Bar Shu: Szechuanese in the heart of Soho

After an outlandish trip to John Lewis, which resulted in me emptying my pockets for a (rather handsome) SMEG fridge, the Fashionista and I were on the lookout for a cheap but cheerful dinner around Oxford Street. Preferably somehere at least one of us hadn't been to before.  Having tried to get a table at Pitt Cue Co (still no success!), 10 Greek Street, Polpetto (now moved!) and Barafina, we were struggling.  Our options dwindling, the Fashionista suggested we head to Bar Shu, a Szechuanese restaurant which is more Soho than Chinatown.  A place she had been to before with a friend from Singapore.

The menu is long, page after page of pictures showing various animal parts, generally cooked in a mountain of chilli.  Having suffered before from the heat at places like Gourmet San, we were determined to see if there was more to this region's cooking than the mouth-numbing effect of Szechuan pepper. 

We started with a couple of appetisers: thin sliced pork in a spicy, garlicky sauce and what was described as "numbing and hot dried beef".  These both worked better as sides (the mains followed shortly behind) rather than starters.  The pork belly was wrapped around thinly chopped carrot and spring onion, the sauce deep and rich.  The beef was intense, a slow burning heat that only caught up with you a few minutes later.  Too strong to have on its own, but good to share!

Pork wrapped around shredded carrot

Dry and spicy beef

On to the mains, the twice cooked pork was less impressive.  Slices of salty pork belly with leeks, I was not a fan.  Much better, however, was the minced chicken with preserved mustard greens.  Served on lettuce leaves, it tasted very similar to a Thai larb.  Refreshing and invigorating, I loved it.  I am not sure how "authentic" it was, lettuce is not something I normally associate with Szechuan.  However, what it lacked in authenticity, it more than made up for with flavour.  Delicious.

Minced chicken with preserved mustard greens

Twice-cooked pork with leeks

In our attempt to discover another side to Szechuan, we strayed a little from the essence of what Bar Shu is really all about - dishes which hit you round the face with gobsmacking heat from red chilis and that leave you tingling from the numbing effect of Szechuanese pepercorns - the culinary equivalent of being tag-teamed by the Klitschko brothers.  And so, we left feeling a little underwhelmed.  Go, but stick to what the Szechuanese do best, heat!

Yauatcha

Growing up the closest I got to dim sum was some soggy dumplings at a Chinese restaurant in Edinburgh.  And, until recently, I thought that was all that had been on offer in Scotland in the late eighties.  How wrong I was. While I was stuck on chicken chow mein, the Fashionista was making a weekly trip with her family to the backstreets and alleyways of Dundee to savour the traditional joy of dim sum for Sunday Lunch.  Roast beef it is not.  Better? Perhaps.

Nowadays, of course, dim sum is everywhere.  Chains like Ping Pong have brought dim sum to the masses.  And, while these chains do have their place in the grand scheme of things, if the only dim sum you've tried is from there, you really are missing out.  I love the dim sum at Dragon Castle in Elephant and Castle, and there are a couple (literally a couple) of places in Chinatown that are pretty good.  Topping them all though, with a gleaming Michelin star, is Yauatcha.

Although technically a chain, with an outlet in Mumbai, Yauatcha is no ordinary dim sum restaurant. A tea shop upstairs, a dark and trendy restaurant down, we decided to opt for the former, it being a sunny Sunday morning.  There is an almost overbearing theme of bright blue, from the glass at the front running through the internal decor. I am surprised, I like it.  I also loved the low seats which made you feel like you were in a traditional Japanese tea house in Kyoto.

The menu has all the classics you would expect from a dim sum menu, cheung fun, har gow and larger noodle based dishes. The prices start at the reasonable, if a pound more than the equivalent elsewhere, and accelerate quickly. We had said that we were going to be sensible, not too many dishes and give the luxury ones a wide berth, but, as always happens, we quickly convinced ourselves that a treat was in order. 

This is how we ended up ordering the lobster and caviar dumpling.  Expensive at around fourteen quid for three small dumplings.  Worth it? Absolutely.  The lobster tail was sweet, the dumpling lighter than anything I had ever tried (this was a recurring theme) and the caviar completed it perfectly. Excellent.

I had heard so much about the venison puffs that I had to try them.  Now, if the lobster dumplings were light, they were nothing compared to the pastry surrounding the venison.  Hands down the best pastry I have ever tried.

Alongwith the lobster and venison we also ordered some har gaw (a traditional prawn dumpling), nice but not all that much of a step up from other places.  The turnip cake (traditionally made with shredded Chinese radish) came imbued with the flavour of the many wonderful smoky bacon pieces running through it and was delicious.  The mixed mushroom cheung fun was a step up from anything I had tried before. The fried vegetable dumplings were also very good indeed.

We also got a couple of bigger dishes to "fill us up".  The noodles were okay, but a little disappointing.  I suppose something had to be.  The fermented tofu soup which came with rice noodles was a lot better than I had been expecting - fermented tofu is not normally my go to option.

Now, after all that, you would think that we would have been full.  Such is the allure of the cake counter though, I doubt anyone has passed up on dessert.  I had a few macaroons.  I am still trying to understand the craze.  While good, they didn't convert me to the cause.  Probably down to me rather than the macaroons though. The Fashionista had a delicious mango cake which came with a creamy, yet refreshing, ice cream. 

And, after all that, how much do you think we are looking at.  I was a little fearful.  We had really "let rip" at a starred restaurant that had Soho rent to cover. Well it probably helped that we were on the tea, rather than the cocktails (which looked great), but I think that just over thirty quid a head is an absolute steal.  You can easily pay close to that for greasy dumplings with a side of soggy noodles in Chinatown. Don't. Go to Yauatcha.

Mama Lan: A Threat to Silk Road's Crown?

One of my favourite restaurants in London, or maybe anywhere, is Silk Road in Camberwell.  No pretence, great northern Chinese food and friendly staff - it never lets me down.  There is, however, a young pretender to Silk's crown as the best northern Chinese restaurant in south London, Mama Lan - another new restaurant in Brixton Village.  I know I keep going on and on about Brixton Village but really what is happening down there in terms of new restaurants right now really is that exciting.

In the tradition of Brixton Village, Mama Lan is a small, basic restaurant with seats about a maximum of 20 at any one time.  The menu is short (always a good sign for freshness) with a couple of noodle soups (a beef and a tofu one), three choices of dumplings and a few other bits and bobs.  We went for the spicy beef noodle soup, the pork dumplings and a seaweed (kelp) salad.

The soup was quite tasty but the broth lacked a bit of heat and the noodles were a little mushy - pretty nice though.

The dumplings were incredible.  Nicely fried to be crispy on one side, the filling was super tasty - the best dumplings I have had in London (even better than Silk Road).  If you can't get a seat or just fancy a snack while wandering round the market (they do dumplings to take away) get involved- they are definitely worth it!

The Fashionista was a big fan of the kelp which was served with a sesame and soya sauce dressing -  for me it was okay but not a patch on the kelp with chili at Silk.

All in all a pretty tasty lunch and I will definitely be back, even if it is just to get some more of those dumplings!

Xinjiangtastic- Silk Road

The Fashionista moved to London some two years before I managed to get myself in order and move down saaath.  When she did move, she didn't choose one of those places that everyone knows, the Claphams and the Angels- no she chose Camberwell (as an example of how well she knew London at the time she phoned her flatmate to be and asked for directions from Oval-Brixton- not realising that they were two different places!).

Camberwell is a funny little place- to people who don't know it, it is an area of south London sandwiched between infamous Brixton and Peckham- surely there would be no reason leave Clapham for such a place, let alone travel over the river!  But for those in the know it is a hub of great bars and restaurants, with a vibe somewhere between Brixton and Dalston (the art college nearby might have something to do with this!).

And so on to the restaurants- I have posted about the Crooked Well, that almost but just not quite there of a bar/restaurant which is the latest addition to the scene- other notable openings in recent years include Angels and Gypsies which serves fantastic tapas. Sometimes, however, the classics are the best, and Silk Road truly is classic!

One of the first times I came to visit the Fashionista we were wandering along Camberwell High Street and she picked out a rather scruffy looking restaurant- I said we should give it a miss.  The next time she persisted and so we ended up going in to be greeted by some of the most delicious, different, meals I have ever eaten- for those not in the know, Xinjiangese cuisine it is somewhere between Szechuanese and Russian- lots of noodles and chillies, but also potatoes, beef and kebabs. 


Spicy spinach.

I can honestly say, having now been through the entirety of the menu at Silk, that there is nothing on there which isn't up to scratch- it is all delicious.  Particular highlights include the tripe in chili sauce, the kelp and the belt noodles.  The dumplings are also fantastic.


Chicken with green chilies



This time we decided to go for the spicy shredded salad, chicken with green chilies, pork dumplings, noodles with lamb and spicy spinach.  The salad was a simple combination of fresh coriander, chilies and leaves which, although there was not too much to it, provided a nice freshness to the dinner.  The noodles were tremendous as always (you can sometimes see them making them through in the back kitchen), the dumplings light but tasty, the chicken with chilies was, well, chicken with chilies and the spicy spinach was delicious.

Noodles with lamb.

Fried pork dumplings.

There are not many restaurants that I have been back to so many times that I have managed to work through the entire menu- Silk Road is, however, one of those.  The food is tremendous, the prices are an absolute steal (£33 for the two of us, stuffed to the rafters, and with a beer!), and, as far as I am aware, this is the only restaurant serving food from Xinjiang in London.  It is definitely worth making that trip over the river...

Spicy green salad.