Named after the Imperial Palace of old Peking, the new basement bar at chic Chinese restaurant, A Wong, provides a handy way of sampling the Belgravia high life – especially food and drink pairing – without all the expense. You’ll have to find £12, mind, for a Kinjang cocktail (gin, pomegranate granita, preserved plum, cumin and ginger), which is taste-matched with tofu crisp, smoked duck and pickled onion. For the same price, the Fujian is an oolong tea and yuzu saké Sour, matched with crispy foie gras, air-dried sausage and pomelo fruit. Both these options are among a range of three for £35 pairing combos. Wong’s fine wine selection also features, matched with upmarket snacks such as dim sum, spicy meat and fish bites, savoury puffs, and pancakes. Some dishes even stray westwards, so you could sample pork jerky with a whisky and cherry Sour. An intriguing, semi-secret refuge in salubrious SW1.
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