Chinese New Year's Eve dinner at Gold Mine Restaurant

I visited Gold Mine Restaurant in the Bayswater area on Chinese New Year's Eve with two Malaysian friends for an evening of great food and company. The area is particularly famous for Cantonese roast duck, with all Chinese restaurants along Queensway vying for a share of the business. While Four Seasons remains the go-to institution for most, due to its long-standing reputation for roast duck, Gold Mine just a few doors away has become an extremely formidable competitor in recent years - its head chef and owner was formerly head chef at Four Seasons.

The highlight of any meal there, Cantonese roast duck with herbal sauce (you can ask for the meat to be taken off the bone):

The duck itself was extremely tender and succulent, with a good fat-to-meat proportion (neither overly greasy nor dry as with lesser restaurants), and very evenly roasted with a thin layer of smoky and crispy skin throughout. The sauce also set it apart from its competitors - an extremely fragrant and savoury soy concoction with hints of honey, star anise, cloves, cinnamon and Chinese herbs such as huaishan, danggui, wolfberry and hawthorn. It was so good that we all ended up scooping the sauce into our rice - totally delish! Served on a bed of shredded cabbage which enhances the sweetness of the sauce and also balances the greasiness of the duck. In my opinion this is at least as good as, if not even better than, the duck at Four Seasons.

Another signature dish of the restaurant, Pei Pa Tofu, or deep fried homemade tofu balls with seafood, served with pak choi (Chinese cabbage) and a sauce of mushrooms & shredded dried scallops:

Another excellent dish with the natural sweetness of the seafood going very well with the fresh tofu; the main ingredients were minced, shaped into substantial balls, and finally deep-fried to give a crispy finish and intensify the constituent flavours. A savoury and earthy edge was imparted by the sauce, while the blanched pak choi balanced the richness of the dish very nicely.

Third dish: sauté of tiger prawns with cashew nuts, carrots, straw mushrooms, bamboo shoots, peas and spring onions.

Nice dish with a delightful crunchy texture throughout. The tiger prawns were fresh and thankfully not overcooked while the wholesome accompanying vegetables enhanced the dish with a subtle sweetness.

Finally: deep fried sweet & sour fish fillets with an onion & capsicum garnish.

A well-executed dish - the thin layer of batter was light and non-greasy, whilst the fish itself remained tender and moist. The sauce and garnish were pretty conventional fare.

On the whole, it was a very satisfying dinner, and service was friendly and attentive despite the extremely busy sitting. Even when having to wait for a table for nearly 1.5 hours without a reservation, I would prefer this restaurant anytime over Four Seasons, especially when considering the latter's generally brusque attitude to customers.

We were not done yet though - dessert was on our minds and we plonked ourselves at Art Café just two doors away. I had been brought there last year by another friend whilst visiting London and liked its cakes and ice-cream very much. The cakes are homemade and very solid, while the ice-cream is from the Swiss company Mövenpick, my favourite brand amongst the big commercial players.

Pistachio and hazelnut ice cream - yum!

Chocolate fudge cake to share - pure indulgence!

It was well past midnight when we finished, and almost 1.30 am when we reached our hostel after a bus ride and a peaceful walk through Bloomsbury - a most enjoyable evening which definitely needs to be repeated very soon!