Dining on Dim Sum in London

Ping Pong on London’s Southbank Offers a Modern Take on Yum Cha

Jul 15, 2008

Ping Pong restaurants hold dear their Chinese roots and are proving to be a culinary hit with Londoners, where Dim Sum is enjoying something of a gastronomic revival.

Situated next to the Royal Festival Hall on the south bank of the River Thames and en route to Waterloo station, Ping Pong is an ever popular modern Dim Sum restaurant based on the Chinese tea house tradition.

History of Chinese Tea Houses

Tea houses were popular with silk merchants passing through the Silk Road all those hundreds of years ago. They would stop for a short rest, to relax and drink tea with fellow merchants; this was known as Yum Cha. Small bitesized morsels of steamed, baked or fried food were served in little baskets along with the tea; these tiny parcels were called Dim Sum, meaning ‘heart’s delight’ or ‘touch the heart’ in Cantonese. During the meal diners order as much as they like, or rather, to their heart’s content.

Nowadays, as well as the traditional tea, alcoholic beverages are available at many Dim Sum houses. Ping Pong look at it as their way of bringing the tea house into the 21st century, and diners seem to be more than happy with the decision.

Continuing the tea house theme, where all food was cheap and therefore accessible to anyone passing through, everything on the menu is very reasonably priced, with most Dim Sum prices around £2.99 - £3.99. Each serving contains three portions making Ping Pong the ideal restaurant for those keen to savour a variety of dishes.

Those with bottomless stomachs should save their visit for the weekend when Ping Pong offers an all-you-can-eat Lazy Sumdays menu, available on Sundays only for £17.30 per person. Although speciality dishes are excluded, there’s still plenty to choose from.

Service at Ping Pong, Southbank

Food is served quickly; however, it’s nothing like a fast food outlet. The food is hand-made onsite by people with years of experience in their production, making it almost an art form. At Ping Pong, Southbank the chefs make up to 30,000 Dim Sum every day. Faced with the tempting parcels it’s sometimes a sin to eat them; all that work gone in a few mouthfuls. But it’s always worth it.

Dim Sum Dining

Traditionally, dim sum or yum cha is a breakfast or lunch meal – it is rare to find a Dim Sum restaurant open after midday in many parts of Asia – but in London eating Dim Sum has become an all day affair.

In appreciation for tradition, as with the tea houses of old, Ping Pong does not accept bookings; diners merely queue up and wait their turn.

Ping Pong, Southbank gets extremely busy at weekends, especially Friday and Saturday nights, so visit during the day to avoid disappointment.

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