Jam Tree group to launch dim sum and cocktail bar Fu Manchu

Fu Manchu will open in a May within a site under the railway arches at Clapham North. 

The venue will serve authentic steamed Chinese dim sum alongside cocktails inspired by the villain's 'shady associations and elaborate criminal plots'. Drinks include The Kiss of Death and Mancho's Mind Control, both made using Chinese tea infusions and Asian spices.

Yann Roberts, director and co-founder of Jam Tree and Fu Manchu, said he was a big fan of dim sum and had been thinking of a way to inject some character into the offering.

“I grew up watching the Fu Manchu films with Christopher Lee, and when I was thinking of a way of introducing a fun and retro approach to dim sum (a cuisine I adore) I instantly thought of Fu," he said. 

"(Restaurant group) Ping Pong has shown that westerners have an appetite to eat dim sum at all times of the day and the style of food works so well for casual dining, sharing, and in a bar environment."

Roberts, whose company operates pubs in Clapham and Chelsea, said he had found it hard to recruit dim sum chefs who could deliver the authenticity he was aiming for. 

"They are in high demand and the skill level required to produce a high quantity of dumplings quickly is learnt over a good number of years," he said.

"Our aim for the business is to serve authentic Chinese dim sum with an emphasis on the steamed variety. We will offer an original, varied and serious cocktail list, and, with our late opening hours plans are afoot to introduce various forms of entertainment including a live lounge event called Fu-damental and other music, performance and DJ led events.”