
To drink we had the chilled plum wine which really went well with some of the dishes.
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Chris - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating 
Food 6 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 7
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
DO NOT EAT AT PING PONG!
My partner and I live just around the corner from St Katherine's Dock and soon after it opened we thought we would try it out. We got seated and that is as far as our meal progressed. We were left sitting there without drinks for 35 minutes despite repeated attempts to get served.
The waiters had no idea what was going on, three waiters were serving one table while other tables could not get any attention at all. Two tables had to wait by the til to pay their bill! While all this was going on, dim sum was sitting on the counter for nearly 15 minutes before being served to the customer.
We eventually got the attention of the manager and said that we had been waiting 35 minutes and that we would be leaving and she just said 'oh ok' and walked off. No apology! Needless to say we walked out and will never return.
Please look at the reviews at the other Ping Pong restauarnts. All their restaurants get the same criticism - terrible service! Our experience is clearly not a 'one off'. Save your money if you ask me.
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Gavin
Overall rating 
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 0
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
I went here last weekend and really enjoyed it. I have been meaning to try a few Dim Sum restaurants to see which are best. This was the first so I have nothing to compare it to.
The restaurant is located in the lovely St Katerine Dock, so you can sit and look at the marina which is already a plus. The service was very friendly and efficient. we got the set Dim Sum sampler menu which was £17. You get 10 pieces and a small but really nice dessert. The food was tasty and hot. The selection was mainly steamed and the baked or fried options were not greasy at all.
Overall it was really good, I could have eaten more though. Next time I want to try the all you can eat Sundays! The trippy teas are also well worth trying!!
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gianni
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 7
Friday, June 27, 2008
