I bloody love sushi. It's my absolute favourite food when I go out and I am forever on the hunt for the next best Asian joint. I was invited down to try Pan Chai in Harrods to add into my 'Eating in London' series and give my two cents on and I have to admit, I was incredibly excited.
If you have ever been to Harrods and ventured into the food court, then you've probably stumbled upon Pan Chai without even realising it. It's the sushi bar nestled away in the corner of the court. At first, I wasn't sure how I'd feel about this. I quite like my restaurant to be a restaurant but as you were facing the chefs and watching all of the action at first hand, I swiftly forgot all about it.
The staff are extremely helpful and are on hand to recommend personal favourites and popular dishes on the menu. We tried a lot, a lot more than any two people would ever need - so don't feel like you need to order this much. A few dishes would be plenty.
With a delicious and luxurious Bellini in hand, we started with some Edamame - an essential for any Asian feast. They are my absolute favourite and perfectly accompanied the Omekase Platter we had along side it. This was a must try as the platter includes a mixture of sashimi and sushi all picked by the Chef that day - this way you know what you're going to get is super fresh and super tasty - and it didn't disappoint.
The next couple of dishes came at the recommendation of our waiter. The Salmon Skin Maki was unlike anything I'd ever tried before. I've not tried salmon skin in sushi before but the salmon skin was crisp against the soft rice and so delicious.
If you've been reading my blog for a while, then you'll know that I've not been a meat eater for some time. Fish, I love but meat was something I'd steered clear of for a few years. I've never been against eating it etc. but I just really didn't like it at all. I'd always said that if I ever wanted to try something again, then I would and recently I've been doing just that. We gave the Duck and Watermelon Salad, a popular favourite in the restaurant, a go and it was so delicious. It was a mixture of an incredible amount of duck, watermelon and cashew nuts with a drizzle of sauce. As someone who doesn't eat meat often, this was really tasty and I really recommend getting it if you go.
The Harrods Special Sushi Rolls came highly recommended and didn't disappoint either. Filled with fresh snow crab, avocado and spicy mayonnaise and topped with seared scallops, orange and black caviar and spring onions - this was the perfect mixture of soft and crispy textures.
I adore a buttery fish and black cod most definitely is my favourite when going to restaurants like this. We were recommended the Grilled Plum Sea Bass as it's supposedly better. I'm not sure it's better, but it was just as good. A soft buttery fillet of fish in a delicious plum and miso sauce. Fresh, tasty and so easy to eat.
Finally, when we very much thought we could burst, the last two dishes arrived. My favourite of all of the things we tried was most definitely the Mixed Tempura Platter. The dish included beautifully battered rock shrimp, lobster and soft shell crab with a orange ponzu dip. This dish absolutely blew my mind. We had never tried tempura quite like it. Usually tempura can be incredibly heavy but this dish was so light and flavourful - and as someone who hasn't always got the lobster hype - this most definitely changed my mind.
The last dish we tried (although, I have to admit I gave this one a miss as I am still a little unsure of some meats!) was the Wagyu Beef Bulogi. Grilled sirloin wagyu beef with korean barbecue sauce. Joe absolutely adored this. It was succulent and flavourful and so moreish. The asparagus underneath was also cooked perfectly and worked so well with the sauce.
Eating in Harrods was a luxury and most definitely is a treat. It does have a high price point but for the quality of what you get and the experience and service it is most definitely worth it. Just do make sure not to over order - you can always order some more if you need as the staff are super helpful. Wash it all down with their delicious bellini's and finish it with a browse of the pastries in the food court and you'll leave incredibly happy.
Have you ever eaten in the Harrods food court before?
Lorna x
all looks so good!
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