Morning:
10°c
Fay Maschler's rating
Imperial City
By
Fay Maschler
1 Nov 1996
A Square-Mile location, Thai ownership and Ken Hom as consultant result in a sophisticated Chinese restaurant with appeal to business folk who do not wish to waste time wading through long, repetitive lists - they do enough of that at their desks. The provenance of the close-on 60 dishes is Canton, Peking, Chiu Cho and Szechuan, as well as Hong-Kong's new-wave fashions (namely, mango chicken and majestic avocado scallops). To start, Imperial cold platter - for two - is far classier than the hot (mostly deep-fried) version; while mu-shu pork with lettuce makes a nice change from Peking or crispy duck in a pass-the-parcel midway course. Steamed salmon with black-bean sauce, Cantonese pressed duck, Peking braised lamb, spicy beancurd casserole, and Szechuan dan-dan noodles are all recommended main dishes, followed by firecracker sweet won tons with ice-cream. Unusually, the set menus are not the recourse of the sap: the Imperial seasonal set menu, with its second course of lobster, suits celebrations of deals and leaps skyward of the FTSE index.
Details are correct at the time of publication - please check with venue before booking.
