royal china club and royal china on baker street

i love royal china and royal china club on baker street in mayfair in london. the food is simply the best chinese food i have ever eaten. 

now, i have lived in some places. new york city, los angeles, tokyo, washington d.c., san francisco. none of the excellent chinese restaurants i tried in any of these places can compare with royal china. the incomparable dim sum. the lobster noodles. and the best thing of all, the crispy duck. plenty of cucumbers, not too many scallions, exactly the right number of pancakes. incredible! fabulous! you are thinking, you go to london in the midst of a culinary renaissance, and eat something ubiquitous like chinese food? yes. i went there twice on this last trip and at least twice on the trip before. yes. because this is extraordinary. and it has the right balance of casual/formal for a hungry group of street-weary travelers. comforting, familiar, tasty beyond compare. 

royal china inspires this kind of ridiculous devotion. my dear friend shirley told me about it. shirley is an excellent cook and really knows her food, and just so happens to be expert on london. thanks shirley!