For my birthday, Alex took me to London for a meal and drinks at The Shard, and a visit to the ice bar. When we arrived, we were sent up in a lift to level 33 where we stepped out into an authentic Chinese restaurant, complete with lanterns, trees, wooden wall accents and the most amazing smells! The view was incredible, and we were lucky enough to be seated right next to the glass walls, overlooking the city of London; creating the perfect back-drop to our evening.

Our waiter was really nice and friendly, and he made us feel really relaxed in a place that we clearly weren’t regulars in! He gave us portable phone chargers for the evening, recommended some amazing food for us, and even had an in-depth discussion with us about corked wine – you had to be there…

We started off with some dumplings, and then I had my first taste of Pigeon – which was very very good! We then moved onto our main course, which was without a doubt THE best duck pancakes we’ve ever had (we still talk about them regularly!!). They were so tender, yet so crispy – we’ve actually spoken to other people who have been to Hutong, and it turns out we aren’t the only people who rave about the duck! Because it was my birthday present, which Alex must’ve mentioned at the time of booking (three months prior), they then brought us over a little chocolate pudding with a candle in.

I expected the restaurants in The Shard to feel quite impersonal, but we were actually pleasantly surprised with how much of a great experience we were given along side the fine dining and beautiful views. You do have to pay quite a bit more, but it’s definitely worth a visit at least once in your life.