Randomness Guide to London - Differences between Version 6 and Version 5 of Red And Hot, NW1 1JD

Version 6 Version 5
== Line 4 == == Line 4 ==
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 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.
== Line 6 == == Line 6 ==
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 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?)
== Line 8 == == Line 8 ==
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.
(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.)
== Line 33 ==
node_image='https://farm2.static.flickr.com/1072/577935924_c58bc86086_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/577935924/'

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:

Last visited 20 June 2007 by Kake, claud, Juliette, and Sam.

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