I had heard whispers through the grapevine of a secret Chinese restaurant in South Kensington for a few years now and recently, I confirmed its existence. There’s no information online….in English. It turns out that there’s been a bit of chatter online in Chinese and it was my food-loving Chinese colleague who found it and it’s thanks to him that we had a chance to eat there. He had managed to gather 16 of us to try it one night. Its name is Guyuan, which translates to ‘old garden’ or ‘old paradise’.
As for location, I’ll only say that it’s not far from South Kensington tube station! The secret restaurant is run by a restaurateur whose restaurants serve very different cuisines and this is clearly a labour of love to him. There’s only one room that holds a massive round table with a massive lazy susan in the middle. It’s beautifully decorated and reminded us of the private dining rooms we were privileged to try in Beijing. It was difficult to believe that we were still in London!
The meal was a proper feast, with 8 cold starters, 11 hot dishes and fruit afterwards! The food mostly hailed from the south-east of China with many Shanghainese specialities and while I certainly wasn’t familiar with most of the dishes we had, all were delicious. The following were the highlights of the meal for me.
Braised kaofu with cloud ear fungus, lily flowers and peanuts (cold)
Bean curd sheet salad (cold)
Fried quail with chestnuts (with a little zing from the addition of Sichuan peppercorns)
West Lake fish (lots of vinegar and ginger!)
‘Chicken leg mushrooms’ in oyster sauce
Scallops and asparagus in XO sauce
Pork and cabbage dumplings
If you’re interested, you can find their phone number at the bottom of this page. You’ll need a minimum of 10 people and will need to book at least two weeks in advance – they’re very popular. We left the menu up to them (after specifying a cost for food per head (£30pp)) though you can request your favourite dishes. I suspect it’s easiest to book if you have a Chinese speaker to help with booking; otherwise, good luck!
All the dishes we had that night can be seen in this Flickr photoset.
Tue, 3 Sep, 2013 at 12:52
Reblogged this on FOREST HALL FOOD.
Tue, 3 Sep, 2013 at 13:12
WAH. Good one sulin. Thanks for sharing the secret. ANDDDD I can speak chinese, hurrah!
Tue, 10 Sep, 2013 at 11:12
Then you’ll be fine! Good luck!
Tue, 3 Sep, 2013 at 13:17
Wow! I need to find 10 adventurous friends and a Chinese speaker!
Tue, 10 Sep, 2013 at 11:17
Or just try your luck with English. Good luck!
Tue, 3 Sep, 2013 at 15:33
omg how did I not know about this when I was in London! and I was right in South Kensington lamenting the lack of food (okay, not really a lack) – and that beancurd sheet salad is one of my favourite things ever. I can eat alot of it.
Tue, 10 Sep, 2013 at 11:19
Well…it can get a bit dull around South Kensington if you’re based there!
Tue, 3 Sep, 2013 at 16:39
Great tip! I will have to make this happen. x
Tue, 10 Sep, 2013 at 11:19
Good luck!
Wed, 4 Sep, 2013 at 05:41
Thanks guys for the mouthwatering photos…this place has to be close to the top of the list for my forthcoming visit to London!
Tue, 10 Sep, 2013 at 11:29
I hope you enjoy it!
Wed, 4 Sep, 2013 at 09:31
Well done, Su Lin. What a discovery. Sounds like the private dining rooms that can be found in Hong Kong as well. Must try.
Tue, 10 Sep, 2013 at 11:29
Yes, it’s just like those! Very Chinese!
Fri, 6 Sep, 2013 at 11:46
Ah so this is the secret Chinese restaurant you were talking about that night! The Flickr photoset looks fantastic! I didn’t know Chinese restaurants did secret supper clubs, but the closet place I can think of would be Hunan in Chelsea: http://theskinnybib.com/2012/05/09/hunan-chinese-chelsea-london/ I haven’t been but I’d like to go at some point, but it looks like you’ve already heard of it from your Taiwan Village review?
Tue, 10 Sep, 2013 at 11:34
That’s the one! I’d heard of Hunan but haven’t been as I’ve heard it’s quite expensive. But I really should suck it up and try it one day!
Fri, 6 Sep, 2013 at 13:26
Reblogged this on MAXIMUSOPTIMUSDOMINUS and commented:
Chinese secret…
Thu, 16 Jan, 2014 at 12:25
Hi Su Lin,
Love your posts!
What’s Guyuan phone number for reservation?
Thanks
Ali
Fri, 17 Jan, 2014 at 17:31
Thank you! I have emailed the number to you!
Wed, 12 Feb, 2014 at 23:40
Hello Su Lin – amazing post! Any chance you could send through 古院(is it??)’s telephone for reservations?
Thu, 13 Feb, 2014 at 20:11
Very happy to email it to you! Can you drop me an email please?
Thu, 27 Feb, 2014 at 21:39
Hi Su, can you please have the number for the restaurant? Thanks
Sat, 1 Mar, 2014 at 11:19
Hello can I please have the telephone number for the restaurant please?
Sun, 2 Mar, 2014 at 22:14
Hi Luyet/Athena! Sorry for the delay – I’m sending you an email now!
Mon, 11 Apr, 2016 at 16:10
Hi Su-Lin,
can you please also send the number of the restaurant Guyuan to me? Many thanks!!
Wed, 19 Mar, 2014 at 21:46
Can you please give me the telephone number of Guyuan. Many thanks.
Mon, 26 May, 2014 at 22:14
Hi could I pls have the restaurant…. The blog link no longer works.
Mon, 7 Sep, 2015 at 12:08
hi there could you please send me a phone number or email for the restaurant please? thanks!
Wed, 21 Oct, 2015 at 13:41
hey Ali
this looks amazing
what do we need to do to book a table?
is there a phone number you know or someone who has a contact?
thanks!
Sat, 28 Nov, 2015 at 22:05
Hi I am very interested in trying this place. Can you give me a phone number please?? Many thanks
Sat, 28 Nov, 2015 at 22:06
Hi I am very Interested in trying this restaurant. Can you send me their number please? Many thanks
Sun, 29 Nov, 2015 at 15:49
Hi I am very interested in trying this out. Can you kindly share their contact number please? Many thanks.
Fri, 28 Jun, 2019 at 11:59
WOULD LOVE TO TRY THIS FOOD PLACE
CAN U SEND ME THE CONTACT DETAILS SO WE CAN COME & ENJOY UR CUISINE
THANKS
DR R SHROFF