Peninsula (CLOSED)

The setting (a Holiday Inn in the Millennium Village) is hardly Chinatown, but the Peninsula is not only handily placed for O2 Stadium visitors, it has also become a popular alternative to the West End for Chinese diners who want a venue for yum cha – drinking tea and eating snacks and maybe reading a newspaper or two. It’s not the most beautiful of restaurants, nor is the dim sum of the kind to dazzle and amaze with its inventiveness, delicacy and sheer perfection, but the atmosphere is authentically convivial and the food genuinely satisfying. The prawns in our har gau were big and juicy; the meat on the spare-ribs seemed a little fatty, it’s true, but none the worse for it when paired with such a businesslike black bean sauce; and the chinese sausage and chicken on rice was a meal in itself, complete with succulent winter mushrooms. Chinese broccoli (gai lan) was also generously portioned – as well as being hot, fresh and crunchy, with lots of chopped ginger. You can even watch Chinese television here as you eat.