Xu

Before we begin properly, a brief introductory anecdote; whenever I visit a restaurant that hasn't been open long, I try to avoid reading anyone else's reviews or blogs so I can go in with a completely open mind. I might make a note of a couple of dishes on the restaurant's Instagram feed I like the look of, but generally I just pitch up.

This approach occasionally has its downfalls.  Mostly it involves me missing out on a 'must-try' dish; clearly this means I have to go back, this time without subjecting my dining companion to bloggers' rules (no touching your food before the photo, get your arms out of the shot, don't make shadows on the table etc.). So, not too grim.

Hence, pretty much all I knew about Xu - apart from that it is pronounced 'Shu' — was that it was the newest baby of the Bao group, serving Taiwanese food in Soho. We rocked up on a sunny lunchtime, me in Camden market hippie trousers and him in a t-shirt and shorts, to find that Xu is actually a pretty swish place. Our sharp-suited waiter, clearly a part-time GQ model, seated us next to a table of worldly and immaculately dressed twenty-somethings with handbags worth more than my car. Awkward.

Except that it wasn't, at all. The staff were all breezily charming, the service perfectly pitched and the overall feel of the restaurant really relaxed. You could dress up to come here, but you don't have to. Halfway through the meal, I realised why; everybody is far too busy concentrating on their food to worry about you.

We started with a Taiwan Beer and a couple of dishes of peanut lotus crisps — ridiculously moreish crispy discs of lotus root with chilli, peanut and wintermelon syrup. These had a delicious peanut butter & jelly, salty-sweet appeal that had me eyeing my companion's plate enviously long after mine were gone. I may or may not have surreptitiously dabbed my plate clean with a damp fingertip.

We could have just ordered the entire starter menu as small plates, but we eventually went for the Xian bing - generously sized, aged pork pancakes, served with a chilli and vinegar dip. These were plump and perfectly cooked with a pleasingly crisp, browned exterior. Happily there were two to a portion or there could well have been a scene.

My companion is particularly fond of eel, so we also ordered the tomato and smoked eel with daikon. I am so very happy we did, as this was outstandingly good. I was initially a little disappointed at the size of the tiny, delicate pieces of eel but their flavour was so deep, rounded and gorgeously smoky that the eel balanced perfectly with the freshness and acidity of the tomatoes. When you go to Xu - and you really, really must - don't miss this.

Next up was the chicken wing with a punchy sanbei glaze topped with caviar. I first had this combination at Elizabeth (née Allen) Haigh's Shibui pop-up at Carousel and this was almost as good. It may sound like an unlikely pairing but the caviar adds the smallest briny zing to the dish which works really well with the other flavours.

On to the mains, and more difficult choices. We opted for the shou pa chicken; this arrived as what looked like an entire chicken, peppery, juicy and bronzed, adorned with softened ginger and spring onion. I know I have a tendency to over-ordering as I hate to miss out, but this was huge — and incredible value for money.

Unfortunately they did not have the char siu pork on the day we went, so that will have to wait for a rematch; the second main we ordered turned out to be my other stand-out dish of the day, the chilli egg drop crab. Served in the shell, this was everything I had hoped; the delicious, garlicky chilli sauce was pleasantly but not mouth-numbingly spicy, allowing the full flavour of the crab to come through.

We had ordered the bamboo chilli beef fat rice to go with — or rather alongside, as when it turned up it was a mini meal in itself. Chi Shiang rice from Taiwan with aged beef fat, chilli and coriander, wrapped in bamboo leaves, this was not dissimilar in style to the classic Chinese sticky rice in lotus leaf which is a staple of my every dim sum order. The Xu version was incredibly rich, full-flavoured and very satisfying. Fortunately we had already had a gentle suggestion from the front of house staff that a plain rice might be advisable to go with the crab. It was; I wouldn't have wanted to waste any of that sauce.

I didn't get to the desserts, so you are going to have to do that for me. I heartily recommend a visit to Xu; it's amazing value for such accomplished cooking, it has a great vibe and it takes reservations. Did I mention there is a tea salon downstairs and a cocktail bar upstairs? Well, I just did. Get there pronto.

Yours, a total Xu addict,
London Girl About Town xx

Leong's Legend

As a one-time resident of Hong Kong my idea of a traditional Sunday lunch is Cantonese dim sum as much as it is an English roast, although I love them both. Since my return to London I tend to get my dim sum fix at the same restaurant in Chinatown (see my blog post in July, which also explains what the main dishes are) but have been thinking I should really at least try somewhere else for a change . . . so this time we veered slightly off our beaten track and went to Leong's Legend in Macclesfield Street. Actually a Taiwanese restaurant, the dim sum nevertheless came highly recommended.

Two points to note if you are planning to eat here. First, they have two restaurants in Chinatown: this one and Leong's Legends Continue in nearby Lisle Street. As far as I can tell the latter is more of an overflow venue so the food should be pretty much the same, but if you're arranging to meet friends it might help avoid confusion.

Second, actually getting in to the restaurant gave me a slight speakeasy flashback; the welcoming doorway to the left of the venue, next to the window with visible seated diners, is in fact only  for the Candy Cafe upstairs. To get into Leong's you knock on a really solid-looking door to the right of the window which needs to be opened for you from inside by a member of staff. Squeeze in and you will find yourself in an attractive and unexpectedly stylish tea-room type interior with wooden tables and benches, deep blue walls and gentle lighting.

We were seated immediately and given both a la carte and dim sum menus. For those unfamiliar with dim sum, it is a meal of several small sharing dishes (think Chinese tapas) either chosen from passing trolleys wheeled by staff or ordered from a tick-sheet menu. Leong's is the latter version; helpfully the English translation is written underneath but do make sure you are ticking the right box as it can look a little confusing mid-page. Dishes arrive at the table in no particular order and you just tuck in. Our selection was as follows:

Prawn and Celery Cheung Fun - quite good, but the prawns had a very solid texture that made me wonder if they had been in the freezer a tad too long, or were perhaps a little overcooked. I couldn't detect any celery in them, although there was coriander . . . which is called cilantro in the US. A possible typo? Nice mix of flavours though.

Prawn Dumplings - classic har gau, generously sized but again I felt the quality of the prawns was a little lacking.

Sticky Rice with Shredded Pork - a squat tower of sticky rice topped with a moist and well-flavoured mix of pork and mushrooms. I had expected the sauce to be hot but it was actually mild and sweetish. This was good, although I kind of miss the theatre of unwrapping the rice from a lotus leaf as in other restaurants.

Pan-fried Turnip and Shrimp Paste - the flavour was good, but they were a bit heavy; I prefer the outside/edges a little more crispy and the inside a little less dense.

Legend's Pork Siu Loung Bao - English translations of Chinese dishes are notoriously variable but these soup dumplings are usually found on menus as 'xiao long bao' or just 'XLB' for short. You can either bite the top off and sip at the spicy soup and pork filling or pop one in whole, bite down and let the flavours burst into your mouth. I prefer the latter but do be careful; dim sum is freshly-cooked, so these will arrive very hot! The filling was excellent, with a meaty depth to the soup and a kick of ginger, which I love. The wrapping was quite thick which made them a bit stodgier than I would have liked, but  otherwise these were great - and very good value at £5.50 for eight pieces.

Prawn and Ham Stuffed Rolls - not deep-fried spring rolls but steamed in a very savoury (MSG?) sauce. I liked them but my companion found the flavour a little too pronounced.

Egg tarts - nice filling but a little too much pastry. I flaked most of the outside of mine onto the plate.

A word about the staff; on our visit they were absolutely fine, perfectly helpful and courteous. Perhaps we were lucky, but I do wonder if the repeatedly negative comments about staff attitude is a cultural thing; you just don't get that American chatty new-best-friend version of service, more a polite and reserved efficiency which is seen as more appropriate. Personally I would rather have my food and a brief smile than some teenager hunkering down by my table and quizzing me insincerely about my day.

So this is Leong's Legend - I enjoyed my visit, just not quite enough to tempt me away from my regular.

Yours, faithfully,







Girl About Town xx