Shu La La
207 Holloway Road
London N7 8DL
Nearest Tube: Holloway Road
Buzz Factor 4.5/5 stars
Food 4.2/5 stars
Value for money 4.3/5 stars
4.3 Yummy Stars
Price ££ Appetisers/soups - £4.60-£10.50 BBQ - £2.80-£14.80; mains £11.80-£36 (at time of writing)
☏ · 020 3674 6361
Grilled sea bass at Shu La La, Holloway
Red is regarded as the traditional colour, representing luck, prosperity and happiness for Chinese people. It is definitely the colour of choice at Chinese weddings. It seems to be a wedding every day for Shu La La. You can’t miss its frontage with its lacquer red walls and windows on the corner of Holloway Road, exuding a roaring welcome to you to the haven of chillis inside.
The thumping loudness of the exterior is replicated in the internal space with bright red plastic banquettes and chairs with added vibrancy from the colourful drawings and Chinese characters, as if you are in a circus of sorts. On the Saturday evening of our visit, the place was packed with Chinese Generation Z most probably from the nearby Metropolitan University, busy taking selfies and often glued to their mobiles.
Chilli is the thing at Shu La La. The Grilled Seabass, bathing in a shimmering ruby red sea of broth amidst the glorious wave of an abundance of red chillis and Sichuan peppercorns (and peanuts, sesame, spring onions and broccoli), arrived in what looked like an enormous oven tray. It was a total joy and by far the best dish. The heat was manageable and the fish wasn’t as hot as you might think. The vermicelli, on the other hand, having sponged up the spices, had a real punch but was utterly scrumptious.
As is often the case with Chinese restaurants, their menu is huge. Their bbq menu offers an extensive mélange of skewers and other dishes. The cumin-flavoured Tofu Skin skewers left a serious tongue-tingling sensation. The well-marinated Beef short-ribs were flavoursome but at times chewy. We would have liked to have tasted the lamb skewers. In our excitement in devouring the array of deliciousness, we totally forgot that the lamb skewers had not arrived, until after we had left.
The kitchen is obviously far too engrossed with the flavours of the food and has dispensed with any notion of elegance in presentation. The Mixed Mushrooms with chilli arrived in a tin foil carton. Did someone in the kitchen think that we had ordered a take-away or did someone not pick up their take-away? All was forgiven when we tasted the dish. The mushrooms in its smooth creamy sauce were most pleasurable.
Kong Po chicken doused in yellow beans sauce, with just the right amount of heat was delectable. The Chongqing style spicy chicken was another worthy dish, though was rather bony. It is perhaps more suited for Chinese who are used to prising the meat off the bone using just their teeth and chopsticks. Of the vegetables, the Stir-fried aubergine with green beans, drenched in yellow beans sauce was another winner, but the Stir-fried Morning Glory, smothered in whole segments of garlic, while sweet with freshness, was rather small in size.
Service was pretty minimal as you would expect in a casual place like this. My friend who encountered communication issues on the phone could not be sure that she managed to secure a table. I was the first to arrive and mild panic set in when the waiter seemed to have trouble locating the reservation. Luckily, after a short wait, they found us a table.
Flavoursome food and keenly priced, I, like many Chinese university students flocking here, would definitely be back to try some more dishes. Next time, I will make sure that the lamb skewers actually arrive.
