Min Jiang

This Chinese restaurant is celebrating ten years as best in class. The views aren’t bad, eithe.

Adecade is a long time in the hotel restaurant game. With most contracts for operating a site in one of London’s grand dame lodgings running at around three years, they often change face as frequently as housekeeping refresh the bed linen. Only the strong remain, evidenced by the likes of Hélène Darroze at The Connaught, Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester and Marcus Wareing at The Berkeley. It’s no coincidence that these mainstays all bear the name of well- established chefs, so when a modestly monikered Chinese restaurant makes it to its tenth anniversary, it must be doing something right.

Min Jiang – named after a river in the Sichuan province that flows into the East China Sea – might just have the best view of any restaurant in London. Set on the tenth floor of west London’s Royal Garden Hotel overlooking Kensington Gardens and out towards the City and its jagged-tooth landmarks, other restaurants may be higher, but teetering around treetop level of the neighbouring park, everything just seems that little bit more real. Graspable, almost. The dining room is well arranged to appreciate the view. A floor-to-ceiling window runs the full width of the space and there isn’t a dud seat in the house. Savvy diners book a sitting just before sundown to fully appreciate it.

The speciality of the house is 48-hour wood-fired Beijing duck served three ways (order in advance). First, the mahogany-brown crisp skin from the neck of the duck is served dipped in fine granulated sugar. It’s followed by the succulent flesh in familiar pancakes with chopped leek and sweet hoisin sauce, before diners can choose if they take the final dish minced in a lettuce wrap, or served as duck fried noodles or rice. None disappoint, though our pick is the noodles, every time.

In celebration of its tenth year, Min Jiang is running a menu featuring a greatest hits of the ten most-loved dishes for £60. The duck is included (obviously), as well as crispy fried squid, dim sum, steamed xiao long bao with blue swimmer crab meat, tofu with morel mushrooms in black bean sauce, string beans with minced chicken, diced rib-eye of beef with black pepper sauce, stir fried baby pak choi and a fresh fruit platter. As tasting menus go, you’d be hard pushed to find better value. The view is just an added bonus.