We just love coming here for special occasions- Hakkasan really is the lace to go for a special occasion and on this occasion we were celebrating Chinese New Year! We arrived 15 minutes early and the staff were happy for us to sit at our table.

The restaurant is as I remember it, dimly lit with low hanging lights, ultramarine blue surrounding the bar – we had a long table for 6 people and ordered their Chinese New Year set menu (£88 per person)- it was like a banquet! I was counting on my sister and her boyfriend to devour all the courses as they have big appetites.

We ordered still water for the table and a couple of Lychee martinis, the Hakka and a non-alcoholic cocktail.

Gradually the drinks and food arrived at our table starting with the ‘Yu Sheng salad
house cured Loch Duart salmon, plum dressing’ the salmon salad looked like a mountain – it is tradition to perform the ‘Prosperity Toss’ so we all used our chopsticks to flip the salmon and shredded vegetables simultaneously.

The salad was fresh and salmon was marinated well- we loved the dish! Next up was the ‘golden treasure pockets abalone, wild mushrooms’ pockets of heaven I thought although Asiel wasn’t so keen. A crispy layer and a very soft middle.

Next came the main courses we had a spectacular ’show’ from the waiter when she boiled the tea broth in front of us, using a live flame, dry ice and a couple of tubes. When we dug in the fish was tender and fell apart in my mouth, and the tea broth complimented the dish well.

Next up the ‘salt crust fortune baked chicken shiitake mushroom, bamboo shoot, chestnut arrived’. The chicken was flavoursome however I personally thought it was a little dry for me but everyone else loved it.

Wok-fry Scottish scallop taro mousseline, brown butter black bean sauce was our favourite we all made ohh and mmm sounds when we took a bite, it melted in my mouth and the taro mousseline was divine – it was thick and a bit sticky but I ended up scraping the last of the taro mousseline out of Asiels scallop shell.

We also had baby pak choi ‘v’, which was tasty too, it went well with the fragrant rice which my Dad seemed to love as he kept asking for more.

We were all stuffed from the delicious dishes and I was even contemplating not having dessert, but I’m glad we had a break before the ‘Lucky Jie’ came; salted caramel ganache, mandarin, chilli, cocoa. This was heavenly – rich chocolaty ganache, with a balanced citrus flavour and a hint of spice – perfect combo! Asiel only managed a mouthful and I couldn’t bare for it to go to waste so it made sense for me to finish his too!

We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and can’t wait to go back again!