Randomness Guide to London - Differences between Version 4 and Version 3 of Ping Pong, SE1 8XX

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formatted_website_text='pingpongdimsum.com'
formatted_website_text='http://www.pingpongd...'
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node_image='https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5550/9231090593_47a7f52e4e_m.jpg'
node_image_copyright='Kake'
node_image_licence='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/'
node_image_url='https://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/9231090593/'

Dim sum restaurant on the South Bank, part of a small "modern-style" chain with branches on Goodge Street, in Soho and near St Paul's, among other places.

Kerry visited on a Tuesday evening in August 2011. Although there was no trouble getting a table in the small outside terrace at 6pm, by the time I left at 7pm both the outside and more spacious inside were packed.

Both the food and the cocktails (watermelon cardamom martini and blueberry cheesecake "dessert cocktail", both £6) were tasty without being amazing. The scallop and shiitake dumplings (£3.49) and prawn toast with sesame seeds (£4) were cooked well (although the prawn toast was slightly overfried), and the honey-glazed hoi sin vegetable puff (£3.79) was delicious: it tasted light but was filling, and the honey and spice flavours complemented each other exceptionally. The only disappointment was the "signature dish" of king prawn and garlic black dumplings (£4), which were overcooked to the point of falling apart as I picked them up, although the flavours were very good once I managed to get them in my mouth (it's hard to go wrong with garlic).

The service was friendly and rapid, even though it was quite busy by the time I left. There is an option on the ordering sheet to write in what time your table would like to finish by, a good idea in a location next to the Southbank Centre, the BFI and the NT, where patrons are likely to be pre-show diners.

Kerry's verdict: I'm sure there is much better dim sum in London, but I wouldn't hesitate to go here again if I were looking to eat in the area.

See also:

Opening hours taken from the Ping Pong website, August 2011. Last visited by Kerry, 2 August 2011.

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