MANGO TREE, HARRODS

I'm going through a bit of a dim sum phase at the moment. These delicate, flavour packed mouthfuls, steamed to perfection are becoming a favourite (again). I ate a dozen of them at Chai Wu where I went for afternoon tea in Harrods (more on that soon) and another dozen or so at Mango Tree when I visited to check out their menu in Harrods the week before. 

Harrods has various restaurants, most of which are located within the ground floor food hall and are counter top dining. I've previously written about my visit to Pan Chai there, which is next to Mango Tree. I'd been to the Victoria branch of Mango Tree but was yet to go to the Harrods one, so ate all the things when we did go so I could tell you what to order if you visit.

Polly and I headed to Mango Tree Harrods on a Thursday evening. They don't take reservations and it was full when we went, so I suggest going early, or for lunch, if you don't want to have to wait. Once you are seated though service is swift. 

We started off with a portion of lobster popcorn - deep fried pieces of lobster topped with a spicy mayo dressing. It was good, but there was better to come. 

And better started with prawn dumpling with white truffle oil - though I couldn't detect much of this, the dumpling were so tasty. Absolutely stuffed full of prawns, and sitting in the heady broth. I tried to share with Polly but think I definitely ate more than my fair share of these. 

We punctuated bowls of dumplings with other dishes from the menu. The raw prawn salad was light and refreshing and the seafood clearly super fresh and of very good quality. 

Prawn and chive dumplings were just as good as round one of dumplings, though being a different type of dumpling had a firmer, thicker skin and the filling was juicy and generous.

My least favourite dish of the night, which we chose based on the waitress's recommendation, was the aromatic duck roll. Not bad, just nothing compared to the dumplings. The pastry was heavy and the filling under seasoned, but became much better after being dunked in the rich plum sauce. 

Chicken dumpling in Szechuan sauce was definitely not for sharing. It was a version of a xiao dumpling which is filled with meat and soup. Down in one with these! Another delicious set of dumplings. 

Last on the dumpling list for us were the BBQ pork buns. I'm a fan of these anyway - the sticky, sweet BBQ meat encased in the lightest, cloud like bun. I would've liked more meat in these as the bun:meat ratio was slightly out for me. 

We finished on an unexpected high with a chicken "ramen". The most wonderful broth packed with mushrooms, shredded chicken, nori and spring onions, I could eat this every day. I wasn't expecting it to be a highlight of the meal but it definitely was. 

As with all the restaurants in Harrods prices aren't cheap. I was invited to review but racked up £70 worth of food a head, though we ate more than is mentioned above, and were very, very full. Similarly to Pan Chai, I recommend going here if you're shopping in Harrods or in the area and want a few small dishes as a snack, as that's the affordable way to eat here. The food is excellent and the service warm, friendly and attentive. Absolutely worth a visit for some really good dim sum and broths.