1. Maxim's
Ealing, London
This is the quintessential suburban Chinese extravaganza, which has become something of an Ealing institution now that it has been around for 30-odd years. The menu is a bit eclectic and slightly hit-and-miss, but the Peking section is excellent. And their beef stir-fried with ginger and spring onion is still one of the best in London.
2. Royal China
Queensway, London
Royal China are steadily expanding, but this branch is still the one I choose to come to, as do a lot of people judging by the queues especially at weekends. For me, these guys set the agenda for quality dim sum in London, providing an interesting and varied selection of items that are now widely imitated across town. My only gripe is that ever since they extended the restaurant in the late Nineties, things aren't as exquisite as before. Also, I miss the inimitable Ricky Au, who was always there to greet the regulars, but has gone off to conquer Shanghai and Singapore.
3. Dynasty
Thomas Street, Bristol
A favourite meeting place of the Slow Food Movement, as well as local Chinese restaurant owners, Dynasty is run by a friendly bunch who try hard to encourage a younger generation to try traditional Chinese dishes. The chefs are Hong Kong trained and make excellent dim sum. The best and most authentic food is to be had from the section of the menu written in hieroglyphs, but if your Cantonese is not so hot, you can always sweet-talk the waiters into revealing what these dishes are. The Szechuan 'Hot Pot' involves cooking your own meat at the table in a fiery broth of meat stock and chillies, while fresh seabass and lobsters are simply steamed whole with ginger and spring onion. Eels with black bean sauce are another local favourite and if you fancy a lavish birthday party, the Ho family will cheerfully spend days preparing dried abalone.
4. Dragon-I
Hope Street, Glasgow
The coolest thing to happen to Chinese cuisine north of the border, Dragon-i is all minimal lines, fusion cooking and inventive cocktails. Fusion does not mean East/West, however, but East/East. Hence the most popular dish, chicken with sautéed apple and pineapple in a lemongrass and chili sauce. There's an irreverence to both drinks and menu, too. Cantonese speakers laugh their socks o f at names like 'Haumai' (home-made) applied to a mixture of gin, dry martini, lemongrass, ginger and tonic - then down it with delicious abandon. Newcomers sometimes complain that the lighting is ridiculously dim, but that's all part of the seduction technique. A top spot for both food and service.
5. Yauatcha
West End, London
I didn't want to mention one of my own restaurants, but the Observer Food Monthly team insisted: apparently the editor loves going for tea upstairs while the others often drop by for dim sum. I was going to mention my other favourites in the capital: Four Seasons which has a deserved reputation for its chef's ways with duck (84 Queensway, W2, 020 7229 4320); Singapore Garden which serves some of the best Malaysian and Singaporean food in London (83A Fairfax Road, NW6, 020 7222 1234); and Hunan which serves a tasting menu of dishes from Hunan, a province where the food shares the spicy signature of its better known neighbour, Szechuan (51 Pimlico Road, SW1, 020 7730 5712).
Bai Ling, actress: why I love Yauatcha
At the age of 14 I joined the Chinese People's Liberation Army. I served in Tibet for three years. That taught me to cook rice for many people. Now, I never cook, I go out to eat. Whenever I am in a city I always head for Chinatown. That familiarity makes me feel I'm not alone. At Yauatcha in London I love the dumplings. My grandmother taught me to make dumplings. It's a real art form. You seal the dumplings with your hands. It's very physical, you transfer your energy into the food.
Maxim's, 153-155 Northfield Avenue, London, W1, 020 8567 1719
Royal China, Queensway, London W2, 020 7221 2535
Dynasty, 16a St Thomas Street, Redcliffe, Bristol, 0117 925 0888
Dragon-i, 311-313 Hope Street, Glasgow, 0141 332 7728
Yauatcha, 15-17 Broadwick Street, London W1, 020 7494 8888
