London | Canton Blue Restaurant

💐 Canton Blue is the Chinese restaurant under the Peninsula Hotel in London. Online reviews of this restaurant are mixed. My friend’s husband is from Hong Kong and very knowledgeable about Cantonese cuisine, so we decided to come and try it out. The restaurant is busy on weekdays but has availability on weekends. 🌸 The decor here is very exquisite, with many design elements inspired by the clipper ship “Cutty Sark” that connected China and Britain in the mid-19th century, including displays of Guangdong porcelain that the ship transported from the East to the West, and a vibrant backlit ceiling with celestial navigation maps, making it suitable for business dinners. 🌹 The food was about what everyone else said, lacking in ‘wok hei’. The dim sum was better than the main courses, the xiaolongbao and shrimp dumplings were both good, with nice flavor and generous portions. The ‘Drunken Chicken’ had too strong of an alcohol taste and was slightly bitter, not recommended. The fresh shrimp wonton soup was tasteless and not to my liking. The lotus leaf perch was decent in flavor, and the servers would help portion out the dish for everyone. We swapped the chicken chow fun for beef chow fun, which was rather average. 🪷 The service here is great; the manager mentioned that all dishes are free of MSG and are not heavy in oil and salt, making them quite healthy. We did feel less thirsty after the meal compared to when we’ve had heavily flavored dishes. You can tell the chef has a desire to innovate, but the flavor is just a bit off. Dim sum and desserts are recommended. Reservations are needed, with an average spend of around £80 per person. #NoteInspiration #LondonRestaurants #UK #London #LondonLife #AtmosphericRestaurant #RestaurantRecommendations #MyFoodDiary