Knightsbridge is – let’s be honest – not a place that most Arbuturian readers will associate with fine dining. Of course, there’s plenty of money floating about here, and the two-Michelin starred Dinner at the nearby Mandarin Oriental is always going to lure the well-heeled, but the area hasn’t, traditionally, been seen as synonymous with really adventurous and exciting cooking. Well, I can now reveal that the advent of the new Chinese restaurant Nanyang Blossom, courtesy of super-chef Daren Liew, has revitalised this part of SW1 beyond measure.
I said, confidently and stupidly, that my lunch at HUMO would be the best meal that I ate all year, and that was back in February. Well, I may still be correct, but I’ve had some absolute crackers since then (The Parakeet in Kentish Town was a highlight) and now Nanyang Blossom, tucked down a side street next to the mega-bling Bulgari hotel, surpasses them all. Chef Liew, who is (unsurprisingly) a Hakkasan veteran, is offering a simple, beautifully prepared menu in this contained and unostentatious space.
The food is very, very good indeed. After we sample a couple of top-notch Tropical Bramble cocktails, an amuse bouche arrives, in the form of what can only be described as pickled and cured cherry tomatoes. They’re exemplary. And it’s only a curtain-raiser for what comes later.
After a rather disappointing recent experience at another restaurant, where we were offered a chef’s selection of dishes that proved to be distinctly hit-and-miss, I felt faintly apprehensive about another no-choice selection here. I shouldn’t have worried. We were in the most capable of hands imaginable, and dish after dish excelled. The chicken satay (or ‘sate’, as it’s described) was the platonic idea of such a dish, and the seaweed prawn toast, served with edamame and prawn toast was both Instagram-level gorgeous and tasted fabulous.
But it was all a preview to the quite spectacular piece-de-resistance, the ‘Deluxe Hokkien stir fry’. What arrived was a delectable, decadent riot of wild prawn, abalone, hot spring egg stirred into the sauce and ‘bottarga powder prawn stock’. It’s not cheap at £78 to share, but I can guarantee that it’ll be the best value that you spend anywhere; it’s sumptuous and moreish and wonderful. Accompanied by a glass of rose – a perfect match – I could have eaten it all day.
The mains proper therefore run the risk of being an anti-climax, but a superbly filleted selection of beef ribs – the Knightsbridge crispy variety, if you please – and a delightful Josper grilled Baba chicken, served with another Insta-friendly blue rice are both every bit as delicious. I’ve visited with a friend who is, shall we say, a fussy type, and every mouthful has him cooing and sighing in gratitude for how wonderful it all is. We’re served it with a perfect glass of Rioja, and, for a couple of hours, it’s a wonderful escape from the boring pressures and responsibilities of the world. We have a very, very good time here.
Pudding isn’t exactly an afterthought, but the ‘Nanyang dessert symphony’, which consists of a kind of coffee crème brulee and a crispy banana, is tasty rather than exemplary. But this isn’t the point of coming here. The savoury dishes that we eat are tremendous, and if this doesn’t get the critics positively weak-kneed and trembling at the excellence herein, there’s nothing doing with their pens, or palettes.
This is truly exceptional stuff, and, once I’ve saved up my pennies, I will be heading back to Knightsbridge in great excitement. It’s what it deserves, after all.
Nanyang Blossom, 12 Knightsbridge Green, London SW1X 7QL. For more information, and for bookings, please visit www.nanyangblossom.co.uk.
