for the love of dim sum - ping pong

I'd like to share a little secret with you, I love dim sum, like, really love it.  When I lived in London, I worked 5 minutes from China Town, and was never far from a Ping Pong restaurant.  
Moving back to Carlisle was always going to be a culture shock, we're usually a year or two behind the latest trends (sorry any Cumbrian readers...but you know I'm right!) so dim sum? Unheard of!
Although I try to visit London fairly regularly, this year hasn't been so easy, so I'm sad to say I've gone at least 18 months without my dim sum fix.  I. know! It's been pretty unbearable.  Yes, this may be slightly dramatic but I don't like things to get in the way of my food.
However, last week I was heading down to London town, and two days before departure an email arrived in my inbox asking me if I'd like to review Ping Pong's latest autumn menu.  I kid you not!  I had to stop myself squealing at my desk with excitement (I was in the office, it could have been embarrassing!).  Not only was I being offered the chance to review food (always a winner right?) it was at one of my favourite haunts...queue a very excited email response, and a cheeky text to the boy to tell him my good news.
So on Thursday of last week off we ventured.  We chose to go to the Soho Ping Pong, which was the one we used to visit the most.  And it was heaving, thank goodness we'd booked.
We decided to order a selection of the new autumn dishes, developed apparently to 'spread warmth and seasonal flavours', and that they did, with dishes like lobster dumpling and honey-soy chicken wings on the menu, what's not to get excited about...!

On top of a few seasonal dishes, we had to pick my old faves, Char Sui buns are my most favourite food ever, so we ordered two (of course), because one is never enough.  I genuinely deem these little balls of cotton wool my choice of 'death row last meal'...does anyone else ever play that game?

I honestly can't put into words how good the food was, I know dim sum probably isn't to everyone's taste, and not being so canny with a camera...they aren't the easiest things to photo, but don't be put off.  Dishes and dishes of chinese-y deliciousness is the only way to describe this meal.  I was in a very happy place.
So what did we order? It's probably easier to tell you what we didn't, ha, only jokes, here you go:Lobster DumplingHoney soy chicken wingsPotato and Edamame CakesPrawn Toast with Sesame SeedsKing Prawn and Scallop Sticky RiceChar Sui Bun x 2Chicken and Cashew Nut Dumplingand the Apple and Cinnamon Parcels

I'd like to tell you our eyes were bigger than our bellies, but they weren't, we ate every last morsel, and contemplated a third round of Char Sui Buns.
Everyone was amazing.
The only criticism I have (and it's not really criticism, but a matter of personal taste) and that is that I'm not a huge cinnamon fan, we ordered those for the boy really, but I think it's fair to say that his comment of..
'They're like a McDonalds apple pie, but f*cking mint' 
is pretty much the perfect way to end this post.

Thank you Ping Pong for an amazing meal, I just wish I could say, I'll be back soon!
P.S. The boy usually is a little more eloquent than that, but no other comment really could have done justice to such yumminess!