Randomness Guide to London - Differences between Version 24 and Version 5 of Red And Hot, NW1 1JD
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| Sichuan restaurant just off Euston Road, between [[Euston Station]] and [[King's Cross St Pancras Station]]. |
Sichuan restaurant just off Euston Road, between [[Euston Station]] and [[King's Cross St Pancras Station]]. They aim for authenticity of atmosphere as well as cuisine; laughing and talking loudly is encouraged. |
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Previously known as Snazz Sichuan <small>[http://flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/577935924/ photo]</small>, this restaurant became part of the Red & Hot group in early 2010. Although the management and other staff changed, and the menu also changed in line with that of the other restaurants in the group, the chef stayed on. The ambience is also similar, with tables covered in fresh white linen. |
We visited on a Tuesday evening in June. When we arrived at 8pm, it was reasonably quiet, but got busier and noisier (though not unpleasantly noisy) later on. We'd booked, but probably didn't really need to. |
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[[Kake]], [[bob]], [[Sarah]], Mr Noodles, and Bellaphon visited on a Wednesday evening in June 2010. We hadn't booked, but there was no problem finding us a table when we arrived a little after 7pm, as we were the first customers of the evening. Indeed, we've never previously had trouble getting a table when it was Snazz Sichuan, even on a Friday evening, and never saw it full — however, we were given to understand on this visit that the new management hope to be able to fill the place up a bit more, so this situation may not persist. |
The menu is divided into cold dishes and hot dishes; a page at the front of the menu suggests that the best way to order is to have all your dishes arrive at once, rather than starters followed by main courses. It also explains that the usual custom is to have your meat/fish/veg dishes first and then plain rice at the end, to make sure that you're full, but you can have your rice earlier if you prefer. We did in fact ask for our rice to come with the other dishes (there's no rice section on the menu; I don't know if there's any choice other than plain rice, but I didn't miss it); it would certainly be worth trying it the traditional way, though. |
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Hot and numbing beef (水煮牛肉/shuǐ zhǔ niú ròu; £8.80) <small>[http://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/4666795315/ photo]</small> was good, with tender and well-spiced beef. Fire-exploded kidney flowers (火爆腰花/huǒ bào yāo huā; £7.80) <small>[http://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/4667544276/ photo]</small> managed to avoid the unpleasant smell/taste that kidney can often have. Sichuan-style pig's blood mix (富貴毛血旺; £12.80) <small>[http://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/4666868045/ photo]</small> was interesting and quite tasty, incorporating luncheon meat (which worked quite well — don't be put off by this) along with the congealed blood. However, the pieces of squid also included in the dish were overcooked and rubbery. |
The first dish we decided on was a cold one, strange-flavoured rabbit; it wasn't particularly strange but was certainly good (mind out for the bits of bone, though). Two of our three hot dishes were ones I'd had before, but these renditions were among the best I've tried: fish-fragrant aubergine, and ma po tofu (a replacement for the preserved egg dish we'd wanted, which was off the menu that day). We also ordered fire-exploded beef tripe, which turned out to be a good contrast to the other dishes. (Some reviewers have complained that the dishes here seem to lack variety, all involving a slick of fierce-looking red oil; I do see their point, but I recommend they try the beef tripe.) Our fifth dish was chicken in Chong Qing special sauce; rather soupy, and not hugely interesting (at least to [[Kake]]; maybe someone else has a different opinion?) |
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Special fried chicken with dry chilli and cumin (飄香辣子雞; £12) <small>[http://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/4667505002/ photo]</small> was very good — tender but not mushy chicken in a crispy coating, not overcooked or greasy at all, and with a good flavour imparted by the dried chillies. Fish soup with pickled vegetables (風味酸湯魚/fēng wèi suān tāng yú; £12.80) <small>[http://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/4666826381/ photo]</small> was also good, with tender fish fillets bathed in a rich and fairly spicy broth. Pea shoots in rich broth (上湯豆苗/shàng tāng dòu miáo; £8.80) <small>[http://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/4667361450/ photo]</small> came garnished with century egg and a couple of peeled prawns. Opinions among our party were divided on this one; some felt the pea shoots were a little undercooked, while others liked them like this. |
(The interesting names of dishes were direct translations from the Chinese, according to the Sinophone in our party. We should perhaps have taken advantage of her presence to investigate the hotpot menu, which only comes in Chinese.) |
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Dan dan noodles (擔擔麵/dān dān miàn; £5.60) <small>[http://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/4667385268/ photo]</small> were OK, but nowhere near as good as the ones we've had from [[No. 10 Restaurant, SW5 0QT|No. 10]] in Earl's Court ([[bob]] also tried these on a previous visit before the change of management, and noted that the noodles were <i>really</i> soft, and there was less meat than at No. 10). Zhong's crescent dumplings (鐘餃子/Zhōng jiǎo zi; £4.80 for eight) <small>[http://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/4667373676/ photo]</small> were very good; smooth, silky-skinned dumplings enhanced with a coating of a deeply savoury chilli oil. |
Five dishes, a £20 bottle of Rioja, and plain rice for four came to £78 including service, certainly a reasonable price. This place definitely deserves another visit. |
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Sadly, one of the casualties of the menu change was a dish we'd enjoyed before and been hoping to order this time — the strange-flavour rabbit (怪味兔/guài wèi tù). |
Other reviews: * [http://www.timeout.com/london/restaurants/reviews/10620.html Time Out] * [http://www.independent.co.uk/living/food_and_drink/reviews/article2579282.ece The Independent] * [http://www.chowhound.com/topics/405836 Chowhound] * [http://majbros.blogspot.com/2007/06/snazz-sichuan.html Dos Hermanos] |
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Service on this visit was very friendly and helpful, with staff happy to take the time to place our dishes in the optimal positions for photography — something of a contrast to the often less-than-accommodating service under the old management (for one thing, the refusal to serve tap water is well in the past). On another visit by [[Kake]] and [[Sarah]] in October 2010, the chicken with chilli sauce starter (成都口水雞/Chéngdū kǒu shuǐ jī; £7.80) <small>[http://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/5159037535/in/set-72157624077781991/ photo]</small> and the preserved eggs with tender bean curd (pí dàn dòu fu huā; £7) <small>[http://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/5159963984/in/set-72157624077781991/ photo]</small> were both very good. The chicken was served off the bone, but the flavour didn't suffer from this. Dishes [[Kake]] has previously enjoyed here when it was Snazz Sichuan include fish-fragrant aubergine, ma po tofu, and dry-fried green beans, all of which were among the best renditions that I've tried, and the fire-exploded beef tripe, which turned out to be a good contrast to the "slick of fierce-looking red oil" present in many of the other dishes. [[bob]] also puts in a word for the hot and numbing pork (sliced pork in broth, sampled in December 2009); pretty good, with the pork not overcooked and certainly hot and numbing as described. [[Kake]]'s verdict: I'd definitely like to come back and try more of the menu. The obvious comparison to this place would be [[Chilli Cool, WC1H 9EW|Chilli Cool]], another Sichuan restaurant in the same area — however, despite the similarities in style and competence of cuisine, the ambience in the two places is utterly different, so my mood would dictate which of the two I'd prefer on any given day. Accessibility: Two steps up to get in. Two steps down to get to the rearmost dining area and to the toilets. The ladies' toilet doubles as an accessible toilet, but in addition to the barrier of the steps, as of June 2010 the toilet chain is high up in a corner and would be hard to reach from a wheelchair. See also: * [http://bellaphon.blogspot.com/2010/06/red-n-hot-euston.html Bellaphon's review of our visit] * [http://www.independent.co.uk/living/food_and_drink/reviews/article2579282.ece The Independent review] (of Snazz Sichuan) * [http://www.chowhound.com/topics/405836 Chowhound thread] (of Snazz Sichuan) * [http://majbros.blogspot.com/2007/06/snazz-sichuan.html Dos Hermanos review] (of Snazz Sichuan) * [http://valkyriekaren.livejournal.com/983312.html?style=mine Valkyrie Karen's review] (of Snazz Sichuan) * [http://lizzieeatslondon.blogspot.com/2009/11/snazz-sichuan.html Hollow Legs review] (of Snazz Sichuan) * [http://helengraves.co.uk/2009/12/snazz-sichuan-kings-cross/ Food Stories review] (of Snazz Sichuan) <div class="last_verified">Last visited by [[Kake]] and [[Sarah]], October 2010. Opening hours taken from a takeaway menu collected in June 2010.</div> address='37 Chalton Street' category='Chinese Food,Featured Article,Hotpot,Restaurants,Sichuan Food' |
<div class="last_verified">Last visited 20 June 2007 by [[Kake]], [[claud]], [[Juliette]], and [[Sam]].</div> address='New China Club, 37 Chalton Street' category='Chinese Food,Restaurants,Sichuan Food,Take Kake Here' |
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formatted_website_text='rednhotgroup.com/">http://www.rednhotgr...' host='81.2.102.215' hours_text='noon-11pm Mon-Thu; noon-midnight Fri-Sat; noon-11pm Sun' |
formatted_website_text='newchinaclub.co.uk/">http://www.newchinaclub.co.uk/
' host='217.147.80.147' hours_text='' |
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node_image='https://farm2.static.flickr.com/1285/4666358332_89bfcf8574_m_d.jpg' node_image_copyright='Kake' node_image_licence='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/' node_image_url='https://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/4666358332/' opening_hours_text='noon-11pm Mon-Thu; noon-midnight Fri-Sat; noon-11pm Sun' |
opening_hours_text='' |
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summary='Sichuan restaurant just off Euston Road.' website='http://www.newchinaclub.co.uk/' website='http://www.rednhotgroup.com/' |
summary='Sichuan restaurant aiming for authenticity of atmosphere as well as cuisine.' website='http://www.newchinaclub.co.uk/' website='http://www.rednhotgroup.com/' |
Sichuan restaurant just off Euston Road, between Euston Station and King's Cross St Pancras Station. They aim for authenticity of atmosphere as well as cuisine; laughing and talking loudly is encouraged.
We visited on a Tuesday evening in June. When we arrived at 8pm, it was reasonably quiet, but got busier and noisier (though not unpleasantly noisy) later on. We'd booked, but probably didn't really need to.
The menu is divided into cold dishes and hot dishes; a page at the front of the menu suggests that the best way to order is to have all your dishes arrive at once, rather than starters followed by main courses. It also explains that the usual custom is to have your meat/fish/veg dishes first and then plain rice at the end, to make sure that you're full, but you can have your rice earlier if you prefer. We did in fact ask for our rice to come with the other dishes (there's no rice section on the menu; I don't know if there's any choice other than plain rice, but I didn't miss it); it would certainly be worth trying it the traditional way, though.
The first dish we decided on was a cold one, strange-flavoured rabbit; it wasn't particularly strange but was certainly good (mind out for the bits of bone, though). Two of our three hot dishes were ones I'd had before, but these renditions were among the best I've tried: fish-fragrant aubergine, and ma po tofu (a replacement for the preserved egg dish we'd wanted, which was off the menu that day). We also ordered fire-exploded beef tripe, which turned out to be a good contrast to the other dishes. (Some reviewers have complained that the dishes here seem to lack variety, all involving a slick of fierce-looking red oil; I do see their point, but I recommend they try the beef tripe.) Our fifth dish was chicken in Chong Qing special sauce; rather soupy, and not hugely interesting (at least to Kake; maybe someone else has a different opinion?)
(The interesting names of dishes were direct translations from the Chinese, according to the Sinophone in our party. We should perhaps have taken advantage of her presence to investigate the hotpot menu, which only comes in Chinese.)
Five dishes, a £20 bottle of Rioja, and plain rice for four came to £78 including service, certainly a reasonable price. This place definitely deserves another visit.
Other reviews:
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