Dinner at Mango Tree in Harrods

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I have a thing for Asian food.

Chinese, Japanese, Thai… I want it all.

Granted, I’ve not been able to try the real thing (YET) – but it will happen. One day. ONE DAY I WILL EAT AUTHENTIC PAD THAI ON A BEACH.

Until then, I’m having to “make do” with what I can get in London. Which, let’s be honest, is no hardship!

So when Mango Tree got in touch and offered to send me to try the Thai-infused menu – I couldn’t say no!

I’d asked the lovely Charlie to be my date for the night. She’d just got back from a 3 month trip around Asia so it was time for a good catch up.

Plus I put her in charge of ordering everything for us. Cos the girl KNOWS.

Once the lovely hostess had settled us in our seats, we ordered wine (me) and tea (Charlie) and set to analysing the menu – accompanied by some spicy Thai crackers and sweet chilli dip.

To start, we (Charlie) ordered Shanghai pork siu long bao – steamed “soup” dumplings filled with pork. The pork is wrapped in a sort of flavoured gelatin before being folded into the soft dough and popped in a steamer. The steam melts the gelatin and you end up with a tiny shot of savoury broth in each mouthful.

Phenomenal. Definitely one of my fave dishes of the night!

We also ordered spring rolls, which were really good and not greasy at all. Crispy outside, crunchy veg on the inside, and plenty of flavour. It’s a yes from me!

Our final starter choice were the chicken dumplings in Szechuan sauce, which Charlie wanted to try for the spice factor – to see whether it matched up to what she’d tried in China..

They were really nice, and they did have a good kick to them, but obviously they couldn’t compare to the insane heat Charlie was used to!

And finally, our main:

We’d chosen to order a bunch of starters and then share a main dish – so we decided to go for the showstopper: Gaeng phed ped yang pon la mai (and yes, that was copy and pasted.)

A delicious red curry made with roasted duck, pineapple, grapes and cherry tomatoes… served in an ACTUAL pineapple!

Apart from the presentation (which was obviously awesome!), the curry itself was also a winner. Strong flavours with plenty of depth, a good kick of spice, and an underlying sweetness from the grapes and pineapple which I really really liked.

We had a side of jasmine rice to accompany it, and the whole thing was just utterly divine. I kept picking at it for ages after we’d both agreed we were full!

THE VENUE

Unfortunately that’s the only photo I have of the pineapple duck curry. The lighting was appalling, and every single shot of it was blurry and yellow and awful… these were the only salvageable photos of the bunch *embarrassed monkey emoji*

Mango Tree has a proper venue in Belgravia, but we were trying out their award-winning stand in Harrod’s food hall (hence the awful lighting!). Huddled in a corner of the food section, it’s pretty tight for space.

We were seated on comfy stools up at the bar, and the service was really great, but the overall atmosphere was just a bit cramped.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Great for a quick bite to eat with friends. The food is fantastic, a solid four our of five stars. The setting… not so much. Head to the Belgravia restaurant if you want a better atmosphere!