Asian Cuisine - Dim T

On Thursday week before last, I went to have a meal with one of my friends. She suggested we go to Dim T which is near to where she works, but also the last time she went she had a really good experience.

A big foodie that I am, and having not having tried this restaurant before I was more than happy to go.

We went to the Branch in London Bridge. The first thing that struck me was the view, it was incredible. The restaurant overlooks Tower Bridge and the London Assembly building, you can also see the Gherkin (30 St Mary Axe), from there too and just outside the restaurant there are water sprinklers that shoot up from the ground, a great performance and much entertainment for young children. Must be beautiful at night.

We arrived around quarter to 6, and outside seating was full to the brim which was a shame because the weather was nice and warm and the view would have really made the experience more enjoyable.

It took a while for a member of staff to acknowledge our presence which wasn't the best. We were given the option as to where we wanted to sit inside so we opted for a seat near where the bar was, as upstairs wasn't open till 6:30 pm and even then they said they were booked up with reservations.

The Interior inside is really nice and detailed in terms of design. Its nice to eat out where you can tell effort has been put into the appearance of the restaurant.

Considering we were sitting right in front of the bar and most members of staff would congregate there quite often it took them a long time to ask us if we were ready to order.

Whilst waiting for our meal to come, my friend noticed that the bridge had gone up which she was really fascinated about ha! Got a little picture from where we sat for you to see :).

We both got a starter and a main with a cocktail. The menu is quite extensive but not overwhelming. For starters I ordered; 'Spicy Chicken Wings' and my friend got the handmade steamed 'Dim Sum (Spicy Prawn)'. For Mains I had the 'Firecracker' with Chicken, With Sides; 'Pak Choi With Oyster Sauce', & 'Stir-Fried Egg Noodles' and My Friend got the 'Sizzling Mandarin Beef' also with Egg Fried Noodles.

For Cocktails, I got the 'Mango & Coconut' and my Friend had the 'Lychee & Lemongrass' with water on the side.

The Cocktails came first I was really excited to try it as it sounded nice from the description. I wasn't impressed how they presented them, it came in a normal drink glass and not a cocktail glass, and it was literally Mango Juice with some rum in, I could hardly taste the lime so requested more which didn't add to the flavour anymore and there was no hint of coconut. The Lemon grass one was much better, but nothing to phone home about, the appearance of the Lemongrass one wasn't very nice, it looked a bit like cloudy tap water. The water they served us was warm and considering the weather was 25°C, I thought they would have provided us with some ice.

Next came the starters, The Dim Sum wasn't really to my taste but I've had Dim Sum before and I'd say the taste was more or less the same. It was quite pretty to look at very delicate looking and well presented, however my friend did say she thought she would get more than 3 pieces and they did look a bit lost in the steamer they came served in as if something was missing.

My Spicy Chicken wings came with a sticky bright orange sauce on which was really nice but not spicy at all. The chicken itself had a very pale appearance on the outside which wasnt that appealing, and I found the chicken very, very dry, I wouldn't get the wings again.

Typical Clumsy me I knocked the garnish off straight away! 

The restaurant got really busy really quick by quarter to 7. It took quite a while after our starters for the Main to come out, but we didn't mind as it allowed us to have a chat.

When the Main arrived, my first thoughts were that the plates hadn't been cleaned around the edges where food had been splashed while serving and some of the sauce had dried on the side. The food came warm as though it had been sitting around.

I thought the Pak Choi looked the best presented and it was lovely, I really liked the oyster sauce it came with. The noodles on appearance looked really dry and claggy but once mixed they were fine as there was soy sauce underneath on the bottom. I found my Chicken in the Firecracker to be extremely dry! Now I'm a breast eater so I can do dry but this was an exception it wasn't nice at all. The sauce it came with was lovely though and all the crunchy veg. I wish I went vegetarian that day as the chicken wasn't good at all! As you can see there was this white crunchy topping on the Firecracker a bit like bits of prawn cracker but with the texture of that white stuffing you find in packages/parcels, I don't think it added anything to the dish an unnecessary addition.

My friend was really disappointed that the beef didnt sizzle on arrival, another indication that the food didnt arrive straight as it had been served. The waiter didnt seem that bothered about it, but did give her the option of bringing it back sizzling, which she declined. It was quite tender for a beef dish and not dry, the sauce was really sweet which I wasn't keen on but my friend enjoyed it.

They took ages to get the bill, In fact I had to request that I wanted the bill, and even then many members of staff walked by before they actually took payment. As we left they gave us fortune cooked, that was a nice touch as they were really fresh tasting and well presented with a nice fortune inside which I wont tell you what mine said :). 

We spent £47.20 in total; £8.90 on starters £26.80  on the main  and £11.50 on the cocktails.

All in all my thoughts on Dim T are that the restaurant is lovely on appearance, well designed and in a fantastic location. However service wasn't great in terms of wait time and presentation of the food. I also think it was a little over priced for what you got as the flavours were very average and no where near as nice as other Asian restaurants I've been to for less in terms of cost. I'd rather go to my local Asian take away as it tastes better.
I hope you enjoyed reading this :) x