Neil Perry’s dark and seductive den of Cantonese cooking still has plenty of fire in the belly, five years after it first opened.

Spice is the M-O here, with chilli spiking seafood and meat in dishes from China’s many and varied regions. Fiery plates are helpfully marked on the menu in red, but there’s still much on offer for more temperate tastes.

Open with super-fresh tiles of kingfish in shallot oil and speckled with black sesame, or start the hot hits with lamb dumplings – juicy, bronzed parcels of supreme flavour fuelled with a chilli dressing.

The kung pao chicken’s tangle of cashews and lip-numbing dried chilli is a challenge spice fiends will love, while lush pork hock braised in master stock for three hours is shredded at the table to toss with chilli, ginger and black vinegar.

Ask for half serves to taste a greater spread of dishes, and leave room for dessert which may be as functional as it is flavoursome in the form of a soothing parfait ‘wagon wheel’ bursting with chilli-numbing caramel, chocolate and peanut.

Intriguing cocktails – like the 12 named after each sign of the Chinese zodiac – are bestowed the same attention to detail as food, and the 100-strong wine list has been handpicked to stand up to the often tricky Chinese flavours.

While the interior is so dimly lit some mouthfuls can be a guessing game, the fire that glows from all aspects of the sexy, exxy space will light your way through a meal of epic flavour proportions.

Must-eat dish: Kung pao chicken
Instagram: @rockpoolfiles