The Chinese Experience

[Suzi Edwards]

Had sworn before I went to sleep on Christmas day that I was never eating again. I was surprised to find myself hungry by about lunchtime on the 26th. Some would put this down to plain old gluttony, I prefer the idea that my stomach has been forced to stretch beyond its normal capacity, much like my waistband.

So feeling like a goose waiting to be forcefed again I waddled down to the Chinese Experience on the edge of Chinatown. I can see where the Yau comparisons come from, it's modern and bright inside with red painted walls and good looking chairs. I was less sure about the sushi style plastic food items in the window, however given the limited English of the staff working that day and the positive reviews it's getting I can see how they would come in handy.

Dim sum with a sort of vegetarian is never the easiest thing in the world but it did mean I could come over all Gollumesque with my Char Sui pork buns which were my favourite ones ever. I was less sure about the Shanghai Soup Buns as I felt the wrapper was a little too thick and pasta like compared to those I've enjoyed at Hakkasan and Joe's Shanghai in New York. However, few enough places serve these so I shan't complain too much. Best dish by far was the salt and pepper squid, which was piping hot, garlicky, squidy and chilliy all at the same time. The Chef clearly has a deft hand with the deep fat fryer and the tempura batter.

Honourable mentions must go to the bean curd pockets in portuguese sauce, a dish I wouldn't have ordered without my meatless companion but that was a pleasant surprise. Vegetables and prawns (if these contain meat please do not post that on this thread) encased in a beancurd envelope and enveloped in a bright yellow very mildly curried sauce. The flavour was rich, soothing and very, very moorish all at the same time.

Less sucessful were some vegetarian dumplings and king prawn dumplings that needed a huge amount of the very delicious table condiments to give it any flavour, however the prawns were huge. Dim sum on steroids perhaps?

I think that The Chinese Experience could become a Chinatown staple. It felt fresh and new and although the service needs a look. More Wong Kei than Hakkasan at the moment but I'm willing to ignore that and just chow down on the squid for the time being.

The Chinese Experience

118 Shaftesbury Avenue

(020) 7437 0377

[Suzi Edwards]

Thanks to Sandra for pointing us to this review of The Chinese Experience from Time Out

There's also Tracy MacLeod's review from The Independent

[Jonathan Day]

Best dish by far was the salt and pepper squid, which was piping hot, garlicky, squidy and chilliy all at the same time.

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Ah, two great new words: squidy and chilliy. Very useful for a future Scrabble match. And Suzi, thanks for providing the address and phone number of the joint!

[Suzi Edwards]

If it helps with future Scrabble games I could pretend I'd considered making "squidesque" a word.

But of course the usage of Gollumesque precluded it.

[Ai Leen]

The Chinese Experience looks set to become a favourite Chinatown haunt with me and my other half. Just the other night, after a 10 course chinese meal, we wandered in hand-in-hand for a little quiet together time over two baskets of Shanghai xiaolongbao and pot of tea. The xiaolongbaos are exceptional - the pastry, the most important component, was thin but sturdy enough to hold in the juices of the dumpling (shock horror - xiaolongbaos in London with juice!). Definitely comparable, if not better, than Hakkasan, where the meat filling can sometimes be too soft. The only complaint might be that they should really be resting on slices of carrots or some sort of non-stick membrane, but if eaten hot as it should be, that should be no problem. Now, if only they would let us play chess there...

P.S. Tarka, I think the food at the window is real... we had a curious poke... but one can never be too sure.

[Suzi Edwards]

Jay Rayner in disagreeing with eGullet shocker! He reviews The Chinese Experience in this week's Observer.

[vytoh]

Well, I finally managed to try this place on Saturday for dim sum and have to say that I was really quite happy with it. As I visited Shanghai Blues the week prior, I couldn't help but compare the 2 experiences.

The dim sum selection at The Chinese Experience isn't as extensive as Shanghai Blues but I think it's much better value for what you do order. The decor isn't as "cool" (not that Shanghai Blues is anything like Hakkasan...) but the service was just as good. I am pleased to report that I had excellent service in both restaurants...something I'm beginning to be extremely grateful for after reading the posts and reviews of other eGullet members. In both cases I had knowledgeable waiters/waitresses and I could barely finish the tea in my cup before it was being refilled. I don't think I received any special treatment either - I guess I was just lucky in my timing and staffing!

Back to the food.....

I found it a little annoying that the first page of the dim sum menu is written only in chinese with no indication of whether the same items can be found on the english pages. Were they specials? I ended up asking the waiter for translations and then ordered the scallop steamed dumplings and the king prawn dumplings. I asked if the latter were Har Gao and was told they weren't....though they certainly looked like Har Gao when they came out! I didn't care - they were delicious and perfectly salted. The scallop dumplings were even better! yum....

From the english menu we had the Tien Chuan pork dumplings which I haven't seen served in London before. I've had them in (their native?) Tian Jin as a child so I was happy to see them on the menu. Lovely fluffy dough encasing a pork filling, steamed and lightly fried in the base for a bit of texture. I'm not an expert on these by any means and I'm sure my memory from childhood has been dimmed by age but a very enjoyable comparison.

I wasn't such a huge fan of the beancurd rolls in portugese sauce reviewed above. My dining companion was but I found the rolls weren't quite cooked through, leaving a chewy beancurd layer. and I wasn't a fan of the curried sauce - but that's just my taste. I prefer the more traditional ones, if I have to say!

I actually preferred the xiao long bao (shanghai soup dumplings) here, above Shanghai Blues. Would like to try them both again to compare, to test for consistency across venues. I found the SB pastry a little thick up top where the pleats were gathered.

The surprise of the meal was the siu mai. Far and away the best siu mai I've had in London, mainly because of the crunch of the prawns in the top layer of the dumpling (as opposed to being chopped up and scattered through the pork mince).

We also tried the handmade noodles (Jah Jan mein) - they were ok. Would have liked a little more "bite" to the noodles. The sauce was very similar to Jill Dupleix's "asian bolognaise" recipe

I succumbed to dessert and I shared the custard bun plate with my partner. Expecting a standard custard bao to be presented to me, I was surprised to be faced with 3 little tiny yellow dumplings, each the size of my thumb. Perfectly formed and almost too cute to eat.... I hesitated only a second to admire before demolishing my share. I needn't have worried about finding room for them as they really were bite sized but as egg custard is quite rich I was completely full after this dish. I'm wondering if this dish is being fine tuned for the london palate as my waiter asked me if they were too sweet as he cleared the steamer basket away. I thought not. I liked the touch of saltiness that distinguishes these from the commercial fillings (though these are so obviously handmade, not only from the size but also the yellow colour in the dough pastry with a sheen from the custard below)

Overall I really enjoyed the food and for £27 all up including service much better value than Shanghai Blues or Yauatcha at normal prices. I do recognise however that their menu isn't as extensive and there are certainly dishes I would go back to SB or Yauatcha for. I also recognise that a lot the wow factor in the dishes comes from sitting almost right next door to the kitchen so everything came out piping hot and fresh - a definitely plus. It doesn't take long for dim sum to cool down and become less than amazing.

Overall, I'd be quite happy to pop into the Chinese Experience for a dim sum lunch anytime. excellent quality for the price. Not so enamoured with the decor or the stares of the passing traffic on Shaftesbury Ave as they gawk at the plastic (?) offerings in the window, but the arrival of the food soon made me forget.

For atmosphere I'll take Hakkasan or Yauatcha any day, even Shanghai Blues but I think they're in a different league as an overall experience (SB less so but it is certainly trying for it).