our review
Geoffrey Leong's Restaurant Privilege group now boasts over fifteen eateries across London, from old faithfuls like Koi to newcomers like Leong's Legends in Bayswater. Business is booming and if a venue struggles, it's usually scrapped to be reinvented as something more appealing. When Keelung's Taiwanese seafood failed to seduce Soho foodies, it rose phoenix-style from the ashes as the Empress of Sichuan. Meanwhile in the City, an underperforming branch of Hi Sushi has been transformed into a sister site of Goldfish - a Hampstead institution which has been feeding well-heeled locals and celebs for years.
In prime City slicker territory near Bank, the new Goldfish knows its clientele. There's dim sum for the lunch crowd, a basement bar and karaoke booth for after-work drinkers, and a ground floor dining room smart enough to impress clients or dinner dates. Deliberately minimalist to let the food take centre stage, the room features illuminated panelling (complete with goldfish) and a feature wall embossed with a popular Chinese poem. Our only complaint? The music. On quiet evenings, you might appreciate some background noise but Katie Melua on repeat? We think not, even if she is singing about bicycles in Beijing.
Head chef Kevin Chow (ex-Cocoon) has kept the menu refreshingly concise with a strong focus on fish and seafood. There are some Western favourites like black bean chicken and crispy duck on offer, but we bypassed these in favour of scallops, prawns and a few Sichuan classics. To start, we shared the signature duck salad which was full of fresh flavours and chunks of moist but crispy duck. In amongst the leaves we found mint, slivers of mango, cashew nuts and flecks of chilli, all lightly tossed in a zingy dressing. If only all salads could be like this.
Next, a bamboo basket full of delicately steamed dim sum. Unlike the sometimes stodgy dumplings we've encountered at Leong's Legends, these were light and almost fragile - the thin translucent skins yielding to the slightest prod from our chopsticks. Of the nine pieces, we received three prawn and scallop dumplings, three prawn and chive, and three prawn har gau - all delicious, made with fresh sweet prawns, but a bit of variety might have been nice. Something fried perhaps? If you're a dim sum fan, there's more of it on offer at lunchtime, along with some reasonably priced ramen, stir-fries and bento meals. You could easily 'do lunch' for 20 quid a head and leave stuffed.
Having devoured the last of the dim sum, four main courses proved a challenge but we soldiered on. Another signature dish of wasabi prawns was a hit - served on a wooden platter, the fat prawns were deep-fried in something similar to tempura batter and then smothered in a paste of avocado and wasabi. The sweetness took the edge off the wasabi heat (perhaps wise for Western palates) but we would have liked the prawns a little crispier. A similar dish of prawns rolled in vivid yellow mango mayo proved popular at a neighbouring table.
Kung po chicken, packed full of vicious dried red chillies, was as good as we've had anywhere in London and a dish of scallops with ginger, spring onion and soy was wonderfully fragrant and enjoyable in spite of the scallops being slightly overcooked. Now full to bursting, we stumbled on the surprise star dish of the night - ma po tofu, a traditional Sichuan dish of braised tofu with minced beef. Goldfish City's version includes bright green edamame beans in amongst the fiery chilli bean sauce and cubes of soft, silky tofu. If you're not a tofu fan, it's still worth a try - you might find yourself converted.
Unable to part with our leftovers, we took them home and feasted like kings again the next day. Goldfish City might not serve the best Chinese food in London, but it's certainly one of your best options in the City right now. Take advantage of the special offer they're currently running or go at lunch when prices are lower - you'll never go back to the dim sum chains. The Leong empire strikes back!
KP - June 2010
your comments review this restaurant and win a bottle of champagne
i having my lunch on friday, the services was very slow, food was cold, when we ask the staff to change it, and they say you have to wait for very long time to change it,..what kind of the services? and finally we pay and walk out from there, and we are not to go back the restaurant again.
Comment on this reader review
TK
- View all reviews by this user
Overall rating 
Food 5 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 6
Saturday, August 21, 2010
From the moment we entered the restaurant we felt welcomed and looked after. The food was amazingly fresh (the lobster was still warm and floppy as we took it from the shell!) and cooked to perfection, and if you’re in need of a little entertainment, the downstairs bar and restaurant has a top of the range karaoke system – what more could a girl want?!
Comment on this reader review
What I Ate Last Night
Overall rating 
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Monday, July 26, 2010
An excellent discovery for dinner after work recently. We had visited their Hampstead branch many years ago and had a great meal but the food here was even better, displaying a lightness of touch and some real skill especially with the dim sum. The service was sweet and attentive throughout and the only downside was the prices which are quite high. However, the portions are generous and we were very satisfied. I would particularly recommend the crispy prawns with mango mayo and the fish dishes. We will be back for lunch!
Comment on this reader review
JK
Overall rating 
Food 8 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 6
Wednesday, July 07, 2010
what the bloggers say
@hungryhollowaii How's it looking? #snowedout
Email
Add to favourites
Print
Facebook
Twitter
StumbleUpon
Delicious
RSS
More
