Chinese restaurants have gained in reputation over the last few years and none more so than those in the Royal China group who are really on target with some of the best Chinese cuisine in London.

The Venue
Harrow boasts one of the most famous public schools in the country and these days it also doesn’t do too badly for restaurants of some quality. The latest addition is Royal China, a burgeoning chain of eating places that began in Putney (which is no longer part of the chain) and has since spread out to, famously, Queensway, Fulham Road, Baker Street and Canary Wharf, with Royal China Clubs too in Baker Street and St John’s Wood.

Its latest incarnation is in a parade of shops and restaurants in Station Road, just beyond the main shopping centre, running between the site of what used to be the former Granada cinema (currently a health club) and the old Dominion cinema, which is now devoted to Bollywood and bingo. There are several restaurants in the immediate vicinity, which is always good for business as it attracts diners to the area. Royal China’s reputation precedes it and should do nothing but good for this off-centre part of town.

The Atmosphere
The Royal China has a prominent black frontage, in a large site spread over the width of two shop units. It is decorated in a signature style, an attractive black and gold colour scheme with inset skylights, patterned glass and brown wooden slats on the wall. It is spacious and comfortable and just the right place to enjoy superior Chinese cuisine. In fact, comfort and elegance are the keywords here and the ambience is very pleasant indeed, quiet, restrained and with local customers obviously enjoying the food with a passion.

There are many Chinese customers among the assembled diners, a good sign and one that should spell nothing but success for the latest addition to the Harrow restaurant scene. It is obviously going to be a destination venue for local residents but will also inevitably attract custom from the nearby areas of Wembley, Harrow Weald, Pinner, Stanmore and Kenton.

The Food
The choice of dishes at the Royal China is extraordinarily vast, to say the least. A menu of over twenty pages offers some fourteen soups, over two dozen hot and cold appetisers, over twenty seafood specials, the same number in each of chicken and duck, beef and pork, plus a selection of barbecued and roasted meats. That’s without going into the various vegetables dishes, noodles and rice, about three dozen special main courses and the chef’s own recommendations. There are also three set meals at £30 to £38 per person for a minimum of two diners, if you find you cannot decide what to choose from the great variety of dishes on offer.

Something on which Royal China has built its reputation is the quality of its dim sum specialities. There seems to be a choice of nearly fifty individual dim sum dishes, including desserts. Prices are from £2.65 to £4.20 a portion, which are usually three pieces. Examples include the steamed variety presented in a steamer basket, such as minced pork dumplings with shrimps, beef dumplings, seafood dumplings with minced pork, chicken and mushroom buns and vegetarian dumplings. They are little morsels of meat, fish or vegetables wrapped in a kind of translucent soft noodle pastry and they really are very moreish, delicious little mouthfuls packed with flavour.

What is so good about dim sum is that they are cooked to order, so are fresh and hot with the heat releasing all those luscious tastes of the seafood or the meat. Particularly good are the prawn and chive dumplings, a tasty combination of ingredients that really packs a flavour punch. The pork and radish dumplings are another good choice as the minced pork is so very well flavoured. The actual texture of the dim sum is very appetising in itself, with an almost sensual and tactile delicacy. Apart from the dumplings there are fried dim sum dishes. The Vietnamese spring rolls are hot little items, mixed vegetables wrapped in a hot, crisp batter, while the chicken and lemon skewers are quite revelatory – mini kebabs of chicken pieces suffused with the flavour of lemon juice and served piping hot on little sticks. Starters doesn’t come more satisfying than dishes like these.

Moving on to the rest of the menu and the meal, there is so much from which to choose. Main courses start at around £7, although you could have a whole suckling pig if you order it in advance for £150. There are some excellent barbecued and roast meat dishes here. Baked salty chicken, garlic roasted pigeon, fragrant yam duck with sweet and sour sauce and hot and spicy veal all sound terrific. The roasted duck is a deliciously succulent dish with the meat cooked to tender perfection, while the barbecued pork has a definite chargrilled flavour all of its own. Similarly the sauteed chicken has an intensity hitherto unencountered in a poultry dish before. This is real, grown-up food.

To accompany the main courses, instead of rice, of which there are many examples available, why not try some noodles? Udon and Singaporean rice vermicelli are fragrant accompaniments to any main dish, served with, for example, chicken, vegetables or seafood. They are served in large bowls and really could almost be a meal in themselves. If you have any room left for a dessert (£4.20 - £5.20), then the chilled tapioca rice pudding or the apple or banana in toffee syrup are the puddings to choose, although you can also have coconut cream pudding, lychees in syrup, chilled mango pudding, ice cream or a fresh fruit platter, among several other desserts.

The Drink
Chinese tea (£1.80) is traditionally served with dim sum as it helps to aid the digestion. At Royal China it seems to be a bottomless pot of tea that is refreshed from time to time. Other drinks available include a full list of wines, starting from £16 per bottle and about £5 per glass, spirits and soft drinks.

The Last Word
Harrow is indeed fortunate to have acquired the latest branch of Royal China. It has a celebrated reputation for serving Chinese cuisine of the highest order, making it a destination restaurant of choice for both the immediate and the surrounding area.

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