As the only real alternative to Oriental Canteen in South Kensington for Chinese food it holds something of a monopoly position. It is a significant step up from the aforementioned restaurant and the price reflects that probably putting it near the top of Chinese restaurants. Expect to pay something around GBP20 for dim sum whereas in China town you would expect to pay GBP13-15 or so. Although the food quality is slightly better than average, the surly waiters unfortunately let this establishment down.
The other day I was looking for a Dim Sum place to have a late lunch and I remembered a colleague recommended a place in South Kensington. Jia is a small Asian heaven with minimalistic décor, some wooden panels, dark tables, and a couple of black and white pictures of somewhere in China
I have been here twice, once with chinese friends (it means the food is really good and authentic) , and I came back the second time because I liked it.
The way chinese to do it is putting many plates in the middle to share everything, I love it this way because you get to try more things in one meal. The second time I got the seafood noodles, which were really really good.
The waiters are very welcoming, the service is quick and neat, and everything went smoothly both times.
It is very good value for money, you can have a starter and main and tea for only £13/£14.
In summary, I would definitely go back there whenever I am in the neighbourhood.
Always passed and has a chance to come in for quick bowl of noodles.
Jia has a great chance to be better, my Laksa is good enough, to enjoy. Fresh ingredients is a good start.
Service may need to be a bit more accommodating and attentive in my opinion if the business would like to add 12.5% service charge on the final bill.
Many thanks
Many negative reviews in regards to the service and rude personnel? Who cares? If you want good service go somewhere else. I personally loved the food as it was quite close to an authentic Cantonese restaurant in Chinatown so not your average takeaway. Prices were decent so no complaints for that.
Really great restaurant and actual authentic Cantonese food. The beef ho fun lacked a bit, however all other dishes were very good. Prices are slightly on the high side; however, service was excellent !
Good dim sum options to choose from, including for vegetarians. Portion sizes are decent compared to other London / C-town restaurants and reasonably priced. We didn’t find the servers as aggressive or dismissive as stated in other reviews, just very busy and blunt.
We went on a Sunday just after 12 and the restaurant was already very busy, and we sat upstairs. By 12:30 there was already a queue outside waiting for tables.
Everything was so good! I got the shrimp Cheng fun, xiao long bao, fried rice and shao mai. This is probably some of the best dim sum I have ever had. I went in the afternoon and it wasn’t too busy, it was nice and clean, my order was taken quickly and came out quickly too. Steam rolls were perfect in texture. Shao mai filling was superb. Probably my favorite item.
Hands down one of the best Cantonese restaurants I’ve ever been to. Affordable, great quantity and good quality food.
Dishes we had:
Pearl Chicken Rice Dumplings
Vegetarian Monk Dumplings
Prawn Dried Beancurd Cheung Fun
Spicy dan dan noodle
Not disappointed with a single dish. Cannot recommend enough!
Excellent dim sum at great prices. I haven’t had better in London. The waitresses are charmless but they bring the food efficiently.
Delicious authentic chinese food at very low prices! The calamari was less than £4. In London!! Amazing! Jasmine tea for £1.50! Awesome place to grab lunch! Not open for dinner. Can get busy! I think printing a new menu would help as some dishes are no longer served. But I'd go back any day!
The food is actually not bad. But the service is indeed very Hong Kong style, kind of rude.
Expect to wait aside if your friends are not coming with you at the same time.
(Last year the dim sums were cheaper, but they have increased the prices. now it's just normal £ range. Still considered relatively cheap for South Ken i guess?)
I’m a big dim sum fan and just wanted a light lunch close to a venue I was visiting.
The reviews didn’t put me off as most of the complaints were about service and largely positive on the food.
The staff were efficient and let me take my time ordering.
My food was brought out promptly and i was happy with each order.
The majority of the dim sum menu is £3.90 and in Central London that’s a huge bargain.
I ordered a beer £3.80, a pot of tea £1.50, Scallop dumplings, The soup dumplings and the prawn dumplings in chili sauce.
My favourite was definitely the scallop and prawn dumplings. Very filling and pretty presentation.
The soup dumplings did also have a good amount of soup and everything looked freshly made.
I’ll definitely be stopping by again to try more of the menu.
They also sell glasses of wine at £5.50 which is a good bargain.
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