Café TPT (Cantonese)
At a glance, Café TPT’s menu looks longer than the complete musings of Confucius, with offerings from across mainland China and beyond. Best bets are Cantonese staples such as succulent roast duck on rice or garlicky prawn-stuffed tofu in a hot stone pot, although we crave the Hong Kong-style Tai pai tong hawker dishes too.
Huge flavours from a huge Chinese menu, with small prices and an even smaller kitchen – it’s all a-okay at TPT.
The menu in the window of Café TPT looks longer than the complete musings of Confucius. It’s not unusual to see a big menu in Chinatown, but such a vast repertoire seems impossible from a kitchen galley the size of an origami junk. Not so, because dishes from Hong Kong, mainland China and the diaspora are all produced competently, and some of them with commendable aplomb.
The Cantonese dishes tend to be better than the Malaysian ones: roast duck on rice was succulent, and a generous helping. A sizzling dish of stuffed tofu, served in a hot stone bowl, was a highlight. Seafood is also a strength, with around 50 dishes to choose from; our squid, part of a noodle dish, was fresh and pert.
Many customers were moved to speechlessness by their bubble teas – this is a good place to try these Taiwan-style drinks. TPT isn’t the cheapest of the budget Chinatown cafés, but both cooking and service are better than you might expect.
Address: 21 Wardour Street, London W1D 6PN
Tel.: +44 20 7734 7980
Tube: Leicester Square or Piccadilly Circus tube
