Arbitrix Guide to the Best Street Food in London's Chinatown
Lucy scours Chinatown to find the most delicious and authentic Asian street food
Several years ago, I wrote a piece for South China Morning Post titled (and bear in mind, us writers don’t think up the titles of articles, that’s the sub editors) “Chinese Street Food sweeps London….and moves indoors” as I had noticed a trend for simple Chinese snacks being served in rather opulent surroundings. I had watched a group of young Chinese people in extremely expensive designer clothes, devouring roujiamo (Chinese “burgers” that are popular in Xian) in Mayfair, surrounded by lifelike terracotta warrior statues and bling decor. I had enjoyed a simple bao, a steamed bun stuffed with vegetables (a popular Taiwanese street food snack) in fancy Fitzrovia, in a very chic environment, again surrounded by people in hugely posh gear. I thought it must be a trend.
As someone who lived in Beijing in the early noughties, it felt strange even to eat these simple snacks inside a building, and even more so, to eat them in places where the rent must be eyewateringly high. I mean, perhaps things have changed there too. But back then, snacks came from outside stalls and were ridiculously cheap.
As comfortable and luxurious as it feels to enjoy something you eat with your hands in glamorous surroundings, I’m afraid I prefer my street food from a stall in a market/hole in the wall. I like to keep it real . And mercifully it seems I am not alone now in London - the appetite for wandering about eating delicious East and Southeast Asian snacks outside seems insatiable, if Chinatown is a benchmark.
A couple of weeks ago, on my way to visit my father, I was invited to Chinatown for a media tour. I did one of these several years ago, pre-pandemic, but much has changed. As I did not have much time, we decided to pick up some street food snacks along the way, rather than sit down in a restaurant. Actually, one of the things I like best about Chinatown is how it is perfect both for a quick visit, or a longer day out. Had I more time, I would have gone for a foot massage, browsed one of the supermarkets (and inevitably emerged laden like a camel), stopped for a meal at one of the newer restaurants, taken a bunch of photographs and finally landed at Opium with its hidden bar within a bar.
But I absolutely had to get to Paddington by 3, so my long, lazy day out in Chinatown will have to wait for another day.
As you are probably all tired of hearing by now, I do not eat meat. But that doesn’t mean I am some drum-banging vegan, À chacun son goût, innit. If you are an omnivore, then my goodness you have some options in Chinatown - but fear not, plant-lovers - I have you covered too.
Here are my top picks for a street food crawl of Chinatown. Despite the name of the place, there are actually ten different East and Southeast Asian cuisines represented in the area - so tons of choice. I’m very biased towards Chinese snacks, but have been dipping into Japanese desserts too. Have a look at my picks,
Cheap and cheerful, Chinese Tapas House is tucked around the corner on Little Newport Street.
This is my favourite place in Chinatown, no word of a lie, because of the delicious, filling jianbing. What is a jianbing? Well, it is a huge thin crispy pancake, lined with egg, filled with spring onions, coriander, a savoury brown sauce, fried bread, then folded up burrito-style. Meat-eaters can add all manner of animal fillings too - I think I spotted roast duck as an option
Jianbing is traditionally a breakfast snack, but I will eat them from dawn into the dead of night. When I lived in Beijing, you could get one of these bad boys for 2 yuan (about twenty pence) but we are in London now and it’s 2024, so expect to be paying a lot more.
Jianbing are hugely filling - I would advise splitting with a friend, if you have a dainty appetitite. They do need to be eaten straight away or the crispy rectangle of fried bread will go soggy.
Wildly instagrammable due to its display of weathered bamboo steamers and delightful interior, I adore Bun House and I am not a particular steamed bun fan. .
Anyway - if you like spongy, springy, steamed buns filled with stuff, then go to Bun House. I had a vegan one which was lovely - the slightly sweet bread exterior balanced by perfect umami filling. They have other dishes too - I was eyeinng up a tofu thing. There is always a queue, but it’s worth the wait.
And for you meat-eaters, these are my top picks
Grab a flaky, sourdough bun stuffed with shredded pork belly, chicken or veg from this cute hole-in-the-wall on Shaftesbury Avenue. It’s a roujiamo (see above) when all is said and done, but it’s nice to have a break from boring old Western burgers. Those cold noodles look magic too.
Who doesn’t like a bit of fried chicken? (I mean apart from vegans, obviously, and possibly chickens). Then, my fried chicken lovers, you must immediately go to Wing Wing, as they do it awfully well.
Do you also like a drop of cold beer with your chicken? Then Wing Wing are your people. The concept of the restaurant is inspired by South Korea’s popular fried chicken and beer ‘Chimaek’ pairing,
Choose from double-fried fresh chicken wings, drumsticks, or boneless strips. Or don’t choose, just have the lot! “Brushed with Glory!” is the Wing Wing motto, which I think is quite splendid although I had to ask what it means. What it actually means is, a secret glaze is painted on the batter after frying - from a choice of soy garlic, spicy sweet and even sticky liquorice, which sounds entirely bonkers, but possibly brilliant
Any Hong Kong homies remember Macdonalds shake shake fries? Then do order the Wing Wing fries dusted with seaweed flakes - nostalgia on a plate/in a paper bag.
BUNSIK
The super-famous Korean corn dogs will be landing soon at a new branch of BUNSIK at 31 Wardour Street, along with some other grab and go classics like cup noodle and Ddukbokki. You will have to wait until September, but definitely do check it out, when it opens. Then put it on Tik Tok and feel like a pioneer.
SWEET TREATS
I don’t have a terribly sweet tooth, and was put off Chinese desserts a few decades ago by a couple of unfortunate altercations with some challenging cold bean soups that gave me the heebie jeebies. Nowadays I have got over myself and I enjoy a cloud fungus sweet soup and a bit of hot sweet tofu in syrup too. Get me!
There is an awful lot more to East and South East Asian desserts than toffee banana and mango sticky rice (although both are lovely) so pop down to “dessert alley” aka Newport Court, where you can find interesting ice cream, bubble teas and souffle pancakes.
The Chinatown Bakery in Newport Place
You can’t miss it, as it always has a huge queue of sweet-toothed kitsch-lovers waiting for a freshly-made, tiny, waffle-batter goldfish. With a splinteringly crunchy exterior and a lava-level-boiling custard filling, good luck having the self discipline to wait for these cute little fishies to cool. Take a video as the cooks fill waffle pans and flip the plump goldfish over. Then hold one aloft under the strings of lanterns that festoon the streets of Chinatown and join the millions who post such shots on social media [yup, also me, see photo at top of page]
Sakurado cake shop has some impressive looking Basque Burnt Cheesecakes in the window, which I did not try, but I recently had a cookery lesson, in the Holy Land of San Sebastian where I learned to make the things - these ones looked truly epic.
This time I walked past the cheesecakes, with my not-inconsiderably-sized nose in the air, because I had come for some really special stuff. Inside the shop, under glass, looking a little like an edible jewellery display, are rows of triangular cake slices - with a difference. Insead of layers of sponge and cream, Japanese Mille Crêpe cakes are made from multiple layers of thin pancakes, sandwiched together with a delicate cream filling. They seem to come in every colour of the rainbow. Flavours like black sesame and green matcha sit alongside rose, tiramisu and sea salt caramel. Light, not too sweet, but not under sugared either. Sakurado package these cakes beautifully too, making rather super gifts.
These are my top tips for a street food crawl, but this is by no means an exhaustive list - there are simply tons more places to explore and I will certainly be back soon. Do let us know if you visit and try any of these suggestions - or even better, discover something new.
