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Baozi Inn
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RUNNER-UP - BEST CHEAP EATS
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© Rob Greig
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By Sally Peck
The revolution continues apace in Chinatown, and the future looks bright. Where once we suffered with tired Anglo-Canto greasy spoons in sad need of a makeover, now the hub around Gerrard Street is a destination for quality food.
Searches for light, handmade Chinese noodles served in a broth tasting of something other than dishwater for years proved futile. But finally, the folk who brought us Bar Shu, the temple to Sichuanese cuisine in Soho, have offered up Baozi Inn (‘People’s Commune’ – in Chinese), an excellent purveyor of Beijing and Chengdu street snacks.
In a kitsch send-up of a Beijing hutong circa 1952, colourful plastic vegetables – symbols of a bountiful harvest worthy of a Great Leap Forward propaganda poster – dangle from walls lined in grey tiles that mimic bricks used to build traditional courtyard homes. The simple, and simplified, past is further reflected in the rustic stools and photographs of the Great Helmsman himself that line the dining room.
Luckily, the food moves well beyond this Disneyfied mimicry (that handily ignores any negative political associations with Chairman Mao) and achieves perfect authenticity. The eponymous baozi – steamed bread filled with pork, radish or egg typical of northern China – are an excellent option for chilli-phobes. At £1.20 for a large bun, a pair of these to take away would make a far more exciting lunch than yet another Pret sandwich.
But the real stars at Baozi Inn are not the Beijing-style snacks but the Sichuanese street food prepared by the restaurant’s chef, who comes, via Bar Shu, from Chengdu. Delicate dragon dumplings in fiery oil were pleasantly hot and light. Spicy flowering beancurd is composed of the silkiest own-made tofu, covered in chilli and sesame oils, with deep-fried dough and beansprout seeds lending texture.
The standout of our meal was the Chengdu classic, dan dan noodles. This popular dish, which is butchered regularly in lesser restaurants, is perfectly prepared here; noodles, which are handmade daily, are smothered in a delightfully bold, hot and numbing sauce of ground pork.
Sichuan beef noodles featured the same glorious noodles with tender pieces of beef, pak choi and delightfully spongy dried bamboo shoots, typical of the specially-sourced ingredients served here, all swimming in a rich beef broth accented with generous amounts of chilli oil.
A fresh salad of peanuts poached in broth (so they are springy, rather than crunchy), with celery, carrots and tofu skins, created a wonderful medley of textures and did an admirable job in soothing a tongue bombarded by the chillies and Sichuan peppercorns dotting other dishes.
The food at Baozi Inn is excellent – at this price, and probably at any price, there are no better noodles to be had in London – and the bold atmosphere seems to work. At a recent lunchtime meal, a Chinese woman of a certain age interrupted her noodle slurping to sing along with gusto to the revolutionary music from the 1960s that forms the background noise. Next to her, her young granddaughter rolled her eyes. ‘Just eat!’ she commanded in Mandarin.
Long live the Chinatown revolution…Time Out Issue 1975: June 26 - July 2 2008
Time Out reviews restaurants anonymously and pays for meals. Of course, we cannot guarantee the accuracy or independence of user reviews.
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We visited this restaurant as it was recommended in The London Paper (RIP!!) as the 'Best Chinese' in London. What a dissapointment! The food was tastless and bland and the noodles tasted as though they weren't cooked properly. Although we did enjoy one of the dumpling dishes (Dragon Dumplings?) and one of the two salads we ordered, the other 4 dishes we tried were nothiing to write home about at all. Although we couldn't fault the Baozi Inn on the cost of our meal - £38 for 2 beers and 6 dishes - all in all we found it to be a very dissapointing experience and we are still trying to find a good chinese in London.
Average... for dumplings the place next door on the corner is miles better (And better value too). Service rude from the offset. Noodles were undercooked. Rice dishes presented like chilli-con-carne from Joes café. there are better.
I tend to take ages umming and ahhing over menus, and I was asked for my order about 5 times before i was ready. The lotus root salad was fantastic, as were the 2 types of dragon dumplings we had. The best was chilli and garlic but the other savory flavour was spot on too. The dan dan noodle were superb but the rest of the food was mediocre. I'd go again.
Food was average and they had the main course on the table with the Baozi rolls. We ate two courses in less than half an hour and they asked us to leave because there were other customers waiting. Crap service, rude and not worth the great reviews it has received.
Absolutely the worst meal we have had in ages - do not go to this awful place.
We went after reading the reviews on here and what a total disappointment it was - do not be mislead by the queue outside - small dingy place, rude snappy staff, crap food, I cannot stress how crap and their menu is 95% pork, we left as soon as we could and ended up having to go and eat again somewhere else.
STEER CLEAR !!!!
Two things could be improved: the noodles were overcooked on two occasions. Good noodles are always chewy and fresh, these seemd like they have been waiting around for a while.
The service was too eager, once you put down the bowl they already want to take it, and throw the bill at you. With better timed noodle cooking and service this place could be great.
nice and delicous food. At budget price
Food is good but the customer service is SHOCKING!
Bauzat! What a wondeful reccomendation thank-you. I have never been to northern China but I bet it tastes just like that. And a bit like cornwall curiuosly... did you taste the Baozi... the steamed bread rolls filled with meat or veg. On the menu described as an equivalent to a British sandwich. I had to correct them. It's a cornish pasty by another name - hearty. The dumplings deliciously spicy and the spare rib and shitake mushroom noodles brothy, warming and bursting with flavour. We ordered too much. We were stuffed. But our souls were invigorated and our imaginations stirred with a longing for travel...
I used to trust TO for its reviews but this changed everything.
Repeating everything said: the food was lowsy. I love Sechaun but the spice took away any flavour that could ahve been there. However I think I would have just tasted fat on the meat!
The service was so quick and pushy, we were out after 30mins. There was no-one queeing outside, and there were four or five free tables at 7pm!
The worst Chinese, no the worst meal I've had in about 5 years! Please do not waste your money.