My birthday | Ping Pong

Where I ate:

Ping Pong, Westfield Stratford, London

The day after my London birthday celebrations, Laura and I decided to have another mooch around Westfield (how many people get there before anything opens on a Sunday, btw – Costa was mental!) and we met Mariah for all-you-can-eat DimSum at Ping Pong. Or as they call it, DimSumdays.

We hadn’t booked a table but managed to get seated straight away and prepared ourselves for the feast that was in store. DimSumdays is priced at £21.95 a head and every member of the party has to have it. Unfortunately it doesn’t include specials (seasonal or regular), meaning no soft-shell crab for me, as well as desserts and drinks. I don’t think I managed to eat my monies worth, although we all gave it a good go.

 So what did we order?

·         1 portion mixed vegetable spring rolls

·         2 portions duck spring rolls

·         1 portion beef & chilli parcels

·         3 portions roast pork puffs

·         1 portion vegetable sticky rice

·         1 portion king prawn & scallop sticky rice

·         2 portions char sui buns

·         2 portions chicken & cashew nut dumplings

·         1 portion monkfish & lime dumplings

·         1 portion beef fillet dumplings

·         1 portion prawn crackers

Rather than sharing dishes, we all chose our own plates, hence the three lots of roast pork puffs! I chose a few of my favourites, including the seafood sticky rice, chicken & cashew nut dumplings and duck spring rolls. I also chose a couple of dishes I hadn’t tried before – both dumplings: beef fillet and monkfish & lime. The beef ones were incredible, with chunky steak and spinach encased within a vibrant spinach green parcel; the monkfish ones were also nice, with a fresh, aromatic flavour. I didn’t have room for a char sui bun but Mariah said they’re amazing – and one of her favourites.

Drinks-wise, it was too early for cocktails, but the strawberry & vanilla iced tea was amazing. The Asian basil seeds were unusual but I loved them – the texture was really bubbly.

Like my last visit (the South Bank branch, read here), the service wasn’t great, especially as it wasn’t busy. But the food is always spot on, cooked fresh and brought to the table straight away. I know where I’ll be going when I’m next at Westfield.