Min Jiang
our review
Min Jiang is definitely a room with a view. This space used to be called, rather unimaginatively, The 10th Floor Restaurant, and while the cuisine may have changed the wall of windows still look out over Hyde Park. Drink in the view at leisure in the bar with a cocktail or speciality tea, or turn into the new airy space that is understated yet crisply luxurious, clean and fresh and with staff that seem genuinely pleased to see you. Go at lunchtime and you get the see the view at its best, but even at night the twinkling lights of London landmarks invite you to play guessing games, “Is that Canary Wharf? Is that the Eye? Is that your ex-husband’s house on fire?”
The speciality is the Beijing Duck, not Peking anymore of course, but does anyone ever order Mumbai Potatoes instead of Bombay ones? This is not your average ‘Peking’ duck anyway, it’s cooked to order in a wood-fired oven. They need at least 45 minutes notice for this or your duck will put the staff into a flap. It’s best to order it in advance, or as soon as you waddle in.
We had pre ordered a half duck, which is fine for two people. A procession of Dim Sum came to the table first, the dumplings little jewels in their bamboo steamer and all showed the neatness and high number of pleats that are the hallmarks of proper dim sum quality control. Translucent wrappings made some look like strange jellyfish, while the pumpkin dumplings had an appropriately warm autumnal glow. A deep fried yam croquette was a crunchy tangle of a bird’s nest wrapped around a tasty filling, while prawns and asparagus wrapped in wonton had three textures; the crunch of the wrapping, the snap of the asparagus and the smooth bite of the prawn itself .
The duck arrived, somewhat disconcertingly with its head on still, and was hand carved by one of the chefs. First some deliciously fatty slivers of meat and skin to dip into sugar, and then the meat itself expertly folded into parcels by the waitress in two ways; traditional with hoi-sin sauce, cucumber and shredded leek and Min Jiang’s way with garlic paste, radish and tientsin cabbage. The duck then flew back in for an encore as spicy mince on disks of lettuce which were fiddly to eat; one splashed down in my lap, but wonderfully aromatic.
A dish of King prawns with dried chilli didn’t disappoint, the chillis delicately spiking the flavours, but do beware of actually eating one of the things as then they are fearsomely hot. Braised pork belly with miniature Chinese buns was also good, a rich hunk of meat which fell apart at a chopstick prod and showed once again that the Chinese knew how to spot and cook a good and inexpensive cut of pork long before we did. Accompanying Pak Choi was well-cooked to retain both its bite and vibrant green and was anointed with a blessing of dark soy sauce. ‘Min Jiang Special Wok-fried Rice with Salted Fish and assorted Seafood’ was far better than the usual ‘Special Fried Rice’, which seems to me to be my local Chinese’s way of using up the worst scraps.
The inexpensive and chilled Wolf Riesling 2007 we drank all the way through worked well with all the dishes, although a spicy red would have probably been better with the duck itself. And while desserts are never really much to write home to Beijing about in Chinese restaurants, the lemon grass crème brulee was unctuous and enjoyable, despite the brulee having separated into chunks that floated about rather aimlessly. Min Jiang is not expensive for its superior cooking and service, the duck and the view alone make it well worth a visit, but do get a window seat if you can.
N.H. - October 2008
what the critics say
Terry Durack - 16/20
your comments review this restaurant and win a bottle of champagne
I would whole-heartedly agree with all the positive reviews of Min Jiang - this restaurant does duck to perfection. It was an excellent evening as a birthday dinner, we had a window table - beautiful and the service was flawless.
You won't be disappointed!
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Colette Rogers
Overall rating 
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Monday, October 20, 2008
Let’s be absolutely clear on this, Min Jiang is indeed very high end and you come here for the duck.
I found Brian Sewell’s review for thisislondon.co.uk misrepresentative, he didn’t order the duck let alone mention it. Imagining going to the Le Gavroche for the first time and not ordering the Soufflé Suissesse. Sacrilege.
Booking is essential for the two simple reasons that the duck takes up to an hour to roast and you’ll want a window table. The view of Hyde Park and our great City elates the appetite even more.
To give it its full name, the wood-fired Beijing Duck is presented in two servings. One of the chefs will start to appear and expertly carve the bird at your table. The First serving is ironically two tiered, first the delicious crispy skin (just below the neck as it’s allegedly the best tasting) with a dipping dish of fine granulated sugar. This then followed by the fine slivers of breast meat that can only be described as divine and totally melting. The usual accompaniments that you normally have with your Crispy Aromatic Duck in other Chinese joints of pancakes, hoisin sauce, shredded leek and cucumber are also included. The Second Serving comes with six options that include fried rice, fried noodles to soup. This serving deals with what’s left of your duck. My daughter and I opted for the classic industry standard of Fried Rice with diced Duck, it was thankfully superior tasting and not run of the mill. Beware of the fact that when the duck appears at your table, the head and the parson’s nose are still evidently there, but don’t let that put you off. The reason for that is traditionally the Chinese believe that everything in life has a beginning and an end and is thus presented that way, the in between simply doesn’t register as it’s incomplete. That said, this is the best duck I’ve had in London, and please don’t harp about Beijing, Hong Kong or Singapore to draw comparisons (Sorry Andy!). I’m stuck in London for the time being so this will have to do.
Other dishes that were ordered from the Dim Sum menu included parcels of Baked Char Siew Puffs and Egg Custard Tarts, these were tiny and painfully expensive. They were fortunately deliciously baked and classy tasting. The one let down was the so-so Crispy Fried Squid with Salt, Pepper and Chilli (the batter was gritty tasting).
Service from such an esoteric outfit like this was exemplary as expected. The near clinical ambience of this toppish hotel restaurant simply fades away with the said views of the park and skyline.
Go save your money and enjoy a fine duck here.
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bellaphon
Overall rating 
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 7
Sunday, October 19, 2008
The food is massively overrated - it is a good Chinese restaurant - that is it. If you are really up for amazing flavours, taste explosion in your mouth please go to Yauatcha; if you want authentic Chinese (but not Michelin star) then go to Hunan in Chelsea.
We had the full menu including the duck, lobster, prawns, scallops and beef but left wanting.
Additionally, they did not have a number of things in the menu (on a Friday night) including the tasting menu desert, pineapple juice...
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Koen
Overall rating 
Food 6 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 6
Sunday, October 19, 2008
What a fantastic view - I came for a dinner with friends, but next time I will come early to hang around in the bar lounge to enjoy the panorama longer.
The signature duck can't be missed. They seem to have a very good wine list, too. A bit pricey, but you pay for the location. Highly recommended.
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Anne-Marie
Overall rating 
Food 8 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 8
Monday, September 15, 2008
Just got home after having dinner at Min Jiang.
Having eaten at Min Jiang in Rochester Park Singapore, I was curious as to whether Min Jiang London would stand up to its sister restaurant's reputation.
The food was stunning and is just as good as the Singapore restaurant. The Beijing Duck is served in three courses, firstly the skin that you dip in sugar, following by duck pancakes, and then your choice of main (we had the duck rice).
We also had dumplings and chicken stuffed with prawn mouse. The food is exceptional.
The service was without fault. One waiter in particular (Brian) was very helpful, assisting with selections and suggesting the order in which to enjoy our meal.
I can't recommend Min Jiang highly enough, and look forward to going back again soon.
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Caroline, London
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 8
Saturday, September 13, 2008
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