Imperial Treasure (Westminster)

This is my second visit to Imperial Treasure in London and I was absolutely delighted this time with the overall experience.  For anyone who is a Peking Duck fan, I would strongly consider this option.  I have now had multiple Michelin starred level of Peking Duck in Europe, Singapore, Hong Kong, Macau, Shanghai and the original Peking (Beijing), China and the lovely thing about this was that this duck was not out of place at all from the fabled version at the treasured Imperial Treasure at the Paragon in Singapore. For history of Imperial Treasure, please refer to my previous review, but this visit revealed superb white duck, sourced from Silver Hill farm in Ireland and the cooking and presentation was super.  The pancakes here are the thinnest I have ever come across and the fact that shrimps with light batter was afforded to us when off menu showed the level of service and what is possible in a restaurant.  These were gigantic prawns and a lovely way to start, as was the complimentary glass of Loui Roederer / white wine selection as an Honest Grapes member.  I do advise you consider being the same, not only for this treat, but the general injection of wine awareness from the ever knowledgeable co-founder Tom Harrow.  If could tweak one thing it would be to sweeten the joint sin sauce a fraction as this was a little bitter with molasses in comparison to my personal taste, but it is always lovely having genuinely, home made sauces presented. The duck comes in two courses, with the joints contributing to a salt and pepper second offering – another well-balanced dish in general.  In summary, this was a superb visit and the staff could not have been more hospitable on a very busy lunch day.

Food Grade: 80%

Imperial Treasure is a well-known and high-end group with over 20 branches in Asia, but just two in Europe, one in Paris and one in London.  I have visited the Imperial Treasure in Singapore (where 14 of their branches are) that is famed for its duck and I was indeed impressed, leading me to be excited for this overdue visit to its London branch.  Whilst the dishes in general are good quality, diners do need to note that you must look carefully at when various menus are available and as I learned the hard way, if you wish any duck, be it Peking or Cantonese, you need to ensure you have booked in advance. The dim sum, mapo tofu and Singaporean chilli prawn dishes we had were indeed good quality (especially the turnip cake), but when one portion of egg fried rice is £20 alone it is not a cheap outing.  The £317 bill for 5 with three glasses of wine represented just about fair value for money (roughly £63 per head), but I feel a reshow of some sort is necessary as this price tag is greater (on average) than both Michelin starred Hakkasan venues and more than Canton Blue, yet the return in food and overall experience seems better at the latter venues mentioned.

Food Grade: 67%