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
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jedw
Hi there I haven't been in London all that long, but love the place and everything it has to offer - I love getting out and discovering new places...
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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
It's reasonable. Food is not bad, but not great. But the service is really really bad.
Does it sound familiar?
It looks new and different from other Chinese restaurants, but the truth is that this is just another one of those Chinese.
I would rather go to other Chinese places. It's not worth waiting in the queue.
FOOD: most dishes were extremely spicy, induced extreme sweating and burning around my table; and we are not unacostomed to spice. I would strongly advise against any of the hotter dishes, though the wantons and the cold beef dish were excellent. The new year special 'piece and happyness' noodles were lacking in taste.
SERVICE: They seemed extremely anxious to turn over tables, and were unwilling facilitate drinks in the younger looking members of the table. However, when knives and forks were asked for, they were happy to help, with dissapointing glances.
PRICE/ VALUE: You could have a veritable feast for very little money, and servings were literally huge.
DÉCOR: Although modern looking, it was very cramped and the seating was uncomfortable.
OVERALL: A passable meal, very cheap, reasonable service. Won't be rushing ( or otherwise) to go back; dissapointed when the time out review promised so much.
And the stupid picture of the worlds most oppressive dictator (chairman Mao) was uncomfortable to have staring at us.
Went on Saturday, queues to get in stretching round the corner. Althought the small eats were sumptuous, think they've sold out / been overcome since their revue as their mains were all noodle and very little meat - unless that is part of the cultural revolution theme?? Waiting staff ultra efficient to the point that as soon as chopsticks were down, the bill was on the table - also beware , they don't take card payments, could be a little embarassing!
Quick, cheap, delicious and very filling! Definitely one of Chinatown's best.
I went to Baozi Inn today after having read some positive reviews and I have to say that it seems almost as though we went to a different restaurant. The menu was the same, but the food was dire. We were there for a light brunch so ordered a pork baozi each, and one portion of wonton in savoury broth. The baozi's bun was leathery and chewy, not soft as fluffy as it should have been. It was also soggy on the bottom. The pork filling was overly salty and rough in texture. It was basically just salty minced pork, there was no depth to it at all. The wontons had a miserly pork filling and thick-ish skin and wasn't particularly tasty. Its savoury broth (which cost more than the chilli oil version) was not unlike instant noodle soup base. Overall, very poor. Service was also perfunctory despite ours being one of only two occupied tables. To add insult to injury we were given two portions of the wonton in savoury broth despite having ordered just one, and so our entire bill for two baozi, two wonton soups and two 7-ups came to a whopping £17.20! Definitely NOT value for money, I would not recommend eating here, you could probably cook up something better yourself even if you had almost no cooking skills.