Updated 17/4 with soft launch offer.
The Chan brothers, who are behind The Drunken Monkey are opening a second venture that appears to be a distillation of all that is East London right now. Bull in a China Shop will be a rotisserie chicken restaurant and whisky bar alongside breakfast bao buns and savoury congee porridge.
Taking over a pub opposite the Tea Building in the heart of Shoreditch, the all-day restaurant and whisky bar will run to everything from breakfast to late night cocktails.
Early morning risers can try breakfast bao buns - choose from classic pork, chicken and duck to a Chinese ‘Lap Chung’ sausage bun, a Nikka whisky pulled pork and French coriander bun. There'll also be smoothies and chicken or sweet potato congee served with optional organic fried egg or Chinese sausage.
Later in the day the menu will feature whisky glazed rotisserie chicken, black charcoal brioche buns and superfood salad. We reckon their three course set menu (Thurs-Sun) featuring a welcome whisky cocktail and a premium whisky, matched to the main course will prove pretty popular with Shoreditch folk.
That rotisserie chicken is the brainchild of chef Simon Chan, who brines it for 4 hours, marinates it in Asian spices and yoghurt for 24 hours before finishing it off with a whisky glaze. Unlike most other chicken joints here it comes with parmentier potatoes, sweet potato fries or Chinese Hainan rice with dipping sauce and chicken broth.
There's also a burger in the offing. Bull in a China Shop's black charcoal chicken burger (pictured) uses chicken thighs marinated in lime, ginger, soy and sesame overnight then double coated in seasoned Japanese Panko flakes. The black brioche buns are made from dough laced with bamboo charcoal.
As for alcohol, whisky fans are going to want to make a beeline for the bar here with all manner of Japanese whiskies including Karuizawa, Akashi and Ichiro. All whiskies will be served with hand carved ice from counter-top blocks.
The design is by Sara Lewin (who also did the nearby Cereal Killer Café). The restaurant will seat 40 (as well as offering takeaway) and there's a cocktail bar serving over 30 choice Japanese and Scotch whiskies
Bull in a China Shop will open in April 2015 at 196 Shoreditch High Street, London E1 6JE. There will be a special soft launch offer on Saturday 18 April, from 11 - 4pm with 50% off food. That'll be for walk-ins only, so just head down. They'll have a limited menu of their signature chinese spiced rotisserie chicken, black charcoal buns (chicken, fish and veggie) alongside a couple of signiature salads. It'll then open fully on 20 April.
Telephone 020 7392 9606. Opening hours will be Mon- Fri: 8:00am-10.45pm. Sat – Sun: 9:00am-10.45pm. Keep up with their news on Twitter @BullChinaShopE1
