Empress of Sichuan, Chinatown - A quick happy snap

In a week of madness, it's comforting to know that some things keep getting better.

Empress of Sichuan remains my favourite Sichuanese restaurant. Our last meal of seabass with blackbean and chilli, spicy pork and juicy duck with pickled cucumber (they were out of bitter melon) was sublime. It also has a great wine list and friendly staff. Time to try it if you haven't already.

See my previous review here.

Empress of Sichuan, 6 Lisle Street, Chinatown, WC2H 7BG

St John Hotel, Chinatown

I'm quite partial to the bacon sandwich at St John in Spitalfields, as a lazy heart starter to the weekend. It's not on the breakfast menu at the new St John in Soho, but its enough to know that they do the simple stuff well.

Mushrooms on toast are divinely rich and beefy, while the pretty basket of buns is shiny and sweet, with cinnamon, raison and simple plain buns in the mix.

The coffee's not bad either - although at £3.75 for a not warm enough flat white or a cafetiere, it's expensive.

The menu is short but has several serious tempters - like the ham, eggs and fried bread, or the boiled egg and anchovy toast.

But at just over £25 (including service) for the above small and simple breakfast for 2, we leave feeling slightly flabbergasted at how we just spent so much on so little. And TPG is hankering for a local supply of the pikelets and madeleines we love so much at Spitalfields and Farringdon (ooh - the madeleines are available at lunch).

Fortunately, we're in zen mode. The crisp, white room surrounded by windows is a calming little morning oasis in the otherwise hectic surrounds of Chinatown. And the waiters are the friendliest (by far) that I've experienced at any of the three St John establishments - with that gripe gone, I'll happily be back to try the traditional St John nose-to-tail dinner menu soon (where perhaps the prices might be more easily justified).


St John Hotel, 1 Leicester Square, Soho, London, WC2H 7BL (Tel: 0203 301 8069)

Dumplings' Legend, Chinatown

Sometimes you just need to while away a lazy Sunday afternoon eating dim sum.

Last week, I wrote about Leong's Legends, a decent Taiwanese restaurant in Chinatown which recently opened a dim sum offshoot, Dumplings' Legend, just around the corner on Gerrard Street. Reading comments on my post about LL's excellent Siu Loung Bao (or Xiao Long Bao) brought on cravings. It was time to investigate the newbie's offerings.

On the site of the former Golden Harvest, the downstairs room is large and airy with white walls and minimalistic touches. It's fresher looking than some of its neighbours - quite like an Asian St John's in terms of decor. We were lucky to be seated at the front, where the whole wall is a window and the sunshine flitted in over our lunch as we watched the characters of Chinatown amble by. Upstairs is more poky, but does the job.

We arrived about 2pm - prime time it seems. The dining room was packed and a small queue was growing rapidly. However, 3 dumpling makers were at work behind a glass panel at the entrance, rolling, folding and stuffing delicate dumpling wrappers. It's mesmerising to watch while you wait - although I do wonder how long it takes before RSI sets in.

"Whatever", you say. To the food, the food...

Our knobbly cheung-fun arrive first - three generous, slinky, slug-like noodles stuffed with ample slices of sea bass and picked vegetables. A fair price at £3.30. The next table orders the spicy stir fried cheung-fun which looks good and appears to be a popular choice around the room.

Steamed sticky rice in a bamboo tube is delicious but so thick it borders on congealed - a decent set of biceps is required to scoop it out (£4.50).

Barbecued pork buns are excellent - fluffy and filled with big, juicy splashes of sweet, red barbecued meat (3 for £2.50).

Crystal prawn dumplings are small, pretty things, sweet and plump - but nothing which stands out above the norm here (£2.50). Chicken wrapped in banana leaf with Chinese is a highlight - deliciously moist, with satisfying chunks of chicken and Chinese sausage (£2.20).

Finally, out come the pork Siu Loung Bao, for which Leong's Legends are renowed (£6.00). At Dumplings' Legend, they're also fantastic - the little smurf's hut shaped wrapper is quite delicate and so you have to be careful not to pierce it, spilling broth onto the table. It snuggles a parcel of meat within as well as a warm soupy broth which explodes into your mouth on first bite. These should be an essential part of your dim sum order here. The accompanying soy sauce contains thick slithers of shredded ginger - a lovely touch.

We finish with a serve of 3 tiny egg tarts (£2.20) - these are TPG's thing more than mine. They're nothing special, but I quite like the fact they don't taste overly eggy,

Service is efficient and friendlier than you might experience at some Chinatown restaurants. We paid around £15 per head including tea and service, although we could have done with 1 less dish and 1 less pot of tea (at £2.20 each) had we not been feeling so greedy.

Both Leong's Legends and Dumplings' Legend highlight their "highly recommended" dishes with 2 stars on the menu. Interestingly, "Legends specialties" are distinguished with 1 star. I'm not sure what the distinction means.

Dumplings' Legend is good, and it's already popular. I think it may become my cheap and cheerful dim sum restaurant of choice when those Sunday afternoon cravings set in.

Dumplings' Legend, 15-16 Gerrard Street, Chinatown, London, W1D 6JE

Leong's Legends

Leong's Legends is one of the better places to eat on a small budget in London's Chinatown.

Decor is simple but smart - dark wood, low lighting; it's like a busy teahouse. The Taiwanese fare - while it might not always blow you away - is a cheerful skip ahead of most of its near neighbours. And it's a nice change in style from the tide of Cantonese restaurants in the area.

Service is fairly swift and impersonal, but not rude in my experience (although there have been reports of frostiness in the past) - which to my mind is perfect for a good value, tasty meal in Chinatown. I'm not expecting anyone to fold my napkin when I go to the loos.

TPG can not go anywhere without trying the duck. The crispy, aromatic duck has good flavour, if a fraction dry on our recent visit. A plentiful serve of pancakes, spring onion, cucumber and a sweet hoisin sauce accompany it.

The ma po tofu adds some spice to our table - it definitely has a kick. The ginger chicken is sweet and tender, with crunchy slithers of ginger and onion to liven up the textures. The sweet, tender braised pork belly is also one to try.

Leong's Legends is any easy contender for a regular budget haunt in Chinatown. It has a good reputation for dim sum too, and particularly the xiao long bao (steamed soupy, meaty dumplings). Just watch out for the queue if you arrive during prime time. Expect to pay just over £20 for 2 people.

Other favourites are the slightly more upmarket Empress of Sichuan and - for bargain basement - Young Chen.

Leong's Legend, 4 Macclesfield Street, Chinatown, London W1D 6AX (Tel: 020 7287 0288)

There is also a newer Leong's Legends branch in Bayswater.

Empress of Sichuan - Chinatown, London

The emperor may be wearing no clothes, but the Empress of Sichuan knows how to dress up a plate.

Based on the fringes of Chinatown, near the Prince Charles cinema, the Empress Of Sichuan looks a little prissy on the inside compared to some of her neighbours. Normally elegance is not an advantage in my book of tracking down no frills, gutsy but good Chinese fare. There are wine bottles on formal display and enough room between tables to make it near impossible to surreptitiously eye off the meals on neighbouring plates - almost. There are even linen napkins. 

However, service immediately puts the heart at ease - it is friendly, non stiff and helpful (despite the occasional language barrier).  Waitresses have a little more time to talk through your options than they do on Gerrard St, where they're often shrieking out "fried pork, crispy duck!" before they've even completed the 180 degree turn from your table.

Wines by the glass are as cheap as chips. I enjoyed a couple of glasses of the Hazy Bay Chenin Blanc (Sth Africa 2008) while TPG chose a zingy Gerwurtztraminer Verdelho from Opal Ridge. Both were around £4 - £4.50 per glass and got our night off to a happy start.

Our bowl of sliced, spicy chicken (pictured above) - so full and juicy - came first, wallowing in a bowl of flame coloured chili oil, with a hefty smattering of sesame seeds and coriander. At £6, this was good value and 100% more enjoyable than the version I've had at Soho's trendy Bar Shu in the past. It was swimming in oil, but somehow this seemed nourishing rather than greasy.

Our whole steamed seabass was gorgeous. Hunks of delicate, moist fish balanced beautifully with the subtle flavours of the ginger and spring onion. It would be hard not to choose this again next time. At around £20, it could easily feed 3 people. Or us.

Our bears paw tofu was delicious, although being thinly sliced and quite dry, I'm not sure I prefer it over chunkier cut styles which retain a softer texture. Braised with scrumptious slithers of pork and big, slippery cloud ear mushrooms, this was another fiery delight with contrasting textures.

The Empress of Sichuan is all substance over style, especially when compared to some of the trendier looking Sichuanese players which have answered the call for this fiery cuisine nearby. She's playful, but chef Kang Dong (who hails from Chengdu) keeps her on track, focused on what we're really there for: delicious, comforting, flavourful food in an ambience that doesn't steal anything away from the plate.

She's not the cheapest option in Chinatown but, in just one bite, you'll understand why.

Our bill came to around £60 for 2, with wine, steamed rice and service. And I'll be back. Oh-ho yeees [rubs hands gleefully]...


Empress of Sichuan, 6-7 Lisle Street, London WC2 (020-7734 8128)


If you're interested in Sichuanese food in Soho, you might be interested in my earlier review of Bar Shan. Bar Shan has funkier decor that EOS, but I think the food at EOS has the edge.