Puer, Waterloo

Who would have thought that Waterloo would be home to a unique Chinese tea house and restaurant like Puer? I sure didn’t but when I realised the venue actually existed I was instantly keen on visiting to check out the interesting looking menu and sample some of the many teas on offer.

Wagyu tacos – 9+ Oakley ranch wagyu beef, house chilli paste, steamed bun and greens

The Wagyu tacos were amazing, if there is a must order from Puer this would definitely be it. The very tender beef melts in your mouth along with the very soft steamed buns that it’s served with.

Unfortunately I was expecting these dumplings to be more flavoursome and with a nicer texture but they turned out quite average and nothing special. Luckily the rest of the meal easily made up for these.

I have to admit the shape of the pot stickers took me by surprise. These were definitely my favourite of the two dumpling options, the smell and taste of mushroom was just heavenly.

The tofu dish reminded me of a nice silky agedashi tofu and were just as tasty. The bowl made it a little bit difficult to grab a good photo of it but the dish was good and I would order again.

If I had to pick a favourite dish for the evening it would be a hard toss up between this and the Wagyu beef tacos. I always love pork belly in any form and five spiced eggs is always a favourite of mine, unfortunately the crackling served on top was very oily and chewy.

The drunken duck was very tender but I’ve found that by no fault of the restaurant duck tends to be dry. The shiitake on the other hand was delicious, I absolutely love shiitake in any form.

Unfortunately by the time we got to the desserts the sun had set and photos were difficult to capture. I really enjoyed the coconut and kaffir sorbet but the best out of the two dessert dishes would bethe  ice cream from the chocolate brownie dish which was absolutely divine.

The tea at Puer definitely has to have a special mention, in particular the Jasmine Pearl which is made out of amazing little ‘pearls’ of tea leaves. The Jasmine is so fragrant and easily my favourite type of tea.

Puer is a great place for a dinner and it’s really good to see a restaurant with a focus on tea. I usually don’t drink coffee in the evening as it makes it difficult to sleep but tea is fine and having the option of sitting around and relaxing with friends in a tea house is a nice alternative to dessert parlours and coffee shops.

Mr C dined as a guest of Puer. All views and opinions expressed in this post are my own.