Last week we were invited along to Chung Ying Central, the newbie of the well established Chung Ying Group, in central Birmingham, to try their Dim Sum and cocktails.
We have eaten at Chung Ying before, not long after they opened, and really enjoyed it, but not tried much of the Dim Sum, so this was a lovely opportunity for us to really get stuck in. Dim Sum is extremely popular down in London, but so far isn’t that widespread in Birmingham, although this is changing slowly.
I guess I see Dim Sum as a chinese style tapas, and thus with my love of trying out loads of things on a menu, suits me very nicely!
Our service when we ate was top-notch, and it was great to meet Will and to see the enthusiasm he and the team have about their food. Will informed us that they have a dedicated Dim Sum Chef working all the time to ensure that the Dim Sum is always the freshest it can be.
A recent-ish addition to the menu is their Chinese Zodiac Cocktails, all named after each year, for example the ‘Crouching Tiger Mai Tai’ named after the year of the tiger. I went for a ‘Snake Venom’ made up of Smirnoff Gold, Midori & Apple Juice, while Lee went for the ‘Ox fashioned’ based on one of his favourite cocktails, the Rum Old Fashioned. Later on I also tried one of the mocktails ‘Safe Coitus on the beach’ (loving the name…..!) a virgin version of the very similarly named cocktail of the less safe nature!
Ox Fashioned, Snake Venom
Safe Coitus on the Beach!!!
Mocktails
Moving on, we then tried a great selection of Dim Sum, some helpfully recommended by the team. We couldn’t resist the lure of probably the most popular item on the menu the Char Sui Buns (literally little clouds of heaven) but as well as these we tried out:
- Prawn and Chive Dumplings
- Pork and Ginger Spring Rolls
- Vietnamese Spring Rolls
- Shredded Squid
- Vegetarian Wontons
- Beef Sui Mai
- Chicken Feet in Black Bean Sauce
There are so many delicious sounding ones to choose from I can assure you, you will have trouble making a decision!
Spring Rolls, Shredded Squid
Pork & Ginger Spring Rolls
Dim Sum Spread
Dumpling up close!
Char Sui Buns
Beef Sui Mai
Vietnamese Spring Rolls
Veg Wontons
I would have a hard time choosing my favourites but, if you had a gun to my head, I would probably go for the lovely herby prawn and chive dumplings from the steamed selection, and the Vietnamese spring rolls from the fried selection. Lee adored the pork and ginger spring rolls, which were virtually gone before they hit the table! Most of the dim sum come with a little dish of dipping sauce of various kinds, or there’s soy sauce on each table as well. The black bean sauce that coated the chicken feet was delicious, although for me the feet were just a bit too fiddly with the bones for me to be completely sold on them. However they were much more pleasant than expected! And I’m told that If I’m scared of chicken feet as dim sum, I should head to Chung Ying garden, their sister restaurant to be face with even more culinary challenges!!
Prawn & Chive Dumplings
Chicken Feet
Lee trying the chicken feet!
We couldnt fault our meal, Dim Sum was a great way to spend a couple of hours, and would be great for a quick lunch or supper, or just for an evening with friends. You can order extra dishes as you go too, so if you’ve got a particular favourite, its easy to get some more.
If you’ve not been to Chung Ying Central before you can find it on Colmore Row in the heart of the business district or have a look online www.chungyingcentral.co.uk
If you have been I’d love to hear what your favourite Dim Sum was, let me know in the comments!
Disclosure: We dined as guests of the venue. All opinion expressed are honest and our own. We were not required to write a positive review.