When I was asked to review Chi Kitchen Restaurant, Birmingham for the first time, hubby and I thought we were onto a winner. When I was invited to go and taste their afternoon tea menu on a second visit, we were really happy to oblige!!
Hubby had also recently recommended the dining experience to a work colleague who took his whole family and was really impressed.
For those of you who did not read my previous review, Chi Kitchen was previously only found in London and has expanded up North, much to our delight. The food is a mixture of Thai, Chinese, Malaysian, Korean, Japanese and Vietnamese tastes so is really varied. In short it is my idea of heaven on a plate.
The afternoon tea menu brings a whole new experience to delicious dining in the afternoon. It is definitely not your standard scones and a cuppa!
As recent parents of 2, (little Piglet was 3 weeks old) hubby and I headed into Brum for the review without the gremlin, this time. She was in nursery. I did manage a good dining experience but our little newborn was a little piggy and I was definitely multitasking with the breastfeeding.
We arrived and were greeted by extremely friendly staff, including the manager, who remembered us. This is something that always impresses me, so this was a great start.
We were given two menu options; one included a glass of Prosecco (£19.95) and one included a cup of tea (£16.95). I was soooo tempted by the alcoholic option but knew I would invariably have to breastfeed Piglet so we chose the sober version.
I love the prawn crackers and sweet chilli dip and always scoff more than my fair share. We munched on these whilst waiting to begin.
To start we chose Jasmine flower tea. I’ll be honest I wasn’t sure about this when I saw the beautiful tea pot. There was a full flower inside the pot and looked fab. Photo doesn’t do it justice! However, I was converted. There wasn’t a strong taste but a lovely oriental, flowery taste that was really refreshing. It also didn’t fill me up too much which was perfect before we ate. We asked for a refill.
The food was then brought over. I was really wowed as it was set up like a traditional afternoon tea. Three layered plates with mini starters, little mains and small puddings. I had expected not a lot to eat but this looked like it would be enough!
To start off we had prawn dumplings, prawn and chive dumplings, chicken and prawn siu mai dumplings and chicken and chinese mushroom fried wontons.
These were all delicious. I particularly liked the prawn ones; well cooked and went so well with the sweet chilli dip provided. They were also just enough to give you a variety of tastes but not too much.
The second layer consisted of a Malaysian curry puff; which was amazing. There is only one way I can describe this and this is like a curry pasty; fabulous. So tasty. It felt really like a mini “hearty meal”; satisfying but not too filling.
Next on the menu was a chicken bun. I wasn’t too sure about this as the “bun” part tasted quite sweet, so the savoury chicken centre was quite a contrast. However, my hubby thought it was amazing.
We then had chicken satay and a vegetable spring roll. Both of these are on my favourites list when out having Chinese or Thai food and I was not disappointed. The Satay sauce was delicious and full of flavour.
If we weren’t getting full enough we then moved onto desserts.
We had three mini pudds. I actually only fully ate one as was getting stuffed but typically hubby managed it all. My favourite was a green tea mini cheesecake which sounds odd but was lovely. Really light and just hit the spot.
There was a pandan panna cotta which I though was lovely. It had a crisp sugary topping and a sweet soft centre.
Finally there was a banana muffin. This was probably my least favourite as it did not taste very bananary. I am too used to my Mum’s banana loaf! Again my hubby disagreed and ate the whole thing. Surprised he didn’t eat mine too.
Once again we had a lovely dining experience and thoroughly enjoyed all the food and drink offered. The service is attentive and timely and the food is just delicious.
My hubby has found a new way of dining; a meal between meals.
Definitely head over for an Asian afternoon tea!
We were offered the review at Chi Kitchen free of charge. All thoughts and opinions are our own.
This all look too good to eat. Shame I don’t have one local to me in Norfolk. #Twinklytuesday
I’ve never been huge on tea but this looks beautiful! #TwinklyTuesday