Comments on: Haozhan : Bold but rudderless.

By: zulf

zulf — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 15:57:24 +0000

hi Kang
where in London should I go to have Deep Fried Ice Cream, as the one in Haozhan was no good?
Please advise soon, thanks

By: Mr Noodles

Mr Noodles — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 23:42:06 +0000

I’ve been following this series and if this is the penultimate post, I’ve been on tenterhooks for the final post in this series. Pray tell, when is the final post due ?

By: Foodraker

Foodraker — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 10:07:57 +0000

Sad you don’t rate this place particularly as the photos look so inviting…I’ve never found anywhere in Chinatown that’s any good…and was contemplating going there. Now I think I won’t bother. Am tempted however to visit 10 in Hogarth Place after reading your review…

By: An American in London

An American in London — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 10:11:37 +0000

I was one of the many who loved Haozhan when it first opened, but when I last visited a year ago, the food – while not awful – was less appealing. And I was startled by the fact that the entire dining room was comprised of older, white couples. Usually you expect to see a bigger mix of ages and ethnicities in C-town. I was spooked. Perhaps the kitchen has adapted to the tastes of a new demographic? Haozhan may be one of those places that’s been defeated by its location.

For Chinatown, I’m with Laissez-Faire on sticking to dim sum at Leong’s nearby (though not sure why it insists on labeling itself Taiwanese), and the Empress of Sichaun shows promise (I ate there last week as a result of Mr. Noodles’ recent post).

By: Gourmet Chick

Gourmet Chick — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 00:22:05 +0000

Everything looks quite beautifully presented but sounds like the problem is the taste.

By: tommy

tommy — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 12:18:12 +0000

I like Haozhan but I only ever have two dishes there: braised aubergine in claypot and stir-fried lotus root, asparagus (and something else). Both are rather classic Chinese dishes I suppose. If I’m particularly adventurous, the beef hor fun. It’s funny how coffee ribs, wasabi prawns and all the other fusion flavours at Haozhan are seen as modern because they are street food dishes in SE Asia.

By: Yinnie

Yinnie — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 16:40:08 +0000

it’s too expensive, i visited with my parents a year or two ago [we got discount, cuz my dad knows the chef!] The dishes may look spectacular but taste wise, it kind of…fails. You should’ve tried the black sesame ice cream though, that is one of the nicest of the dishes there.

Service is a bit wet too.

By: tehbus

tehbus — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 12:28:43 +0000

I “treated” my parents to a meal here a few years ago and it felt like one of the biggest kick in the balls I had ever received from a restaurant. Ill conceived, poorly executed and extortionately priced. One of only two tables, our entire meal took over two hours to deliver all our dishes. A terrible dining experience and I have never been back.

By: Laissez Fare

Laissez Fare — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 10:34:11 +0000

Interesting review Kang – thanks.

As I believe I told you before, I had a very good first meal at Haozhan for dinner with a bunch of people, but then a fairly lacklustre lunch with business colleagues a few months later. I think their dishes are hit-or-miss from what I’ve had (and reading from what you had). Saying that, I haven’t tried any of the dishes you did. I thought that the Chilli Squid, Crispy Duck, Prawn Baguette and Tangy (i.e. sweet & sour) Chicken were all pretty good, though of course these are fairly simple dishes and are hard to totally screw up. I guess on our first visit we shied away from the many, more ambitious-sounding dishes on the menu (and, it seems, maybe with good reason). The Coffee Ribs (maybe slightly ambitious?) were also pretty good, though a tad too much for me, but quite a deep flavor that really did have an undertone of rich coffee.

My set lunch there was just okay, and some of my colleagues said they weren’t impressed with theirs. I think it’s pretty good food overall compared to much of the schlock on offer in China Town, although Leong’s Legends (both branches) seems better overall to me, though they are cooking a different genre of food (Taiwanese) I suppose.

Best,