Bar Shu is a Sichuan restaurant on the borders of London’s Chinatown. The cooking is characterized by abundance of chillis. The menu at Bar Shu can be a little hard to navigate, it’s structured around photographs of the food.
Fiery man-&-wife slices (cold, thin slices of tongue, tripe & offal doused in chilli oil):
It is made of feathery pieces of tripe and some other more muscly parts of the co, all coated with glossily red chilli oil scented with garlic, herbs and Sichuan peppercorns.
Smacked cucumbers:
The cucumber is walloped with the flat of a cleaver to break it up a little and help it absorb the sauce. The cucumber raw is anonted with a sweet garlic, and sesame.
Numbingly hot dried beef:
It’s a tasty morsels of meat in hot chilli oil, a dried, chipped beef brisket which is marinaded in a chilli and Sichuan pepper mixture. The fragrant peppers come to the fore here, and cause a curious hot-cold numbing tingle in the mouth.
The Fire Exploded Kidneys:
The kidneys are sliced and formed into a pretty shape when cooked. It smells sweet and fresh, and they are cooked so briefly that there is no hint of chewiness. Cloud-ear fungus and cucumbers provided contrasting textures.
Location: 28 Frith Street, W1D.
Charges: About £50 for two, without wine.
This restaurant is for those who love chillies. Bar Shu is exhausting but thrilling, without doubt the most exciting restaurant.
Source: The NewYorkTimes
