Randomness Guide to London - Differences between Version 12 and Version 5 of Baozi Inn, WC2H 7JS

Version 12 Version 5
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Small Chinese restaurant in [[Locale Chinatown|Chinatown]], offering Sichuan and Northern Chinese dumplings, noodle dishes, and "small eats". Note that as of November 2010 they don't take cards or cheques, and there's a £8/person minimum charge.
 Small Chinese restaurant in [[Locale Chinatown|Chinatown]], offering Sichuan and Northern Chinese dumplings, noodle dishes, and "small eats". Note that as of May 2010 they don't take cards or cheques, and there's a £8/person minimum charge.
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[[Kake]] and [[doop]] visited on a Saturday lunchtime in May 2010. Arriving very soon after they opened at 11:30am, we were the only customers for the first little while, but it was over half full by the time we left an hour later. Our final bill for plenty of food plus Chinese tea was £11/head (service not included).
 [[Kake]] and [[doop]] visited on a Saturday lunchtime in May 2010. Arriving very soon after they opened at 11:30am, we were the only customers for the first little while, but it was over half full by the time we left an hour later.
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We also had one of the rice plates &#8212; red-braised aubergine with rice (&#32005;&#29138;&#33540;&#23376;&#39151;/h&oacute;ng sh&#257;o qi&eacute; zi f&agrave;n; &pound;5.80) <small>[http://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/4650199127/ photo]</small>. [[doop]] really liked this; [[Kake]] felt it was competent but nothing special, though the texture of the (deep-fried) aubergine was good. Included free with this dish was a small bowl of soup <small>[http://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/4650821848/ photo]</small>, a simple affair of shredded seaweed in pork/chicken stock. [[doop]] liked the depth of flavour in this, though it was underseasoned to [[Kake]]'s palate.
 We'd planned to have some plain rice on the side, but the sour and hot "flower" beancurd (&#37240;&#36771;&#35910;&#33457;/su&#257;n l&agrave; d&ograve;u hu&#257;; &pound;4.50) that we tried to order wasn't available, so instead we went for one of the rice plates &#8212; red-braised aubergine with rice (&#32005;&#29138;&#33540;&#23376;&#39151;/h&oacute;ng sh&#257;o qi&eacute; zi f&agrave;n; &pound;5.80) <small>[http://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/4650199127/ photo]</small>. [[doop]] really liked this; [[Kake]] felt it was competent but nothing special, though the texture of the (deep-fried) aubergine was good. Included free with this dish was a small bowl of soup <small>[http://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/4650821848/ photo]</small>, a simple affair of shredded seaweed in pork/chicken stock. [[doop]] liked the depth of flavour in this, though it was underseasoned to [[Kake]]'s palate.
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[[Kake]] visited again on a Tuesday lunchtime in November 2010. There were only a couple of free tables when I arrived a little before 2pm, though it emptied out somewhat during my visit.
 Along with Chinese tea, our final bill was &pound;22 (service not included).
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Fragrant-and-hot "flower" beancurd (&#39321;&#36771;&#35910;&#33457;/xi&#257;ng l&agrave; d&ograve;u hu&#257;; &pound;4.50) <small>[http://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/5162306361/ photo]</small> had a nice touch of sourness from Chinese black vinegar, an interesting texture enlivened by the occasional Sichuan peppercorn, and chilli heat that built up slowly rather than being in-your-face. The crispy soya beans scattered on top were a little harder and chewier than they should have been.
 [[Kake]]'s verdict: Reading other reviews, I suspect we may have been lucky in our choice of dishes. There are a couple of other things on the menu I'd like to try (the lotus root salad, the Chengdu cold noodles, and the flower beancurd we missed out on this time), so I would pop in again if I was passing, particularly if I was on my own, since the small size of the dishes means a solo diner can try several things without wastage. I wouldn't plan to linger though &#8212; those stools do get a bit uncomfortable after a while.
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Beijing pork noodles (&#28856;&#37292;&#40629;/zh&agrave; ji&agrave; mi&agrave;n; &pound;6.10) <small>[http://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/5162940810/ photo]</small> were a little disappointing; the noodles were overly soft, and the small amount of pork in the sauce was quite dry (and chopped rather than minced).

Service, as on our previous visit, was efficient rather than friendly.

[[Kake]]'s verdict: I'd come back, despite having been disappointed by one dish; there are other things on the menu I'd like to try, and the small size of the dishes means a solo diner can try several things without wastage. I wouldn't plan to linger though &#8212; those stools do get a bit uncomfortable after a while.

[[James]]' verdict: I've eaten here a lot and have always found the food (I usually order soup noodle and a pork baozi) to be flavourful, filling, and excellent value.
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* [http://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/sets/72157624161529894/detail/ Kake's Flickrset] including photos of the menu as of November 2010
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* [http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/572669 Chowhound thread]
* [http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/663676 Another Chowhound thread]
* Asian Food Adventures reviews: [http://friedtigerfrozendragon.wordpress.com/2010/07/13/baozi-inn-25-newport-court-london/ Jul 2010], [http://friedtigerfrozendragon.wordpress.com/2010/08/03/baozi-inn-part-2-3/ Aug 2010]
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* [http://www.grumblinggourmet.com/2013/03/baozi-inn-stay-out-mar-2013.html Grumbling Gourmet review]
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* [http://hungryfemale.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/baozi-inn.html Hungry Female review]
* Live To Eat reviews: [http://ilivetoeatandeattolive.blogspot.com/2010/04/baozi-inn-part-one-of-trilogy.html Apr 2010], [http://ilivetoeatandeattolive.blogspot.com/2011/07/baozi-inn-revisit.html Jul 2011]
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* [http://www.thewanderingfoody.com/2010/11/11/baozi-inn/ Wandering Foody review]
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* [http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/572669 Chowhound thread]
* [http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/663676 Another Chowhound thread]
* Asian Food Adventures reviews: [http://friedtigerfrozendragon.wordpress.com/2010/07/13/baozi-inn-25-newport-court-london/ 1], [http://friedtigerfrozendragon.wordpress.com/2010/08/03/baozi-inn-part-2-3/ 2]
* [http://ilivetoeatandeattolive.blogspot.com/2010/04/baozi-inn-part-one-of-trilogy.html I Live To Eat And Eat To Live review]
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<div class="last_verified">Last visited by [[Kake]], November 2010. Opening hours taken from the November 2008 Time Out writeup.</div>
 <div class="last_verified">Last visited by [[Kake]] and [[doop]], 29 May 2010. Opening hours taken from the November 2008 Time Out writeup.</div>

Comment added by James: I've eaten here a lot and have always found the food (I usually order soup noodle and a pork baozi) to be flavourful, filling and excellent value. Unfortunately when I last visited in mid 2010, the peace and happiness noodles were off the menu due to difficulty importing some of the ingredients.
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host='2a00:1098:86:4d:c0ff:ee:15:900d'
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latitude='51.512011'
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longitude='-0.129297'
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Small Chinese restaurant in Chinatown, offering Sichuan and Northern Chinese dumplings, noodle dishes, and "small eats". Note that as of May 2010 they don't take cards or cheques, and there's a £8/person minimum charge.

Inside, two rooms offer seating for around 35 people at small, blocky, square wooden tables and matching stools. Plastic vegetables and garlic garlands hang from the walls, flanked by pictures of Chairman Mao (the Chinese name of the place, 人民公社/rén mín gōng shè, translates as "people's commune").

Kake and doop visited on a Saturday lunchtime in May 2010. Arriving very soon after they opened at 11:30am, we were the only customers for the first little while, but it was over half full by the time we left an hour later.

Three-sliver salad (涼拌三絲/liáng bàn sān sī; £4) photo consisted of bean thread noodles mixed with long thin shreds of carrot and kelp, served cold in a spicy but well-balanced sesame oil dressing. The textures of the three ingredients all worked well together, but it wasn't just a textural thing — the flavour was good too.

Spicy cucumber salad with chilli and Sichuan pepper (炝黃瓜/qiàng huáng guā; £4) photo was light on the Sichuan pepper, and the pieces of dried red chilli tucked among the cucumber pieces were more decorative than flavour-enhancing — still, although the flavour was subtle, the dish was both pleasant and refreshing. The dressing was a little too oily for doop's taste, but Kake thought it was fine.

Chengdu crescent dumplings in chilli oil (鐘水餃/zhōng shuǐ jiǎo; £5.20) photo had silky skins and a nicely-textured filling of pork and Chinese chives, well complemented by the slick of chilli oil they sat in. They also came with a very generous serving of minced garlic, sensibly situated as a pile in the middle of the dish, allowing the diner to choose how much to brave.

We'd planned to have some plain rice on the side, but the sour and hot "flower" beancurd (酸辣豆花/suān là dòu huā; £4.50) that we tried to order wasn't available, so instead we went for one of the rice plates — red-braised aubergine with rice (紅燒茄子飯/hóng shāo qié zi fàn; £5.80) photo. doop really liked this; Kake felt it was competent but nothing special, though the texture of the (deep-fried) aubergine was good. Included free with this dish was a small bowl of soup photo, a simple affair of shredded seaweed in pork/chicken stock. doop liked the depth of flavour in this, though it was underseasoned to Kake's palate.

Along with Chinese tea, our final bill was £22 (service not included).

Kake's verdict: Reading other reviews, I suspect we may have been lucky in our choice of dishes. There are a couple of other things on the menu I'd like to try (the lotus root salad, the Chengdu cold noodles, and the flower beancurd we missed out on this time), so I would pop in again if I was passing, particularly if I was on my own, since the small size of the dishes means a solo diner can try several things without wastage. I wouldn't plan to linger though — those stools do get a bit uncomfortable after a while.

Accessibility: One step up to get in. Another step down to get to the toilets and some of the seating. A step up from there to get into the toilet cubicles (which are also fairly small).

See also:

Last visited by Kake and doop, 29 May 2010. Opening hours taken from the November 2008 Time Out writeup.

Comment added by James: I've eaten here a lot and have always found the food (I usually order soup noodle and a pork baozi) to be flavourful, filling and excellent value. Unfortunately when I last visited in mid 2010, the peace and happiness noodles were off the menu due to difficulty importing some of the ingredients.


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