CHI KITCHEN, OXFORD STREET

Tucked away at the back of Debenhams on Oxford Street, there is a little gem called Chi Kitchen. It almost seemed impossible to have a restaurant at the back of the beauty counters, but there it was. Standing in it all its glory and quality, ready to seat me and my friend for an evening dinner. 

I was kindly invited along to review the pan asian restaurant, Chi Kitchen recently and it ticked all of the boxes I have in my head when it comes to reviewing restaurants.

Firstly, the manager was the person who greeted us at the door and sat us at a table. Not just any old table either. One right by the window and away from public diners. This was noted by my friend and I straight away as it's the little things that impress!

Our table booking was for 6pm, so it was still relatively quiet. The decor is lovely, fresh and cosy. We both said how you completely forget you're in the heart of the capital!

Chi Kitchen

Ground Floor Debenhams, 334-348 Oxford Street, London W1C 1JG

We was handed drink menus straight away and both ordered some water and a cocktail each. When you work in London, after work drinks become a very regular occurrence!

We was then treated to the general tasting menu with a Christmas twist. Turkey was introduced into the menu that we had, which was very interesting to say the least. It consisted of 8 dishes, including dessert and would be £28.00 per person. 

So, where did we begin?

The 3 starter dishes arrived first. Deep fried chilli prawns with curry leaves, garlic, onions, spring onions, walnuts and a chilli lime sauce.  They were absolutely divine and have definitely made me want to try prawns more often. They had a slight kick to them, but nothing too over powering.

Next, was the minced turkey sliders or really the mini turkey burgers. These were ADORABLE. Look how small they are! These were garnished with pepper and a creamy mayonnaise-like sauce on top. Really nice and satisfying for something so small.

Added as an extra was some sweet potato fries, with a mixed berry mayonnaise. Now, I must say that usually sweet potato fries are something I avoid in restaurants as they can be quite sickly tasting. However, these were really nice and soft inside with no grease. The berry mayonnaise was also something we were both hesitant to try, but it was GORGEOUS. It does sound so wrong doesn't it? However, trust me. 

So far, we was very impressed with our starter dishes and was very excited to get cracking with the main dishes. 

For mains, we was presented with grilled turkey insal in a kalamansi sauce, grilled prawns with a choo chee sauce, baked salmon with Japanese yuzu mayo sauce and finally, egg fried rice with snow peas to accompany everything. 

The turkey was incredibly tender; easy to cut and easy to chew. Glazed in a sticky bbq-like sauce (kalamansi), this was definitely the highlight dish for me.

I don't eat salmon, so my friend had this and loved it. Glazed in a Japanese mayo sauce, with pomegranate seeds and salad leaves; she commented on how nice the salmon was cooked due to it being baked. 

Finally, the prawns were delicious! They were quite big ones which meant it was a bit of a job removing the meat from the outer shell, but the taste of the meat made it worth the work. With added lemon drops on top, I would definitely recommend these prawns as a dish you must try. 

After feeling rather stuffed, we was then offered dessert from the menu. There was only one option from this particular menu, but it was definitely something I would have ordered if given a choice of a few. 

A warm chocolate brownie with walnuts, clotted cream and a blood orange and star anise custard was presented to us. We poured the custard, letting it settle around the brownie in a puddle of goodness. It was certainly a very naughty treat and I hate to think how many calories was consumed, but boy was it worth it!

I feel like I could be a professional brownie and cheesecake reviewer. Is there such a job available?! One can only dream! This was definitely up there for taste and presentation, so I am going to award it 5 gold stars.

Overall, we had an amazing experience dining at Chi Kitchen. It was so nice to escape the hustle and bustle of rush hour and crazy Oxford Street shoppers, and relax with good food, good drinks and good company. 

Chi Kitchen has restaurants in London and Birmingham.

Disclaimer: A complimentary meal was provided in exchange for an honest review.