Baozi Inn – A Revisit

It had been a while since I had been to Baozi Inn, but I felt it was due a re-visit to check out how it was faring up.

For a Tuesday night this small joint was heaving to the rafters, which is always a good sign for a restaurant to be full mid week during a recession.

Not much had changed since my last visit a few months ago, the décor is still a little faux, but they do have some lovely green Mao bags and caps hanging on the wall. I must pick one of those up in China later this year.

The menu hasn’t changed either since my last visit, it still has the same Baozi Inn specials. So we ordered a few. First off was the Spicy Sichuan Beef Noodle Soup and a Noodle Soup with Pork Ribs and Mushrooms.

My spicy beef was spicy enough for me, but lacked any real depth of flavour, which is a shame. The beef itself was super tender and full of flavour. The noodles were a little dull but well cooked.

In comparison the pork rib soup stock was pretty bland, but my taste buds were shot by the end of my soup so I can not judge. I was reliably informed that the stock was very well flavoured though. I managed to taste one of the ribs and the meat was falling off the bone, so good.

All in all the Baozi Inn still serves well flavoured and tasty Sichuan style noodle soups for a very good price. Which is probably why it is always packed. Still a winner then. 

Baozi Inn – Part One of a Trilogy

When I used to work in Soho, the Baozi Inn after it opened became a place where I used to go and eat when I could not face staff food at the restaurant anymore. Which after a while was quite a lot. After cooking the same food, you kinda get fed up of eating it. Not good. Especially, as I loved the food we used to cook, but seeing it all the time, you need a change. That’s why chefs are whores to their trade, changing restaurants at a drop of a hat. The thought of something better in the next place. Or maybe just the thought of a different cuisine.
But luckily China Town has a few, a very few places that I love to eat at. C & R, Rasa Sayang and the Baozi Inn. All for completely different reasons. Although you can kinda see a link between them all.
The Baozi Inn is the little baby brother of reopened Bar Shu and the new Ba Shan. Both will be reviews here at a later date no doubt. I just need to revisit them. Good times ahead.
The menu is short and sweet and in pictures. It consists mainly of dumplings. Although I prefer the (used to be) hot Sichuan spicy beef noodles. It lacked a lot on our last visit. But the bowl of Wonderful Heaven noodles was in name and dish, heavenly.

I can see a down turn in the quality of the dishes though, the noodles looked and tasted a little cheaper than they used to be. The quality of the final dishes were not what they used to be. Maybe this has to do with the new immigration laws and less and less Chinese students are finding it easy to get work nowadays. Who knows, but the food the other day was not as good as when it opened. Hopefully this is just a short blip and it improves.
Even with it’s slightly tacky Mao style décor, it is a nice place to eat at and one of the stars of the oh so same same bad food of China Town. The service is short and sharp, which is kinda the standard in China Town, but at least these guys are willing to talk about the dishes or give recommendation. I once asked a waiter in a Chinese restaurant nearby about a dish, and he looked at me as if I was the most annoying person in the world. He never did answer my question. He did shoot me a shitty look as we departed and no tip was left for him.
The Baozi Inn is a nice enough stopping point for some give me energy noodle soups. I am hoping our recent visit was just a one off. Another visit in a month or two will tell me this.