Feng Shang Princess

There’s something rather romantic about this Chinese restaurant aboard a pagoda-style boat floating on Regent’s Canal. It looks best at night when its twinkling lights reflect on the water. Once on board, keep your eyes on the pretty views through the wraparound windows, as the smart interiors look a little worn. The menu isn’t exactly cutting edge, swerving from Cantonese to Szechuan & Beijing cuisines, delivering a familiar roll-call of dishes. Seafood lettuce wraps, prawn toast & crispy aromatic duck with pancakes are typical starters, with noodles & rice to follow, plus beef with black-bean sauce, crispy chicken with mango & chilli paste, or sweet & sour prawns. It’s all perfectly good, although the Titanic prices aren’t necessarily warranted. Perhaps that’s why Feng Shang is often short of passengers.

Located on the canal adjacent to Regent’s Park, and a stone’s throw from central London, Feng Shang Princess is a hand crafted three-tiered floating restaurant serving traditional Chinese food in a relaxed setting. Self-professed as ‘London’s best kept secret’, expect authentic dishes elevated with a modern twist. There are plenty of recognisable dishes on the menu, as well as some that may not be so familiar. The iconic décor of this deep red pagoda-style restaurant creates a unique ambience, transporting diners far from London to enjoy an evening of fine food, wine, cocktails and picturesque canal views.

The extensive a la carte menu features plenty of typical Chinese fare, while reasonably priced set menus are available if you can't decide. Start off with appetisers like prawn toast, crispy seaweed topped with grated scallop, and Malaysian satay chicken. Or, try some of the steamed and grilled dim sum with a variety of fillings like scallop, chicken and vegetables, before moving on to the ever-popular crispy duck pancakes served with cucumber, spring onion and a sweet sticky hoisin sauce. For the main event, there are plenty of chicken, beef and seafood dishes like crispy lemon chicken, crispy shredded chilli beef, and grilled salmon teriyaki.

Vegans and vegetarians will also be pleased to hear there is a dedicated vegan set menu, as well as plenty of vegetable dishes on the a la carte like spicy Mapo tofu, braised aubergine and tofu in clay pot and Chinese pak choi. Enjoy all this with sides such as egg fried rice, Singaporean noodles or seafood vermicelli.

To accompany your meal there is a global wine and Champagne list offering a good selection of affordable bottles, as well as some more revered labels, with a selection of wines available by the glass.