Taiwanese

1 Redchurch Street, London, E2 7JD

London, England

============

Overall Rating (out of 10): 7.50

Stand Out Dish: noodles

Meal Time: 1.00hrs

Ave Cost Per Head (excl. drinks): £31

Summary: great comfort food

Would I Go Back? Yes

============

Returning from a very boozy après ski themed birthday party replete with multiple obligatory toffee vodka shots administered from vintage wooden skis we were in desperate need of hangover minimising comfort food. Luckily our train came into Liverpool Street and we chose to walk a short distance to BAO Noodle Shop on the boarder of Shoreditch and the city.

The latest in a line of restaurants from the BAO restaurant chain, the noodle shop opened in July 2021. The first iteration, BAO, opened in 2012 and was a cult hit with a seemingly endless queue. The noodle shop is located on an attractive corner plot with waist to ceiling height wrap around windows, an open kitchen on the right as you enter and a bar at the back. Each table is lower than usual with tiny red leather mushroom stools encouraging you to hunch over your noodle bowl as you devour its contents.

The menu is divided into three sections: (i) snacks / appetisers, (ii) noodles, and; (iii) bao. There is also the option to buy fresh noodles to take home as well as BAO swag.

Beautifully presented each of the three pickled vegetables had a different taste from the vinegary white radish to the peppery yellow mystery veg.

A thin layer of batter gave way to beautifully succulent chicken. The spicy sauce had a real kick to it which I found very enjoyable but might be too much for those whose prefer korma to jalfrezi at a curry house.

Having tried poor imitations in the past the real standout of this dish was the bao. Fluffy, light and well-seasoned the bao also achieved a perfect ratio with its contents of succulent marinated pulled pork and vegetables. Whilst we only ordered one boa there were five other options on the menu including a Fried Horlicks Ice Cream Bao.

We ordered both noodle options, swapping halfway through. The other option was a rare beef rump noodle in a light beef soup made with 400 day aged soy and cured egg (not pictured).

We both loved the richly flavoured broths and incredibly soft noodles and finished both bowls in their entirety. I personally did not love the slow cooked beef cheek & short rib. I don’t know if we got an unlucky batch but I found the meat to be rough in texture and lacking the giving nature of slow cooked meat. In comparison the rare beef rump was fantastic.

Being greedy little piglets we ticked the option to get extra everything with both noodle dishes. Noodles and egg yolk was an amazingly tasty combination that I look forward to having again.

Verdict

Very reasonably priced and worth a visit. Make sure you have space for more than just noodles.