Dimsum - Goldfish’s new franchise opens in Bank

Home

Food

Goldfish’s new franchise opens in Bank

Food

Saturday, 26 June 2010

Goldfish

Within London’s financial centre where speed and efficiency are essential, an Asian restaurant that serves fresh and delicately prepared food has became a welcomed addition. Goldfish, one of Hampstead’s most popular fine-dining restaurants, has opened a franchise this June in the heart of London’s Square Mile.

Goldfish City has combined Eastern and Western cuisines to create an exclusive menu. One of its most favoured dishes is “Wasabi” Pawn - a platter of crispy-fried king pawns coated in blended avocado mixed with a small proportion of wasabi. While the concept of wasabi pawn is already common in Japanese cuisine, this new recipe is less spicy and sweeter than the traditional recipe and is perfectly suited to the taste of those not accustomed to having wasabi at every meal.

The restaurant’s westernised Chinese dishes can also give pleasant surprises to many Chinese customers. Deep Fry Crispy Mushroom is a dish where tenderly fried mushroom is coated with a dense source made from sugar and vinegar. The source and the appearance of the dish highly resemble the traditional Chinese dish “Tang Chu Pai Gu” (Sweet and sour ribs), which has pork-ribs as opposed to mushrooms, and is often cooked as a treat on special occasions especially in east-China. The new dish using mushrooms instead will nevertheless invoke much happy memory for many Chinese customers. Goldfish’s ability to transform a traditional recipe in such an innovative and delicious way is fascinating.

Another special starter is the Pan Fry Scallop. Traditionally, the strong smell of seafood has meant that strong spices and sources are used to overcome it. But the lightness of the added source in this dish delicately preserves the original flavour of the scallops while no seafood smell can be tasted. This dish makes a refreshing and health-conscious starter.

These exclusive dishes are the invention of head chef Kevin Chow, who is very familiar with the cuisines in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Singapore. His creativity and experience gave Goldfish dishes uniqueness and excellence. Currently, the Goldfish City menu is not as comprehensive as the Hampstead one, but the restaurant may expand its menu according to customer needs.

The restaurant is very packed at lunch time, offering a light and easily cooked selection of dim sum, bento, ramen, noodles. Its carefully coordinated set lunch and dinner menus range from £15.50 to £30 and are perfect for those who need something healthy and tasty to grab and run.

What makes Goldfish more distinct is the preparation and presentation of its food. One of the characteristics of Mr Chow’s cooking is the use of freshly blended mango juice to “decorate” dishes. For example, in Pan Fry Duck Breast, the crispy tender duck is dipped in fresh mango juice. The unique combination of flavours is innovative and the bright colour of the mango also lightens up the overall look of the dish to increase one’s appetite. Fresh mango juice has also been used to provide a natural sweetness to vanilla ice cream, creating a special Goldfish desert.

Although inheriting many characteristics of Chinese cuisine, it differs in another less noticeable but nevertheless important way –it has a good selection of vegetarian dishes and a special vegetarian set menu. Its vegetables are prepared with the same level of care as meat dishes, which is a step forward for Chinese cuisine which often places less emphasis on vegetable dishes because vegetarian as a concept is still new to China. This smart move is a vital step for Chinese cuisine to completely integrate into London’s fine-dining culture.

Goldfish’s interior decoration also demonstrates a combination of Chinese and Western cultural influences. On one of its walls is a popular Chinese poem called “Yu Mei Ren” composed in the Tang Dynasty. But in the basement of the three floored restaurant is a cocktail bar and a private VIP area, which can satisfy the networking needs of the financial centre. Only a few weeks into its opening, Goldfish is already being welcomed by customers in this area. Its continual success would create a pleasant change to the dining choices of central London.