Restaurants / Chinese
A fine dining Asian experience
Bristol chef, lawyer and former MasterChef finalist Larkin Cen has opened a new restaurant in the five-star Celtic Manor Resort near Newport.
Cen is Larkin’s first venture into high-end cuisine and the Manor House restaurant has been subtly Asian themed – think more Raffles Singapore than Chinese takeaway.
The menu includes a starter of scallops and Larkin’s take on bao buns filled with either hoi sin duck or pork belly.
Main courses range from more traditional Asian fare to steak and chips with an oriental twist. Sharing dishes include Peking duck, Korean fried chicken and Welsh rib of beef.
There is not a huge choice of dishes on the menu but it’s well judged, not only for a corporate clientèle but for diners wanting Larkin’s signature Asian food with a difference.
As a third generation chef, Larkin learnt his trade in his parents’ Chinese takeaway in the Cardiff suburb of Ely. As any MasterChef groupie will tell you he left to study law and became an employment lawyer in Bristol.
He’s said that giving up his corporate career and returning to the food business was “ incredibly challenging” but said his family supported him completely.
Leaving behind a legal career may have been a gamble but it’s one that will hopefully pay off for Larkin Cen.