The unique combination of Chinese dim sum and European patisserie sets Yauatcha apart from other dim sum restaurants in London. The patisserie has achieved global critical acclaim, with many people attending the restaurant solely to try the selection of petits gateaux and macarons on offer.
The pastry kitchen staff spend hours developing and perfecting each separate dessert, experimenting with flavours and ensuring that each matches up and eliminates the intricate spices of Chinese cuisine.
Although the desserts in the restaurant are classically European, authentic Chinese ingredients are regularly utilised. Tea is often used, linking together the dessert section with the restaurant’s iconic and vast tea selection. The use of savoury ingredients within the petit gateaux, the macarons and the chocolates is also a common occurrence.
The desserts are influenced by the seasons, and the menu changes three to four times a year (not allowing for special events). The springtime flavours of lavender honey and Japanese citrus will soon make way for summer with blood orange, coconut and passion fruit.
How macarons are made at Yauatcha
The macaron making process is intensive and notoriously tricky to perfect. There are numerous steps to complete before the final product is created.
In the restaurant, macarons are made using the Italian method of adding sugar, heated to a soft boil, to egg whites while they are being whipped (as opposed to the French method of folding the dry ingredients into a meringue).
The macarons are filled and decorated by hand to ensure absolute perfection, before they are sent over to the restaurant to sit in the showcase.
Historically, each macaron in the restaurant was piped by hand, meaning that production was slower and the macarons a little less precise. Recently, the addition of a macaron machine has made the lives of the dedicated Yauatcha pastry chefs a little easier; now, instead of hand piping hundreds of macarons a day, they can concentrate on both filling and decorating each by hand to ensure absolute perfection and coming up with and perfecting innovative and exciting flavours that are unique and special to the restaurant.
