Haozhan Resturant

We tried to book Great Queen Street for our Brown family trip after King Lear. But unfortunately their kitchen closes at 10.30 and we were unlikely to get there before 11. So we opted to give Haozhan a go instead.

Buzzing after being mesmerised by McKellan as a brilliant Lear we raced down from Covent Garden to China town and were treated to a master class in big tasting modern Chinese food.

Haozhan stands out from its Gerrard Street neighbours. Its what the Anchor and Hope is to the dodgy pub grub you get at a Toby Carvery. You won't find any freaky red plastic dragons or surly staff.

I was delighted with my chilli quail which was generous in both the portion size and the amount of spice. It brought an enormous smile to my face as I picked away at it with my greasy hands. Dad loved his curried soft shell crab; Mum enjoyed her sweet corn soup and Cowie couldn't have been happier with her single steamed scallop. You can order crispy duck and sweet and sour pork if you want but they have a piece on their menu encouraging you to try something new. Maybe Haozhan is the Sainsbury's of the Chinese restaurant world.

My cod with champagne and honey was stunning. The flesh flaked apart and was a sweet balance of golden honey and winey liquor. I swopped half way through with Cowie and upgraded to the XO cod which had a similar sticky, chilli sauce to my quail. Again is was delicious, if not quite as delicate as my original fish. Suz had an amazing loaf of bread filled with Assam prawns and Dad was delighted with his Sechuan lamb chops.

It was a brilliant way to end a much needed family day out and we can't wait to go back.

Excellent Chinese resturant in Gerrard St, the heart of London's Chinatown. Decor and ambience is modern and stylish, unlike many of the other more traditional places in Chinatown. There even seemed to be a Cafe Del Mar CD playing in the background! We got a table upstairs by the big glass window overlooking Gerrard St, and I would recommend this if you can get it.

Food was absolutely excellent: we had the jasmine ribs and pork dumplings for starters which were both wonderful. And the rib-eye beef dish and Szechuan duck main courses were absolutely brilliant as well. We had the mixed mushroom side dish as well, and that was also really good (though not the cheapest at £8).

Service was great. We had the head waiter who was very helpful, friendly and chatty. The rest of the staff were great too.

Probably not the cheapest restaurant in Chinatown (£56 including 10% service for the above + 1 egg fried rice + 2 glasses of wine + 2 Tsing Tao beers), but we thought it was well worth it.

I had been to Haozhan previously when it first opened and had quite a good experience so I decided to give it another go using my Tastelondon card. I rang them up to reserve a table and was told explicitly that noodles, rice and vegetables were not available as part of the 2-4-1 offer - it was good they made this clear on the onset as I have experienced difficulties using the TL card in the past. The food looked exciting with lots of variations on the bog standard chinese dishes common to most of the restaurants on Gerrard street. However the food did not live up to expectations or its high price - my starter of curried soft shell crab did not taste one bit of curry The mains we chose, sichuan duck and the Taipei Chicken tasted as if they were made with with the same sticky sweet sauce and the portions were tiny. The restaurant itself seems to have a bit of an identity problem - it prides itself on being modern with its black and lime green decor. But really, the restaurant is looking shabby, service is sloppy and with the prices it is charging it should really sharpen up.

It is a brave move for any restauranteur, in this case Jimmy Kong of New Fook Lam Moon, to open a new chinese restaurant in China town, and part of the attraction was former Hakkasan chef, Chee Loong Cheong, in the kitchen. Earlier in the day I came come across a review of Haozhan on Eat Like A Girl (Niamh from Trustedplaces).

The menu is not like that of an ordinary Chinese restaurant with much shorter list of tinges of Japanese, Taiwanese and Malay inspired Chinese dishes. I have to add that there are other inspired dishes such as Marmite prawns and baked silver cod with champagne and honey (very Hakkasan!).

Our dinner started with Curried Soft Shell Crab and Grilled Dumplings. Both delicious and presented well. Mains, served with perfectly steamed fragrant Thai rice were Sanpei Chicken, a clay pot dish of chicken cooked with three wines, and Haozhan Tofu, four silk-soft dessert tofu cubes with a puréed spinach top, carefully deep-fried topped with a firm sweet scallops garnished with fish roe - the contrast of texture and flavour of which are perfect. The meal was finished with Banana Kataifi and the Cream of Pumpkin. First being hard to eat and messy and the latter probably the most perfect way to finish the dinner if you must insist on having a dessert after a chinese meal.

I really like what Haozhan is doing. Clean, friendly and modern Chinese... in often unreliable China Town. The service is polite, prompt and friendly. Our waiters were eager to help. Just a touch over £46 for two appertisers, two mains, two dessert and tea for two plus tip.

This review is shortened version of the review which can be found on my blog with photos: http://foodbymark.blogspot.com/2008/10/haozhan-china-town-w1.html

I have a reputation for being the food obssessive and all round girl about town in my peer group, and, as a result am frequently asked for recommendations for events or dinners. This comes with many traps and pitfalls, but generally works out ok. Recently, I took a risk and recommended somewhere I had never been for a friends birthday - Haozhan.

Now, this wasn't just any birthday. This was his first birthday since he'd had his first child, and probably one of the few nights out he's had in many months! He was only going for dinner, there would be no pubbing or clubbing, so on the day I started to get anxious, I had read good things, but what if Haozhan failed to deliver? I was hopeful it would, Hoazhan comes with solid credentials - Jimmy Kong of New Fook Lam Moon opened it with Chee Loong Cheong, formerly of Hakkasa, in the kitchen

On arrival, we were ushered upstairs to a round table, and within a short while, we were ordering. Service is very chinatown - abrupt and swift but not intentionally rude.

We ordered a selection of starters - standout were the chilli tofu which was crisp, light and beautifully spiced and so full of flavour and the deep fried pork ribs in coffee sauce.

Mains went from fabulous to bizarre. I had a gorgeous homemade tofu dish - Haozhan tofu - 4 fried tofu cubes, like a savoury custard with spinach skimming the surface, all topped with a scallop and some roe. A friend had curry prawns which were very spicy and came served in a huge round of bread. Bizarre and super spicy.

Impressed as I was, I wanted to bring another foodie friend there. I, the creature of habit and desperate for more squid and tofu, ordered the same meal. He ordered the chilli deep fried soft shell crab and the crispy shredded beef. My meal was spectacular as before but his was disappointing, the crabs were slightly burned and the beef was borderline sickly sweet.

It was a shame, as the previous night was a very positive experience. Maybe we caught them on a bad Sunday evening, still reeling from a busy Saturday service.

I'll definitely go again, if only for the tofu.

2 courses with one glass of wine, 2 beers and tea was £60.