Slightly off the beaten trail with Grand Imperial, Cha Cha Moon, Ho Lee and Lotus Floating

Grand Imperial

Isn't it amazing how time passes by so quickly? There is barely a month left in 2011 and I can still remember when it was only January. The same goes with catching up with friends and after not seeing a friend of mine in a few months, we both made a concerted effort to meet up. Even this itself wasn't easy as she is always either travelling or have something on, otherwise it will be me in the same situation. Finally, we found a mutually convenient date and we ended up heading to Grand Imperial for dinner.

The Grand Imperial restaurant is relatively new-ish and has a very plush décor setting. Its main entrance within the Grosvenor hotel had these huge doors with invite you into a warm glow light that immediately places you at ease. Use the side door next to Victoria station and you don't get the same effect.

Our dinner party were on a 6 course dinner menu with champagne included that was from one of those online deals. While waiting for the others to arrive, the early people started sipping on the champagne.

When everyone arrived, the meal started with half a crispy aromatic duck arriving at our table. The meat was just a tad on the dry side but the skin was very crispy and we really enjoyed it.

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Dim Sum Buffet at Grand Imperial, London

A random chat with a friend of mine brought up the topic of when she recently had an 'All you can eat' dim sum in London recently. My ears pricked up and my eyes widened, dim sum + all you can eat? That was music to my ears and I was all excited. A flurry of emails later, I found myself with a party of ten heading to Grand Imperial for the dim sum buffet.

During the weekends, the buffet is priced at £18.80 excluding drinks. Add in drinks and service charge and you are looking at about £24 per person.

The menu for the dim sum buffet is limited to approximately 7 or 8 per category with only 3 categories consisting of steamed, fried/baked and rice rolls.

Steamed dim sum

Let's start with the good ones.

Prawn Dumpling, Char Siu Bao

Steamed coriander shrimp dumpling

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Chocolate Week 2011: Chocolate Dim Sum at Grand Imperial

It's Chocolate Week at the moment and also Cocktail Week. There are always just so many things happening in London.

I have to say that I haven't had the opportunity to indulge in too much chocolate yet but one that I managed to do is the Chocolate Dim Sum at the Grand Imperial. Chocolate + Dim Sum, you say? How does that work? Well, I was about to find out as I happened to be at the Grand Imperial for dinner and couldn't resist ordering that too.

I was told that it takes 20 minutes so while some of my friends left after dinner, the dessert + chocolate lovers were determined to stay. 20 minutes later, the platter arrived.

These 4 treats are made with Divine Chocolates that has 70% cocoa content. In top to bottom order, we have the 'pumpkin bundle', 'canton cracker', 'cashew crescent' and 'coconut doughnut'.

I don't know whether the dessert angel was smiling upon us but that happened to be the best combination to eat them.

Cutting into the Pumpkin Bundle, you can hear the crispy shell cracking under the force of the knife, it was a heavenly sound and we were excited. Biting into the pumpkin, you get an unctuous hit. The chocolate seemed to have absorbed a bit too much of the oil that it was fried in and the pumpkin and lemon combination left a slightly strange aftertaste.

Moving onto the Canton Cracker, the pastry was delicate and flaky and fared better with its chocolate filling. It still left a greasy aftertaste though not as strong as the first.

Cashew Crescent was buttery and lovely with the chopped cashews adding a contrast in texture. The last which is the Coconut Doughnut was really the best. The 70% dark chocolate was really enhanced and showcased in the coconut doughnut. A chewy texture quite like mochi with coconut sprinkles, excellent pairing indeed!

There is only a few days left and at £6, it is a nice indulgence.

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