For my birthday this year, my husband treated me to a restaurant I long wished to come back: Hakkasan. This Michelin Star Cantonese restaurant is one of my favorite in London. I  already knew the one located in Chelsea and this time we headed to the other Londoner branch: Hakkasan Hanway Place. And this was an amazing culinary experience! Let me introduce you to the outstanding Hakkasan cuisine …

Hakkasan Hanway Place

This is the original restaurant of the branch, which opened in 2010. The restaurant is located in the heart of London, near Tottenham Court Road tube station.
I love the atmosphere there, even though the popularity of the restaurant makes it always very busy and quite noisy in the evening.
But I like the lighting effects: the restaurant is very dark (in the basement of the building) and only the lights above each table help us to find our way and of course enhances the food we are being served.
The big room (called the Ling Ling dining area) was decorated by the french designer Christian Liaigre and is representative of the style of all Hakkasan restaurants in the world. The wooden screens and latticing (with dark english oak), punctuated by black and gold traditionally-drawn panels, are said to evoke the “traditional Chinoiserie decadence”. In addition, the blue light gives the place a singular aspect. I also like the open-plan kitchen, which gives an overview of the buzzing activity among the chefs.

Hakkasan Cuisine: Elegance, Energy, Invention

The restaurant motto is as in the title: Elegance, Energy, Invention. At first glance, we could only agree on the elegance  promise when we looked at our starter. We opted for the supreme dim sum platter to share, which included an original (and luxury) mix of flavors, such as gold leaf lychee and lobster dumpling, dover sole dumpling with black truffle or abalone and chicken shui mai with caviar.
The result is stunning! Every bite was delicious and unfortunately (despite our will to make the pleasure last) the platter was finished too quickly!
The Hakkasan cuisine is exquisite to taste AND look at! This first introduction to Hakkasan’s signature was indeed a mix of colors and flavors that we really enjoyed.
We continued with a wok-seared spotted bass in superior ginger soya. Veeeery good! Delicate (the fish) and strong (the sauce) at the same time.
The second main was really amazing: black truffle roasted duck. It was cooked to perfection, with a roasted skin and delicate flesh and the truffle was definitely a good addition! This ability to mix flavors and make the most of the meals must be the “Invention” part of Hakkasan’s signature.
The dessert, a spiced chocolate roulade, was very good and we ended up being full and completely under the spell of the Hakkasan cuisine!
It is not surprising that Hakkasan was awarded a Michelin star in 2003 (which it has retained to this day). The “energy” part of Hakkasan’s motto seems obvious when you come to the restaurant and see all movements of customers, dedicated waiters, dynamic cooks … it is like an anthill, where activity never stops!

It was a memorable birthday and I recommend Hakkasan to anyone who really appreciate Asian fine cuisine. If you have been there already, please share your opinion and favorite meals on this blog!

To find out more and make a reservation :
Hakkasan’s website
Adresses in London:
Hakkasan Hanway Place: 8 Hanway Place W1T 1HD
Hakkasan Mayfair: 17 Bruton Street W1J 6QB