Miao Xiang Lou

Ethical eating in a shopping mall? Not quite. A misspelling in Miao Xiang Lou’s menu that transforms ‘ethnic’ into ‘ethic’ might make a diner snicker but the food certainly won’t. Located on the fourth floor of the newly revamped Sun Dong An Plaza, Miao Xiang Lou brings Southern Chinese specialities to the heart of Wangfujing’s shopping street. In sharp contrast to the glitzy shopping venue, a group of damsels decked out in traditional Miao finery stand poised for action outside the restaurant’s two entrances, breaking into a short musical number each time a guest arrives or leaves. The long menu specialises in Miao dishes and runs the gamut from sour soup fish hot pot to fried locusts with a few Cantonese dishes thrown in for good measure. The special buckwheat noodles (22RMB) are a must order. There’s enough minced garlic folded into the noodles to ward off vampires yet its strength disappears into the vinegar, thin layer of chilli oil, coriander and spring onion layered on top. The fried hot chicken (48RMB) is a huge portion of big, juicy pieces of meat along with whole cloves of al dente garlic drenched in chillies that, while spicy, do not overwhelm. A satisfying meal could be made solely from the xiao chi, or little-eats, section alone. Homemade corn cakes (6RMB) are small parcels of cornmeal steamed in a cornhusk. Steamed glutinous rice in a leaf (6RMB) is an olive green bun of soft glutinous rice encasing a minced pork filling. Since neither of these contains any hint of chilli, they balance the spicier dishes well. The only mishap is the braised tofu with peppers (22RMB), a dish that tastes too similar to jia chang doufu. Except for a few sepia coloured photos of Miao men performing music, the interior doesn’t reflect the origins of the cuisine but is still, along with the friendly and attentive service, a welcome relief from the brash white mall. Miao Xiang Lou is worth remembering for a break and a bite while shopping on Wanfujing.