Sharmila on Food

Ba Shan (Hunanese food)

You will probably know by now that I have a slightly major obsession with Chinese food, particularly Sichuan and Hunanese. Sichuan has been an obsession that has been easier to indulge in London, with lots of restaurants popping up over the past few years. However, good Hunanese food has been harder to find.  Save for Local Friends in Golders Green and Golden Day in Chinatown.

However, I can now add Ba Shan to that list - and probably to the top of that list too.  Ba Shan is part of the same stable as Bar Shu and Baozi Inn.  It’s been through a few incarnations - from Beijing style dumplings, through to more Sichuan-y stuff, to now having a pretty much full blown Hunanese menu.  It was seen as underwhelming by many initially, but I have to say, I think it’s bloody brilliant right now.  Everything we ate smacked of good cooking technique, and not skimping on good ingredients and chilli.  Added to this, some brilliant smoked meats in one of the dishes.  For me, the most wonderful thing about the food I ate when in Hunan, was the quality of the smoked pork.  I really felt Ba Shan delivered in terms of quality here.

I apologise for the incredibly awful photos here - Ba Shan has similar, odd red-hued lighting as Baozi Inn has too.

First up, an appetiser of spiced chicken slivers.  I wasn’t expecting much (maybe because it was chicken), but this was really great.  It had a spiciness that crept up on you, with a hint of crisp ginger in the background.  Moreover, they didn’t skimp on the chicken, bulking it out with slivered carrot or cucumber.  I liked this a lot.

Next up, dried yard beans with smoked bacon.  I can safely say this is one of the best dishes I’ve eaten this year.  There was that wonderful snappiness from the dried beans, coupled with a rich, savoury smokiness from the bacon.  We ended up pouring the juices from the empty dish over our rice, relishing the way the bacon flavour had permeated the whole of the dish.

Alongside, one of my favourite Chinese dishes - hand torn cabbage.  There was great wok char present here, giving an added dimension of smokiness to the dish.

To finish, pressed beancurd stir fried with celery and chilli pepper.  I do love my beancurd, and this is a beancurd dish I would definitely eat again.  The beancurd had a great toasty flavour, and those peppers were actually spicy.

Along with a couple of beers each, and rice, we ended up leaving £50 lighter, and it was most definitely worth it.  I can’t wait to go back with a larger group, and really work through the menu - the brisket with smoked bamboo shoots, the lotus root, and the slivered pigs ear are all definitely on my list.

For anyone who has gone to Ba Shan before, and had a slightly disappointing experience, I would say to give it another go.  On current experience, I know I will definitely be back.

Details:

Ba Shan

24 Romilly Street

Soho

W1D 5AH

Nearest transport: Piccadilly Circus or Leicester Sq tubes

Price: cheap to mid-range