What: Shu Xiangge Chinatown
In a nutshell: Traditional Sichuan hot pots
Summing it all up: There are 80 ingredients for you to build your ideal hotpot from at this sizable new Chinatown restaurant, from traditional tripe and aorta to Wagyu beef and seafood.
The low-down
The best thing about Sichuan pepper, fans will say, is the way it numbs your mouth, and there’ll be plenty of that at Shu Xiangge Chinatown, a huge new traditional hotpoint joint that's opened on Chinatown's Gerrard Street.
It’s the sister restaurant to the flagship Holborn branch, and once again, it’ll be all about home-cooked authenticity, from the 12-spice beef fat oil broth to the specially gridded pots - not to mention the tendons, tripe and aorta which will appear on a menu of some 80 different ingredients you can choose to have in your hotpot. Though if that’s not quite for you, there’ll also be the more contemporary options of Wagyu beef, rib eye steak, fresh seafood or veg.
Shu Xiangge’s gone out of its way to make the whole experience as close to the real thing as possible, importing all its broth flavourings, seasonings and even cooking materials and ceiling lamps from Sichuan province in south west China.
We’ve heard some rather good things about its flagship restaurant, including the fact that it’s often rammed with Chinese families which can only be a positive sign. So if you’re on the hunt for a touch of warming - and numbing - winter nourishment, it sounds well worth a look.
More about Shu Xiangge Chinatown
Where is it? 10 Gerrard Street, Chinatown, W1D 5PD
When does it open? Open now
Find out more: Visit the Chinatown website or follow Chinatown on Twitter @chinatownlondon.
