Randomness Guide to London - Differences between Version 19 and Version 18 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.	The menu presentation has evolved since this place opened, though the dishes remain similar. It used to be divided into cold dishes and hot dishes, and included the advice that the best way to order is to have all your dishes arrive at once, rather than starters followed by main courses, and 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". As of December 2009, however, the menu has been rearranged into the more-Anglicised categorisation of starters, main courses, accompaniments, etc, and the more "interesting" dish names (those translated directly from the Chinese, e.g. strange-flavoured rabbit, fire-exploded beef tripe) have been replaced by less exciting titles.
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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.	We've visited here a few times now, in 2007, 2008, and 2009 and have never had trouble getting a table (even on a Friday evening in December 2009) and never seen it full.
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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.	[[Kake]], [[claud]], [[Juliette]], and [[Sam]] first visited on a Tuesday evening in June 2007. 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 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. Five dishes, a £20 bottle of Rioja, and plain rice for four came to £78 including service.
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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.	[[Kake]]'s next visit was on a Saturday lunchtime in April 2008; again, we'd booked for our party of three, but really hadn't needed to as the place was empty when we arrived at 12:30pm and stayed almost entirely empty throughout our meal. Strange-flavoured rabbit and fish-fragrant aubergine were again good; we also tried the dry-fried green beans (very good), the drifting-fragrant prawns with cumin (excellent flavour but slightly overcooked), the stuffed wonton dumplings (perfectly fine), and the hot and sour soup (disappointingly lacking in complexity; the only note that came through sufficiently was the sourness). These five dishes, plain rice for three, soup for three, tea for three, and two large bottles of water came to £66 including service.
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Dan dan noodles (擔擔麵/dàn dàn 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.	Our most recent visit was by [[bob]] and coworkers, on a Friday evening in December 2009. Arriving at 8:30pm, we had no trouble getting a table as there were only eight other customers. As mentioned above, the menu is now structured into starters and mains, so we went with the flow. [[bob]]'s hot and sour soup starter was "in a Beijing style" according to the waiter, so not actually hot as such. Jack had "diced rabbit" (née strange-flavour rabbit), which he really liked (and [[bob]] agreed). The other two of our party had chicken and sweetcorn soup; one of them felt it was undersalted.
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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).	Moving on to mains, hot and numbing pork (sliced pork in broth) was pretty good, pork not overcooked and certainly hot and numbing as described. Sichuan pig's blood special was interesting and quite tasty, incorporating luncheon meat (which worked quite well — don't be put off by this) along with the congealed blood. Pig's ears in chilli sauce, a cold dish, had plenty of chilli heat (the chef made it hotter for us on request); we weren't entirely sure about this one and might not order it again. Stirfried pig kidneys were very good; the sauce wasn't all that hot but it had an interesting flavour beyond the chilli heat. Chong qing special baby chicken (chopped and deep-fried crispy chicken with dried red chillies) had a rather high bone-to-meat ratio — our waiter explained that this was a "very typical" dish but it was a bit of a pain to eat.
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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).	Aubergines with minced pork were pretty good — the vegetable fans in our group really liked them. Pea shoots in vegetarian stock with preserved eggs and mushrooms were also good; the pea shoots were really tasty and the broth was good too. Dan dan noodles came in quite a small portion, and not as good as those [[bob]] tried recently at [[No. 10 Restaurant, SW5 0QT\|No. 10]] in Earl's Court; the noodles were <i>really</i> soft, and there was less meat than at No. 10. Plain steamed rice also came in quite a small portion.
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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.	Service on [[Kake]]'s 2008 visit was a mix of amusingly incompetent (when spoken to in English) and acceptable (when spoken to in Mandarin). They refused to give us tap water, and they only had one kind of tea. Things were better on [[bob]]'s December 2009 visit; service was much more helpful and they were happy to supply tap water.
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[[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.	[[bob]]'s verdict: I will be going back (and Jack wants to come too).
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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.	[[Kake]]'s verdict: I'd be happy to accompany bob!
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See also (all these reviews are of Snazz Sichuan):	See also:
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<div class="last_verified">Last visited by [[Kake]], [[bob]], [[Sarah]], Mr Noodles, and Bellaphon, June 2010. Opening hours taken from a takeaway menu collected on that visit.</div> address='37 Chalton Street'	<div class="last_verified">Last visited by [[bob]] and coworkers, 18 December 2009.</div> address='New China Club, 37 Chalton Street'
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formatted_website_text='rednhotgroup.com/">http://www.rednhotgr...'	formatted_website_text='newchinaclub.co.uk/">http://www.newchinac...'
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hours_text='noon-11pm Mon-Thu; noon-midnight Fri-Sat; noon-11pm Sun'	hours_text=''
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major_change='1'	major_change='0'
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node_image='https://farm2.static.flickr.com/1285/4666358332_89bfcf8574_m_d.jpg'	node_image='https://farm2.static.flickr.com/1072/577935924_c58bc86086_m_d.jpg'
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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'	node_image_url='https://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/577935924/' opening_hours_text=''
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website='http://www.newchinaclub.co.uk/' website='http://www.rednhotgroup.com/'	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.

The menu presentation has evolved since this place opened, though the dishes remain similar. It used to be divided into cold dishes and hot dishes, and included the advice that the best way to order is to have all your dishes arrive at once, rather than starters followed by main courses, and 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". As of December 2009, however, the menu has been rearranged into the more-Anglicised categorisation of starters, main courses, accompaniments, etc, and the more "interesting" dish names (those translated directly from the Chinese, e.g. strange-flavoured rabbit, fire-exploded beef tripe) have been replaced by less exciting titles.

We've visited here a few times now, in 2007, 2008, and 2009 and have never had trouble getting a table (even on a Friday evening in December 2009) and never seen it full.

Kake, claud, Juliette, and Sam first visited on a Tuesday evening in June 2007. 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 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. Five dishes, a £20 bottle of Rioja, and plain rice for four came to £78 including service.

Kake's next visit was on a Saturday lunchtime in April 2008; again, we'd booked for our party of three, but really hadn't needed to as the place was empty when we arrived at 12:30pm and stayed almost entirely empty throughout our meal. Strange-flavoured rabbit and fish-fragrant aubergine were again good; we also tried the dry-fried green beans (very good), the drifting-fragrant prawns with cumin (excellent flavour but slightly overcooked), the stuffed wonton dumplings (perfectly fine), and the hot and sour soup (disappointingly lacking in complexity; the only note that came through sufficiently was the sourness). These five dishes, plain rice for three, soup for three, tea for three, and two large bottles of water came to £66 including service.

Our most recent visit was by bob and coworkers, on a Friday evening in December 2009. Arriving at 8:30pm, we had no trouble getting a table as there were only eight other customers. As mentioned above, the menu is now structured into starters and mains, so we went with the flow. bob's hot and sour soup starter was "in a Beijing style" according to the waiter, so not actually hot as such. Jack had "diced rabbit" (née strange-flavour rabbit), which he really liked (and bob agreed). The other two of our party had chicken and sweetcorn soup; one of them felt it was undersalted.

Moving on to mains, hot and numbing pork (sliced pork in broth) was pretty good, pork not overcooked and certainly hot and numbing as described. Sichuan pig's blood special was interesting and quite tasty, incorporating luncheon meat (which worked quite well — don't be put off by this) along with the congealed blood. Pig's ears in chilli sauce, a cold dish, had plenty of chilli heat (the chef made it hotter for us on request); we weren't entirely sure about this one and might not order it again. Stirfried pig kidneys were very good; the sauce wasn't all that hot but it had an interesting flavour beyond the chilli heat. Chong qing special baby chicken (chopped and deep-fried crispy chicken with dried red chillies) had a rather high bone-to-meat ratio — our waiter explained that this was a "very typical" dish but it was a bit of a pain to eat.

Aubergines with minced pork were pretty good — the vegetable fans in our group really liked them. Pea shoots in vegetarian stock with preserved eggs and mushrooms were also good; the pea shoots were really tasty and the broth was good too. Dan dan noodles came in quite a small portion, and not as good as those bob tried recently at No. 10 in Earl's Court; the noodles were really soft, and there was less meat than at No. 10. Plain steamed rice also came in quite a small portion.

Service on Kake's 2008 visit was a mix of amusingly incompetent (when spoken to in English) and acceptable (when spoken to in Mandarin). They refused to give us tap water, and they only had one kind of tea. Things were better on bob's December 2009 visit; service was much more helpful and they were happy to supply tap water.

bob's verdict: I will be going back (and Jack wants to come too).

Kake's verdict: I'd be happy to accompany bob!

Randomness Guide to London Menu

Randomness Guide to London - Differences between Version 19 and Version 18 of Red And Hot, NW1 1JD