Review: Baozi Inn – Ordering the essentials

There are lots of reviews of this nice little noodle place just off Leicester Sq station. Pretty much everybody roundly praised its fresh noodles and the excellent value. Most recently, Timeout showered it with praise and bestowed upon it the runner-up for best cheap eat of 2008. Bloggers like delightful eggtarts wrote a pretty comprehensive review of the place, so I’m not going to repeat that. Instead I’m just going to narrow down the three things you should order when you eat at Bao zi Inn…

1. Zha zhiang mein

The secret to good noodles are… well, good noodles. Good noodles are fresh, bouncy and ‘egg-y’. The noodles in this dish are otheriwise known as ‘La-Mein‘ which translates roughly to noodles that are hand-pulled. Freshly ‘hand-pulled’ noodles tastes great because its just freshly made before it’s cooked, think fresh pasta just made before it’s boiled. Its essentially the same thing.

Anyway, zha zhiang mein is a pretty famous noodle dish in China and the ingredients are simple. Chopped greens, carrots, bean sprouts and of course, a superior ‘chinese ragu‘.

It is one of my favorite noodle dishes of all time. I’ve waited six years for a decent bowl of it to arrive in London…. and it finally has at Bao Zi Inn. Lip smackingly good.

2. Boiled beef slices

You might think boiled beef means tasteless beef. Oh not here. The beef is moist and tender, and it’s marinated in some sort of savoury soya mixture. It tastes really good and pretty authentic too.

3. Soya bean drink (cold)

You need to check that you are not allergic to soya beans. If you’re not, then drink this. It basically tastes like sweet milk, a little creamier and alittle tannic, but its chock full of healthy vitamins (well, that’s what my mum always tells me) that’s good for your skin. I like it cold, but some people prefer it warm. Your choice really.

Well there you go, a pretty short review, but that’s all you need to know the next time you go to Baozi Inn.