Empress of Sichuan, Chinatown

After reading some yummy experiences at Empress of Sichuan, I made a mental note to go there when the next opportunity arrives. I was also intrigued when I realised that it was also own by the same GL that seems to have a stronghold in Chinatown.

At the next opportunity, I came with a group of friends ready for some Szechuan food. Bring on the heat!

I enjoyed it so much that I came back again soon after. Here are some of what we ate.

酸辣海蜇 Marinated Jellyfish with Chicken and Cucumber in Hot & Sour Sauce £8

The jellyfish was slippery and chewy. A refreshing dish with a kick coming from the hot and sour sauce.

竹筒粉 排骨 steamed pork ribs with rice paste in bamboo tube £11.80

This I wasn't too fond of. The rice paste was quite wet and it formed a sticky paste with the pork ribs. The flavour was good but the texture wasn't for me.

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Red Chilli, Leeds

Lately, I’ve been into Sichuan cuisine and after hearing good things about Red Chilli, I couldn’t wait to try it out when I was in Leeds. Thankfully, they are open till late as by the time we arrived from London for dinner, it was more like 9.30pm!

Straight onto a table and after some quick discussions, our choices were made.

东坡烤肉 Poet Dungbo Braised Belly Pork £7.50

Succulent and tasty, this was good.

水煮豆腐 Spicy Hot Poached Beancurd £7.50

Great expectations are never good I guess. This wasn’t spicy at all, otherwise is not bad.

Pork Balls and Molly Soup Base Clay Pot £7.50

This was ordinary, apparently we ordered the wrong dish from what we originally wanted.

Stir Fried Eel with Hot Chilli £10

I quite like this. The texture of the eel is crunchy and soft at the same time.

Beijing Roast Duck £25 (whole)

Finally, our roast duck came. This was served to us and we were all digging in. Crispy skin with juicy duck meat went down very well. We basically ate it on its own. There was also another plate with thinner slices which were served with pancakes with DIY wrapping.

We got the option of duck soup which is nothing to shout about.

Beijing Dumplings £4.50

Stuffed with minced pork, prawn and vegetable and served with a vinegar and garlic dip. This was stated on the menu as being handmade. For the price, you get a set of 8. It wasn’t very memorable.

I left a tad disappointed as I was looking forward to some spicy fieriness which was sorely missing. It seems that is the case for other regulars who come. Sometimes you get the chillis and sometimes you don’t. In this case, we lost out. It was still a good meal and better than other places that I have been if you are seeking some Chinese food. Hopefully I get chilli lucky the next time.

Red Chilli

http://www.redchillirestaurant.co.uk/

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Baozi Inn, Chinatown

Was around the Chinatown area and decided to venture into Baozi Inn for some lunch. Having had mixed reviews from previous diners, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect.

In the end, I ordered two items from the menu.

Zha Jiang Mian @ fried sauce noodles, a Northern Chinese dish that comprises of thick wheat noodles and stir-fried ground pork cooked with a fermented soybean paste. A simple and clean dish that is eaten and known nationally, kind of reminds me of Taiwan and their stewed pork rice.

You are greeted with thick strips of noodles that were bouncy and eggy-ish. The combination of the slivers of shredded cucumbers helped to lighten the heavy starchiness of the thick noodles and the fermented soy bean paste that was both sweet and salty was a delight to the taste buds. The combination works very well and this came off as a refreshing and crisp dish.

Egg buns was the second item that was ordered which unfortunately wasn’t that great.

 
Baozi Inn
25 Newport Court
Leicester Square, WC2H 7
Tel: 020 7287 6877

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