Whitechapel, Chinese Restaurant Guide

“Great hand-pulled noodles” – “and the best cold starters” – are the highlights of a meal at this Spitalfields canteen featuring “spicy pot-stickers” from Shaanxi province in northwest China. (‘Biang’ is apparently an onomatopoeia, said to resemble the sound of noodle dough hitting a work surface).

“A takeaway hole in the wall with some seating” characterises the branches of Pui Sing, Cheong Yew & Mo Kwok’s HK-inspired group, which specialises in Siu Mei (“authentic roasted Chinese meats”) served in “generous portions” plus noodles – “top Hong Kong food, affordable and better than at ‘normal’ sit-down restaurants”. Towards the end of 2024, they will open their largest site to-date: a 50-cover restaurant in Ealing’s Filmworks development.

“Fantastic vegan Sichuan food” – “bursting with spices and tastes” – makes any one of this “deservedly popular” trio in Islington, Golders Green and Spitalfields Market (from the team behind omnivore Xi’an Impression) “a go-to place if you want to eat vegan with an Asian twist”. “Don’t go because it’s vegan, but because the food is just so good!”

“Not quite street food per se, but certainly fast, cheap and very specialised” – this simple canteen in a cute alley near Spitalfields Market is a “most superior noodle bar”. Take care, “it could be addictive”: “the various types of hand-pulled noodles are excellent” (“rich and spicy broth with giant meatballs and fall-apart ribs of pork”). “The nearby branch in Middlesex Street only does walk-ins but ALWAYS has a queue”.