I’ve found a new Chinese supper club in London and you need to get a ticket to the next one!
It’s been a very long time since I’ve attended a supper club, which is almost criminal seeing as there are so many amazing supper clubs going on all over London serving incredible food! But on Friday I changed all that and went to Ling Ling’s supper club in collaboration with The Pickle House. And let me tell you, Jenny provides an incredibly delicious Chinese feast!
Ling Ling’s supper club is modelled on the street cafes in China where food is shared, talked about and enjoyed leisurely. The menu is filled with traditional and re-invented dishes that are created from recipes that have been handed down from other family members or from recipes that Jenny has collected from her travels all over Southeast Asia.
Jenny has been running her supper club for about a year now, but she spent a lot of time before this refining the recipes and holding dinners at home. And boy has she nailed it.
The Food and Drink
Let’s start with the drinks. It’s not the first time I’ve been to a popup with The Pickle House, so I knew the drinks would be great! Start the evening with a Kimchi Bloody Mary – with homemade kimchi, Original Pickle Juice, tomato juice, Our London Vodka, lime, sesame oil and Sriracha. It’s definitely got a kick and it is damn good!
Like I said, you will be able to delve into an absolute feast! There are 8 courses of food that arrive to the table to be shared among the hungry diners.
The starters arrive all together, their flavours working together seamlessly. There are toban dijan beansprouts, Sichuan cucumbers and radishes in chilli oil. It might sound simple but the flavours are so complementing of each other. The beansprouts have been pickled with hot toban djian garlicky sauce and these tangy, fiery little things work so well with the creamy tahini Sichuan chilli oil paste the cucumbers are smothered in. Add the crunch of the salted radishes and you have a party in your mouth!
The first of the mains to arrive were the incredibly fragrant poached pork and prawns wontons, topped with homemade chilli oil, and chives. I think this was the dish of the night for me. The wontons were so light and fresh and there was some kind of nut oil (I think walnut!?) with the chilli oil and it was just so moreish. I actually contemplated drinking the juices in the bowl at the end… I didn’t, I promise.
Dad’s crispy duck salad was the next dish to arrive. The duck is served with pickled red onions, soy roasted sunflowers seeds, and my favourite, Thai basil. Crispy duck is always going to go down well and the freshness of fragrant leaves were perfect for a hot Summers evening.
Then came my joint-second dish of the night… the dan dan mince bao. The pillowy steamed bao was served with stir fried pork mince, pickled red onion and kewpie mayo. This was comfort food of the highest kind! It was a hug in a bao for sure with the rich mince, warming spices and fluffy bao.
Next to arrive was Mapo tofu iceberg wedge – tofu set in a spicy doubanjiang based sauce with chilli oil, sichuan pepper and sour cream. An asian twist on a classic. This seemed to be a love/hate dish among our table! Some loved it, stating it was their favourite of the night. Others, like me, found it to give our mouth the strangest sensation (probably from the spice)! But not to worry as by this point I was so full already, I needed to save space for the remaining courses.
The Vietnamese cha ca basa marinated in turmeric and dill was nice and light but then my joint-second dish of the night arrived! The poached chicken, ginger sauce, mung bean noodles. These cold noodles were served with shredded chicken, fried pork skin crumb, ginger sauce, fried shallots, sambal. For a hot Summers night these were perfect to keep us cool. I’ve never tried cold noodles like this, not sure why but I’ve never been bothered to give them a go. But they were so refreshing! Definitely won’t be put off ordering them in future.
Last, but by no means least, dessert was served! A scope of vanilla ice cream in a soft spring roll topped with miso caramel, crushed peanut brittle, coriander and drizzled with passionfruit. We all tried to roll this little beauty up and eat it tidily. FYI this is pretty much impossible unless you eat it before any ice cream melts! But very fun to try and so very delicious. I really liked the coriander in this, it somehow gave it balance and took away any over-sweetness. A great end to a great evening!
Why you should buy tickets to the next Ling Ling’s supper club
Just look at the food! For £35 you get a welcome drink and 8 courses of utterly delicious food. I tried so many new foods on Friday night and loved them all (except for the iceberg wedge). There is a great atmosphere too, with the tunes playing and everyone busy chatting away.
Jenny is an awesome cook and you can see the thought that has gone into every dish. The food not only looks beautiful, it’s tastes so good too.
What is your favourite supper club in London right now? Where do I need to try next!?
You can find out when and where Ling Ling’s will be next right here.
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That crispy duck salad looks so good! You get so much for your money here and a fun different way to eat out 🙂
It was so delicious! And such a good value menu. I tried so many new things!