GRAND IMPERIAL LONDON SERVES UP AN INVENTIVE CHINESE MENU IN ENGLAND

GRAND IMPERIAL LONDON SERVES UP AN INVENTIVE CHINESE MENU IN ENGLAND

If it wasn’t for the scarved and coated pedestrians bustling in the greyish-blue evening light beyond the windows, it would be easy to imagine this was one of Grand Imperial’s heralded restaurants in the Klang Valley. This, however, is the Thames Valley. Some 10,540km away from home, Grand Imperial London is the restaurant group’s first, and so far only, international outpost. Removed from familiar territory and taste buds, does this Malaysian culinary foray in Old Blighty live up to its aspirant name?

“The market for Chinese food in London may smaller than in Kuala Lumpur or Singapore, but at the highest level, it is as competitive, if not more,” says Chef Loh Jun Fatt, transplanted from Grand Imperial Bangsar Shopping Complex in KL to London to helm a rejuvenation of the latter’s menu. “The level of quality in Chinese fine dining in London is really high! And because Londoners are so well exposed to the world, diners are discerning.”