#17 Hakkasan Mayfair, London

I have been really uninspired to write about this experience. I went on Saturday 28 July as a slightly belated birthday present to myself - that and I just don't have any friends at the moment who are interested in Michelin star dining.

I was thankful when I woke up in the morning that I wasn't too hungover from the night before.

I arrived at half one and walked right past the building. The entrance is quite easy to miss and when I did enter I was greeted by a dark dimly light hallway. This is just a bit intimidating when you are dining alone! Halfway down there is a woman sitting in a coat check and then there is a door that you can't really see, that another woman opens up to let you in.

I was placed at a very strange table, it was originally set up for two diners, an oval table with a curved seat. I'm not sure that you could really fit two people at this table without being awkward, let alone one. The leg position on the table meant I couldn't even cross my legs which was quite uncomfortable. They gave me the menu opened to the a la carte section which obviously was a very sly move to make me look at the expensive menu but I knew there was a set lunch menu on the front page so flicked back one. I wasn't offered water at any point and had to ask for it! This really was the theme of the service for the lunch, it really was just terrible, even without taking into account that this place has a Michelin star. There was a lot of staff but none of them seemed interested in me at all. I'm not sure if this was because I was alone? It certainly wasn't because the restaurant was packed as it was quite empty, likely to be a side effect of the Olympics. There were 5 tables at most.

Anyway, while service was just dismal seemingly desperate to get me in and out as quickly as possible for no reason, the food was quite delicious. Hakkasan have a set lunch menu of £35 for three courses.

My starter

Steamed dim sum selection: scallop shumai, morel mushroom crystal dumpling,
Chinese chive dumplingI absolutely adored this starter right from the moment it was put in front of me. I liked that I was given both chilli and chilli oil. The scallop was perfectly cooked and the presentation of the bright green dumpling was gorgeous. But the highlight was the morel mushroom dumpling which tasted absolutely amazing.

My main

Mongolian style lamb chopServed with baby pak choi (so cute) and sticky rice, this lamb was beautifully pink and spiced perfectly. The mushrooms again were the highlight. I have to say this main while really tasty, was just quite...average. Really nothing to write home about other than I do love when my lamb is cooked pink like that.

My dessert

I don't have a description for this as it's not on the website, but it did contain the words chocolate and cherry and it certainly lived up to it. When it came out, the bowl was sealed with a chocolate lid and the waitress poured a hot cherry sauce over it that melted my entry into the middle. I don't think this crappy phone photo does it's size justice, it was massive. I have never seen such a big dessert in this sort of restaurant and I couldn't finish it. Yes me, the person who always has room for desserts. There was a lot of textures in there, cherry sorbet, brownie bits, meringue bursts and pop rocks. The cherry sorbet was an absolute delight, I think I would have been just as happy with a few scoops of that.

The only highlight of the service was that I didn't have the usual impossible task of getting the staff to give me the bill. But then I couldn't find my way out because of the mystery door to the darkened hallway and the staff were quite slow in helping me. Overall, Hakkasan is probably one of the biggest disappointments I've had with Michelin star restaurant. I had been told so much of how it was such a great restaurant and I'm not sure if I hit it on a bad day or if I just noticed all the bad parts of the experience because I was alone for the first time? Although the service really was just utterly inexcusable. I definitely think this restaurant is more of a shared experience, I watched others eating their mains and it was definitely one where you taste lots of different dishes.

My final opinion would be, if you want to go out for a set lunch at a Chinese Michelin Star restaurant, go to Kai instead. While their set menu is £39 this includes matching wines for 3 courses and you get an amazing pre starter broth and a palate cleanser between the main and the dessert. It's right up there with my favourites and I would definitely go again (and the set lunch is available Sundays).

I am booked to go to The Ledbury, which holds two stars, in September for a set lunch at the same price as Hakkasan so I really hope this one lives up to the high expectations I have thanks to Masterchef!