The second of these Schezuan outlets is the latest restaurant to open in Chinatown.
This is a good spot to know about, with a bar that’s open until 4am in a capital city where it is increasingly hard to find a late-night drink.(Image: Ben Gardner)
The upstairs is bright and modern, but we were beckoned downstairs to a small basement dining room.
This dark space with its red curtains and shadowy corners has an illicit feel, where you could imagine losing track of time to emerge in the early morning light.
For a place with ‘beer’ as half of its name, it is no surprise there is a choice of two draught beers – Kirin Ichiban and a house lager – seven bottled beers and also a beer of the month.
But sitting in a dimly lit cellar in Chinatown, cocktails feel more fitting.
The signature cocktails (£13.80) are classics with a twist, such as the old fashioned with chamomile liqueur and a sour with milk.
Our waiter recommended the chicken bites, which were as they sound, and we also chose tian-shiu mian – handmade special sweet soy sauce in a sesame and peanut sauce.
Szechuan food is famously spicy, but lovers are keen to say there is plenty more than just heat. But these noodles were really hot.
They gave us our first taste of that unusual ‘mouth-numbing’ spice – a tingling and numbed lips and mouth coming from the szechuan peppercorn.
It is a very unusual feeling for a western palette, and takes some getting used to, especially when there is still plenty of your familiar spice too.
A side of century eggs, which are aged for months, were a welcome antidote with creamy yolks.
Mains are a choice of noodles, of course, dry or in a soup. You can also get rice, but with a name like super king braid beef ribs with blanket noodles (£19.80), it was a no-brainer.
This was huge, and would have been a generous meal served alone.
“Would you like gold?”, asked our waiter. Of course, the super king noodles demanded nothing less, and on went a spray of edible gold spray.
This dish looked regal, and tasted as good. The delicious, fatty meat fell from the bone and was the best thing we ordered by far.
It now all made sense, the dark room and red curtains all helping to bring out the golden glint of my noodles.
And then it was over. And a mango dessert and chewy deep-fried rice cakes just could not live up to the gold magnificence of that beef.
Choosing where to live in Chinatown can feel an overwhelming decision, but my next choice will be easy.
Noodle and Beer. Super king beef. Gold spray. Heaven.
