Tea Room at Bun House, Soho – A Hong Kong Brunch
Tea Room at Bun House, Soho – A Hong Kong Brunch
Tea Room at Bun House restaurant review
Today, our culinary adventures take us to the Tea Room at Bun House, where we try (and ultimately fall in love with) a rather gorgeous brunch.
The Tea Room is a newly opened basement bar and restaurant, located underneath the Bun House restaurant in Soho. We’re here today to try out their Hong Kong styled brunch, and learn more about what makes this one of the best places to brunch at in Soho.
READ MORE:
The Ultimate List – 39 of the Best Things to Eat In London
Both the Tea Room and Bun House are run by the same husband and wife team, and both offer truly authentic Cantonese food.
The ground floor Bun House occupies a tiny corner plot in the heart of Soho. Inside is full of steam, wide-rim wooden baskets and plump, delicious Bao.
We deftly avoid the cornucopia of bodies packed inside the Bun House, and head straight to the basement Tea Room.
READ MORE:
From Kings Cross with Love – A Weekend Brunch at Plum & Spilt Milk
A 1960’s styled Hong Kong speakeasy
We follow the signs down to the Tea Room at Bun House, behind a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it door, and at the bottom of a twisted iron staircase. Underneath the bustle of the Bun House, the atmosphere at Tea Room is decidedly different.
Styled around the speakeasies of 1960’s Hong Kong, Tea Room has its own specific flavour. From our red-velvet upholstered booths we admire the space, sparsely lit with vivid green neon, with its own secret, shadowed corners and crevices. There suggestive undercurrent suits the Soho of old, and we love it.
Once seated, we’re handed drinks menus printed on newspapers, and a dim-sum styled sheet menu to pencil off our choices.
READ MORE:
Aqua Kyoto review: exploring a luxurious Japanese brunch
This is where it gets difficult and, equally, incredibly interesting. This is because, the focus and USP of the Tea Room in Soho, is authenticity. Our brunch today is no ordinary pan-Chinese experience. Most – probably all – of the menu will be new to the average London Joe. It is to me anyway.
With the help of the lovely staff however, we cobble together an understanding of what each dish is, and order.
Brunch at the Tea Room
The first thing to come is the pumpkin congee – a big, hearty bowlful of it, topped with a just-boiled egg. The first spoon is decadent, homely, and immensely satisfying. The velvety yolk spills into the congee and mixes wonderfully with the pumpkin, which in turn holds up beautifully the fragrant, minced beef. Yum.
Then we have the mysteriously names ‘pig’ noodles, which in fact don’t contain any meat at all. Instead, there are ribbons of incredibly thick noodle wound into very tight coils, and mixed with caramelised aubergine that is cooked so well that it could be meat. Perched on top of this gorgeousness is another just-set egg, whose thick, gloomy yolk oozes wonderfully forth. Get inside me.
As if we hadn’t eaten enough of them for one brunch, we also try the Tea Room at Bun House signature dish. The Brûlée Tea Egg.
These beauts feature gently steamed eggs, whose yolks are sealed with the thinnest, most gossamer layer of sugar. A quick blowtorch sets the barrier, which is broken by the gentlest tap of a spoon.
Next up is the French Toast. Here, the spongy bread is soaked in an eggy mixture, and sealed shut with a good amount of peanut butter.
They say there’s also cheese is it – I can’t detect it precisely, but there is a beautiful ultra-savouriness to this dish that could be down to a cheese element. Who knows, its basically magic.
How much do we love the brunch at Tea Room?
Erm, like a lot. A lot, a lot. Just look at it! In fact no. Do one better and go in. Because its a really, really good one!
Is the food at Tea Room at Bun House Halal?
Bun House don’t serve any halal chicken or meat. But they do have a couple of halal fish and vegetarian options if you’d like to visit.
The Details
Tea Room at Bun House, Soho, London
Address – 24 Greek St, Soho, London W1D 4DZ
Website – Tea Room at Bun House, Soho
Phone – 020 8017 9888
Nearest Tube – Leicester Square
Disclaimer – the halal food status note for the restaurant is true at the time of writing. Please phone or email the restaurant before you make a booking to double check the halal food status and anything around cross contamination.
We dined as guests of the restaurant
