Anyone who has been on the tube recently cannot have failed to notice the numerous “Ping Pong” posters alongside the escalators. On a hungry journey home one evening, I for one was persuaded by the adverts  to visit this new London joint .

There are several Ping Pongs throughout the City – we visited the restaurant located at Spitalfields, which is ideally placed for continuing on afterwards for a night out in Shoreditch. Upon arrival Ping Pong feels like an intimate cocktail bar with dark lighting and furnishings. However all of the tables are situated rather close together and with the quick but overly attentive service this isn’t an ideal location for any romantic evenings for two but does work well for a casual gathering.

Ping Pong offers the full range of Dim Sum, which is essentially “Chinese Tapas” with small portions consisting of a variety of dumplings, steamed and fried dishes. The method of ordering these was a first for me, as we were presented with a tick sheet and pencil and told to mark on the sheet what we wanted and could continue to tick throughout the evening if required. We were over-enthusiastic with our ticking and marked at least 10 dishes for a start, which consisted of 3-4 dumplings each. Generally Ping Pong advises 7 dishes between 2 but we managed to finish these, as well as ordering a couple more later!

We ordered a mixture of steamed and fried dishes all of which were well-presented and flavoursome. We particularly enjoyed the steamed dumplings, which were moreish, fresh, little delicacies stuffed with a variety of flavours, such as prawn and spinach with a garlic and ginger sauce. The fried pieces, such as the chilli squid cake, were of a good quality but not as special (nor as healthy) as the steamed parcels.

Ping Pong has added a bit of glamour to their dining experience by offering classy cocktails to compliment their dishes. We sampled the lemon and basil martini and balsamic bellini, which really got our tastebuds tingling and were a refreshing accompaniment to a surprisingly filling meal. Due to our under estimation of just how filling finger foods can be, we opted for the Ping Pong special dessert martinis instead of the more filling puddings (although I may return to sample the chocolate and chilli mousse). My cherry and chocolate martini was a concoction of rich liqueurs and cream and a deliciously sweet way to round off a satisfying meal.