I rarely eat Chinese food aside from my own cooking in the UK as well, they aren’t usually good and also quite expensive…But I took a chance on BaoziInn when the sun was still out and about in London and I was pleasantly surprised. Maybe because I’ve purposefully lowered my expectations here. Having said that I did enjoy my meal at BaoziInn on the whole.
The restaurant at London Bridge is apparently their flagship outlet and it does have a nice outdoor area with a canopy great for a lovely day. BaoziInn serves a myriad of Chinese cuisine ranging from dumplings to noodles, fried rice and side dishes like skewers. I even saw dimsum on the menu for lunch. I don’t think there’s a specific region they are focusing on, it’s just Chinese food all other one roof, which I don’t mind if it is executed well. I am not too sure why they called themselves baozi specifically as I didn’t really see focus on baos? Their name in Mandarin is so much nicer 人民公社 (People’s Commune).
While I was there, I stuck to mostly the Sichuan style cuisine as I had a craving for spice and peppercorns. That proved to be a great choice as I did like all the dishes I ordered more or less.
BaoziInn London Bridge Review
I got the Multi-Coloured Steamed Dumplings in Chilli Oil – it came in a set of 9 with three pieces of each flavour. Vegetable, chicken and pork. I particularly liked the green ones which I believe were spinach. Next time I am going to try the fried dumplings in oil as well.
Aside from dumpling, I had a massive craving for Dan Dan Noodles. A Sichuanese speciality, its hand-pulled noodled tossed in a numbingly spicy sauce filled with Sichuan peppercorns, chilli other aromatics like five spice and vinegar. If you like the feeling of 麻辣, you’ll love this dish. I believe they actually ground up the Sichuan peppercorns and placed the powder inside the meat sauce. This was one of the more authentic tasting Dan Dan Noodles I’ve had in the UK.
Chinese Meat Skewers in London Bridge
I love Chinese meat skewers 肉串. Typically they are cooked over a flat iron grill atop coals and dusted with a fine cloud of chilli powder before serving. The ones at BaoziInn were similar, but I could tell some of the marinades were catered to the local London palate. The Mixed Skewer Platter came in a set of eight with two of each flavour – chicken, pork, lamb and beef.
The chicken and pork were in a similar glaze reminiscent of chashu, which I didn’t mind but it was not what I expected from a meat skewer. The lamb and the beef were slightly tough cuts of meat covered in chilli powder I mentioned, which was nice but I wish the meat was a little less dry. I think it’s unfair for me to hold BaoziInn to the standard of my favourite Dong Fang Mei Shi in Singapore.
If anyone has any recommendations to make regarding Chinese food in London, I’m alway open to visit new places.
cook. eat. rinse. repeat. 
4 thoughts on “BaoziInn – London, UK”