The restaurant used to be incredibly popular; I often eat in China town and I remember for some time I found it difficult to get a table due to the crowds outside. I was always given a flimsy raffle ticket (which apparently assured me of a table if I returned in half an hour), and with this in mind I jumped at the chance when I saw an empty table in the window around dinner time…However, I probably should have taken the lack of crowds and a wait as a sign: if this restaurant was ever hot, it has since cooled by quite some degrees. I had garlic chicken with chillis and onions, eel with shiitake mushrooms, a house specialty of pig’s tripe with in a spicy sauce with cucumbers and shark’s fin dumplings with pork along with soup dumplings. The whole meal came to about £38 (not including service).

I must say that on the whole I was thoroughly disappointed. The pigs tripe was rather dull and it was served cold with a salad, though in my opinion some warmth could have added something to it, the eel was quite good and its sauce and the mushrooms it was served with were good, the garlic chicken was definitely nothing to write home about and as if the dish itself were malicious it left me (literally) sweating garlic for the 2 following days. The shark’s fin dumplings and the soup dumplings were equally disappointing. The soup dumplings contained about a thimble of soup each and the shark’s fin and pork were thoroughly fried to a crisp, which produced a rather unattractive greasy texture to both the meat and the skin of the dumpling.

All in all, the New World definitely does not live up to the hype that once surrounded it. For better dim sum I would suggest Shanghai Blues (193-197 High Holborn, WC1V 7BD) or for those with more to spend Yauatcha (15 Broadwick Street, London, W1F 0DL).

Visited for the first time last week, as I normally only go "nouveau dim sum" - think Ping Pong & Yauatcha. However this is traditional dim sum and I've discoved it makes perfect hangover food. You sit at a table, people come and bring you trolleys filled with steaming dishes of dim sum. You say yes. A lot. They come back. You say yes some more. Standout dishes were the barbecue pork and steamed rolls.

Traditional dim sum in the heart of Chinatown. This place is huge but it is still very busy at weekends. Waitresses come to your table with trolleys of dim sum dishes, just like it should be really. If there are people waiting outside to get a table, just get yourself in the queue. It's worth waiting. And if some names of the dishes don't sound familiar, try them anyway. Loads of cups of green tea to wash it all down with, a perfect Sunday lunch.