Ping Pong Dim Sum - East London

We've made a groundless brunch here. They had no special vegan menu so they made a combination of their vegan basket along with a few extra bits and boobs to create a menu for me. The food was good and I enjoyed it! However, the service was not consistent. I wasn't happy with most staff there. They gave no good service and sometimes they gave a hostile mood. Although there was one or two employees that were very accommodating this day. Regarding the groundless brunch, the majority of the party does not appreciate the jugs of the cocktail. It seemed rather diluted down, and we later found out that this seems to be a common comment from other people who have been here. Friends who have been to the other Ping Pong branches have said that this is not what it is at the other branches and that the staff is very friendly and the cocktails taste like real cocktails.

Went here on Saturday. Food was alright, but my partner and I now have food poisoning. The food came out worryingly fast so I'm not sure how freshly prepared they are? Also 3 serves per dish seems like a really silly portion? People commonly come in pairs or fours. Staff were friendly and well informed, but I don't think it makes up for the fact that I am now spending my Saturday night feeling awful.

Quick glance: large venue, short wait time interesting cocktails on offer portion size is very small I have been here twice for lunch as I work nearby. The first time I went as a couple and thought the food was decent (being Chinese myself I have a high expectation of what dim sum should look and taste like! However, the second time I returned a few months later (January 2012 as a group of three and thought both quantity and quality have deteriorated. The dim sum was soggy (for example, har gau skin was limp, not bouncy like they should be and all the dim sum seemed to have shrunk in size. Most of the dishes came in groups of three, but one dish only came with two and plated as though someone had taken the third one away from the plate. The venue is big so wait time, even on a workday lunch, is short especially if you don't mind sharing a large table with other patrons. And I think Ping Pong first and foremost is a bar so they have an interesting selection of cocktails on offer (although I must admit I haven't had a chance to try . Overall, if you are desperate for dim sum near St Paul's there isn't a whole lot of other options, but there are definitely better tasting dim sum in London.

I love Ping Pong! And this branch is no exception. A huge place with nice seating areas, this would be great for large groups. It was empty on Monday at 6pm and the service was a little slow but staff were friendly. Anyone who hasn't been before it is a dim sum restaurant with super tasty cocktails. Once seated you are given a menu, pencil and checklist of everything on the menu where you then mark how many of each thing you want. There are different sections on the menu steamed, soup, baked, fried and rice dishes so there is TONNES to choose from. The recommendation is about 3 4 items each but each of these has 3 4 dim sum on each plate. We went all out at 8 to share and there was just TOO much food. Next time I would get less of the steamed dishes as too many became a bit of a stodge fest! My absolute favourites are the roast pork puffs, potato and edamame cake and char sui buns. At the moment they also have a Yuzu matcha finger cake which was so pretty and packed full of fresh flavours.

Not really for me. The location (City), the crowd (City) and decor (slick urban chain trying to appeal to 30ish business lunchers and date nighters) and the food was only ok. We came in a fairly large group so tried A LOT, and I too found the dumpling wraps to be slick and gummy (liked they'd been cooked awhile and ago and been sitting in a steam basket to keep warm most of the day). The fillings weren't too great either. I'm not a chain snob (I have a lot of good things to say about Pizza Express, for example) and I'm willing to admit when a chain gets it right. I will say the service we got was great we came as a work group so spent way too much time figuring out what everyone wanted and how to order accordingly, and then how to pay. Our server didn't give so much as an eye roll or indignant hand on the hip, which was appreciated. Also, one in our group had some sort of frequent diners card which got him a free drink off our order and some discount as well. Ask about it if you're that keen on this place.