Xu
30 Rupert Street
Soho Chinatown
London W1D 6DL
Nearest Tube: Piccadilly Circus or Leicester Square
4.4 Yummy stars
Price ££ Starters £5-£11; Mains £14-£19 (Classic Goose £35) (at time of writing)
Chilli Clams with Basil Oil at Xu
Buzz factor 4.5/5 stars
Food 4.5/5 stars
Value for money 4.2/5 stars
Opened in 2017 to much aplomb, following the huge success of their 2 branches of Bao. They may have started Londoners’ love affair with Taiwanese steamed buns. The latest addition is a true delight. The food and restaurant is much more upmarket and sophisticated than the 2 branches of Bao and you can book …. finally. Luckily, they do keep a couple of tables for walk-ins.
The family trio, comprising of sister and brother, Wai Ting Chung and Shing Tat Chung and sister-in-law, Erchen Chang, the founders of the restaurants, seem to go from strength to strength and have fine-tuned their menu since their opening. “Xu” is apparently named after Erchen Chang’s father.
You enter the restaurant, set in a bygone era of the 30’s in Taiwan. You feel that you have arrived at a movie set, serene and yet a bit surreal. Beautifully grooved dark wood-panelled walls and wood carved bars, overhead fans and cleverly placed booths, covered in soothing baby pink and pale green leather. The ground floor is essentially a tea room with dining upstairs. There are 2 mahjong rooms for hire too. Mahjong is a traditional Chinese game (for 4 persons).
The waiting staff were all friendly and helpful, perfectly coiffed, made up and well dressed. They offered help with the menu and checked that we were happy with the food throughout.
And what about the food? We went for the set menu for £35 each person, which worked really well for trying and sharing a wide variety of dishes. The stars were the chilled clams cleverly topped with cucumber, chilli and basil oil, leaving you with a refreshing and clean taste. The beef short rib was tender and juicy and was served with slivers of crispy potato on top, sitting on a piece of marrow bone with pancakes and neatly cut batons of cucumber and other relishes. Another highlight was their Xian Bing – minced pork encased in a bun, pan-fried and served with a dipping vinegar sauce. Do watch out for the searingly hot juice squirting out at you, as you bite into the bun. (Perhaps leave this one out if you are on your first date). The black pepper beef was so tender and went surprisingly well with the raw egg, all served on a hot plate. Mixing the runny egg into the perfectly cooked steamed rice gave the rice a real richness. You just need a bit of the sauce, as it was a bit too sweet for my liking. We were warned about the spiciness of the grilled sea bass, which had green and red chilli paste on each half of the fish. Apart from looking pretty, the fish was perfectly cooked and it wasn’t too spicy at all.
I will definitely be back for more.
