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Baozi Inn
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Budget choice
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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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This is a great little place and unlike anything else in this price range. I had a beefy noodle soup which was very tasty with a great depth of flavour, accompanied with a large pork dumpling. Makes a change from the usual bastardised cantonese fare (and I actually love that stuff !). The room was nice, with its retro communist decor. The service was good, they brought the food and drink and then the bill. Can't wait to return and try more dishes.
Review made me hungry (and I live in beijing!) i think im going to go down to my local baozi shop and have a rack of baozi (they are usually served 10 at a time on a steaming rack here) and a bowl of dandan mian!
Minimum spend, poor choices on menu, expensive dim sum, no tap water, hurried service.... don't bother with this one.
The food was bland and the service was horrible. They dont serve tap water and both waiters had what looked like their mobile phone hands free set in their ear while serving us (could be radio for the kitchen, but i dont see the point of that), i think one of them was actually talking on it while serving our food! The £8 minimum spend per person is a joke. Dont waste your time here when there are so many other cheap & good restaurants in the area.
I went after reading this (overly) gushing review, expecting good, well priced food. The food was not bad - or at least, the dan dan noodles was not bad. But the experience was less than pleasant. I ordereed a baozi and a dan dan noodle to be told a) that this did not add up to £8, which was the minimum and b) that they were out of pork baozi. And that they would not serve me tap water (I despise places that do this). Fine, I ordered a beer just to push my bill up past £8. Then a pork baozi came anyway, somewhat odd given that I had been told there were none. The people next to me, who had someone who didn't eat pork, were told that 'that's all we have'. (I suppose he could have had 7 egg baozis to reach £8). I usually care v little about service, and actually dislike too much fussing, but I also resent being constantly told what I can and cannot do. And I just heard from a friend that when she went with a very pregrant friend who realised halfway through their meal that she needed more food that 'only one order was possible' so they couldn't add anything to what they'd already ordered. Frankly, if these people are so full of shit, I'd rather not go back and would advise all but those who like to be insulted over dinner to do likewise. There are better ways to spend your time and money, and the food's not good enough to warrant putting up with their attitude. And finally, I think Time Out ought to revisit places after giving them as good a review as this place, in case things have changed. The review makes it seem like a place you could stop by for a quick, cheap snack, which it most certainly no longer is, even if it originally was. Disappointing.
The food is way better than wagamama. The ambience is interesting. However, the service destroy the place. It's time the owners get rid of their waitress and waiter to make this a really good noodle bar.
I used to go to Baozi Inn almost fortnightly however they are beginning to become rather full of themselves recently. They now refuse to serve tap water which is ridiculous considering the spice level of some dishes. Even more recently they have begun to impose a minimum spend of 8 quid per person which means you have to order sides/starters instead of just a main. At my last visit I left embarrassed due to their shenanigans after I had promised guests an tasty and good-value lunch.
One of those places that once you've eaten there you can't believe you've never heard of it before.
A taste of genuine Chinese food to make the Motherland mightily proud.
Charming, effcient service, suprising delightful dishes and excellent value.
The only reason it pains me to tell you about it is that it could threaten its status as a unique hidden gem...
I couldn't recommend it enough - go enjoy it for yourself.
We popped into Baozi for a quick lunch on a saturday afternoon. The place was packed solid (mostly Chinese diners). We shared a starter of sliced boiled beef, which was very tender and flavoursome, followed by a main course of chilli pork & rice and Dragon dumplings in red oil. Both dishes were excellent, if a little on the small side. Service was very quick and we were in and out within 30 mins. Along with a couple of soft drinks, the bill came to less than £20. Recommended.
It's not bad, definitely better than average, and good value. The spinach was probably the best thing i had, better than the noodles, dumpling or bun thingies. i went at midday on friday and it was almost empty and perhaps this explains why the service was good