Not through talkin' and not through waitin'

[venta]

At the weekend, I headed into town to meet up with some university friends who had parked their kids somewhere and run away to the big, wicked city. After extensive quality-checking of Thwaites' Wainwright golden ale in a handy pub (it was lovely, thanks) talk turned to a dinner destination.

Dave had requested "spicy food", and Jamie weighed in with a recommendation of a nearby Chinese restaurant. The recommendations I'd managed to come up with had been a bit vague[*], so we followed Jamie in a small procession to Ba Shan.


Unlike most Chinese restaurants in the UK - which serve Cantonese food - Ba Shan serves Hunanese dishes. The Hunan region is where Chairman Mao came from. Admittedly, I know this only because it says it on the wall in Ba Shan.



(Blurry phone-photo in a dark hallway, sorry about that.)

The menu was delightful - a large, leather-bound affair full of unfamiliar dishes with ridiculous names. At least, that's my idea of delightful. I mean, who wouldn't want Slippery Wood Ear Fungus as a starter? Or Old-Woman Pockmarked Tofu?

My Slippery Wood Ear Fungus arrived, and turned out to be a cold salad of what I presume to be the fungus; it had the consistency of thick seaweed, with just a tiny amount of crunch. It was really, really nice and.... woah!

Y'see, despite Jamie selecting it as a prime "spicy food" location and despite the other poster on the wall...



... I'd failed to appreciate one of the characteristics of Hunanese food. It's bloody hot. In fact... all that red stuff in my starter? Ah. That'll be chillies.

It was very, very tasty though and I'd happily have eaten it, only I ended up swapping with someone who'd inadvertently ordered a starter they couldn't eat. I forget what my main course was called - it turned out to be fine noodles and mushrooms in a pork-based broth, and was lovely but absolutely immense. I have a horror of having to a return a dish without at least a substantial portion consumed, so addressed myself exclusively to it for a while. Which meant I missed the chance of the Chairman Mao's Pork or the pig trotters that were going elsewhere on the table. I did try some of the Old-Woman Pockmarked Tofu and it was great - but (I think) about 50% Szechuan peppercorns and thus rather spicy.

So, with the following provisos:

1. The food is hot. There are chillies on the menu to indicate hotness. Take them seriously.
2. The portions are large. Four mains would probably have done five of us, and some of us are big eaters.
3. The service is probably best described as brisk. Or brusque. We were there lateish and they didn't seem to mind us lingering around after eating, but it is very much the sort of place where plates are plonked in front of you as food becomes ready, and whisked away with dispatch.

... I'd recommend it :)

[*] Challenge for Londoners: you are in Soho in the evening, and someone wants spicy food. Where do you take them?
My initial answer was to walk to Covent Garden to the Mexican restaurant on Langley Place (Cafe Pacifico), but then I remembered how damn noisy it gets on a Saturday night, and we were keen to be able to hear each other talk.
I've eaten in various Indian restaurants around Soho, and they've all been "fine", but nowhere especially recommendable.

Comments

[feanelwa.livejournal.com]

There is a restaurant a lot like this in Sheffield. Periodically I go there with a friend and we get something familiar and something that doesn't even sound like food. Last time was tripe so we have yet to pluck up the courage to go back.

[venta.livejournal.com]

Nice idea - one known dish and one unknown dish. I should try that if/when I go back to Ba Shan.