Now Dim Sum used to be a ritual in my family. My dad would take me, my brother and sister once a month for a Sunday lunch down to one of several establishments, but it was always the Peninsula that was our favourite chinese restaurant. I’ve had Dim Sum in pretty much all of London’s Chinatown; in Oriental City in north west London; Paris; Pacific Mall in Toronto and they don’t hold a candle to this place. I’ve never been to Hong Kong but if they serve lighter, sweeter parcels of heaven then I may as well move there, because I ain’t leaving.
Oddly located underneath a Holiday Inn hotel which in itself is surrounded by retail parks in the North Greenwich area, the place cuts a pretty inconspicous figure. Sunday lunches are always busy with plenty of London’s Chinese community taking their
extended families out for dumplings and tea. Dim Sum are rarely made in homes as they are quite complicated to prepare. The only person I know who makes them is my Dad, bless him! Anyways, I’d recommend getting there by noon otherwise you’re in for a long wait getting a (free) car parking spot and a looooong wait getting a table.
This is the routine for anybody who hasn’t been to the Peninsula: Park your car at the onsite car park after getting a ticket at the entrance barrier, head into the restaurant and ask for a table, they’ll give you a numbered ticket, wait for your ticket to be called out, seat, eat, ask your friendly waiter for your parking ticket to be validated when paying the bill, leave, have food sweats from overeating, sleep.
Paper Wrapped Prawns
Char Sui Cheung Fun
You can always tell how good the Dim Sum is by the good ol’ classics such as the Siu Mai (prawn and pork dumplings), Hau Gar (prawn dumplings), and the varieties of Cheung Fun (wrapped and steamed rice pancakes with fillings). The Siu Mai needs to be moist yet firm to the bite and the minced prawn giving it a sweetness that goes deep into the recesses of your throat. The rice that encloses the prawns in Hau Gar need to be soft, translucent but not sticky – that’s a sign of oversteaming or even worse, re-cooking! I’m also a fan of the baby suckling pig which is very crispy, thinly sliced pork served with hoi sin. I always order the steamed chickens feet as well not only because I like the salty mush (appealing I know) but also because it grosses my kids out 
Anybody with a sweet tooth isn’t going to be well catered for, with the usual pic n’ mix of flavoured jellys such as coconut or mango, fresh fruit and custard tarts*. Not much else I’m afraid.
Steamed Chickens Feet in Black Bean Sauce
The Peninsula is nearly always at full capacity during lunchtimes despite its ability to seat 400 people. It’s busy, bustling, informal and definitely not a place for a quiet, romantic meal for two. However, the waiting staff are efficient, the food freshly prepared and in my opinion, beats the pants off any other dim sum place in the world (probably not but its flippin’ good).
Another reason for those who live locally to Greenwich is that despite it’s high profile as a tourist destination, Greenwich is actually lacking decent places to eat. The space is either taken up by chain inspired faux fine dining experiences such as Incgroup or by smaller business owners who are adept at squeezing money out of tourists and offering substandard food and service by return.
Rant over.
Back to Dim Sum and here’s my tip for newbies: The nature of ticking ordering dim sum by simply ticking whatever you fancy means that over ordering is easily done by the inexperienced. My family are gluttons so we tend to go for a loose rule of ordering five dishes per person. A more civilised crowd would look at 3 or 4 dim sum dishes and maybe a plate of noodles or rice.
Online reviews tend to be mixed with some complaining about food (a la carte) and service. The service is brisk and my experience of the a la carte menu underwhelming, but it’s the Dim Sum that excels here.
Go here for great dim sum in London: Peninsula Restaurant, Holiday Inn Express, Bugsbys Way, Greenwich, SE10 0GD. Telephone 020 8269 1638.
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