Flavourmag was invited to the Chinese Cricket Club at the Crowne Plaza Hotel (Blackfriars) to sample the delights on offer.
The Chinese Cricket Club at the Crowne Plaza Hotel is located on the ground floor of the hotel. Although it’s connected to the hotel, the Chinese Cricket Club is also a solo entity, so you can dine there anytime, even if you are not staying at the Crowne Plaza hotel.
The Starters
If like us, you like to share, then the Chef’s signature dim sum platter (Prawn & scallop dumpling, har gow, chicken and spinach dumpling, mooli pumpkin puff), is the starter of choice. Freshly steamed dim sum, served on in an instagram friendly platter.
You’ll receive 2 of everything on the platter, and it’s great for sharing. As you taste each portion, you’ll start the guessing game of what you have just eaten. Not only did we have the Chef’s signature dim sum platter, we also opted for the Soft shell crab salad another dish which is perfect for sharing and tastes delicious.
The Mains
The menu includes a range of mains, you can choose from the Classics selection or Chef Wang’s signature dishes. We of course chose the latter. Chef Wang’s special Sea bass with the secret sauce consisting of ginger, garlic, mushrooms and bamboo.
For the pescatarian’s amongst us, this is the dish you’ll love. Very tasty, filling, yet not too heavy on the stomach.
The Emperor’s crispy duck – Emperor Qianlong’s favourite dish, butterflied crispy duck with prawns, nuts, served with pancakes, spring onions, cucumber and plum sauce. Never have I seen duck cooked in this way, you simply have to try to appreciate it. It’s like having 2-4-1 as it has a different taste on each side.
All of the above was washed down with a bottle of house red and dinner was complete.
What we liked
The Chinese Cricket Club has an affordable menu, some of the Chef’s specials are on the pricer tier, but generally it’s affordable. The decor isn’t great, as The Chinese Cricket Club is hosted in the same dinning space where the hotel users have their breakfast.
However, decor aside, the food is good, the service is great and if you’re in the area, it’s worth popping in and giving it a try. You might want to try a range of starters and skip the mains and dine in a tapas style frenzy as their starters are great and unfortunately trumps the mains.
For more information or to book a table simply visit www.chinesecricketclub.com now
