Despite positive reviews of Ba Shan in TimeOut and by knowledgeable blogger World Foodie Guide, I was reluctant to visit because of a horrible and expensive meal I had at Ba Shan’s older sibling, Bar Shu.
Cue Jon, who occasionally gets to pick where we eat dinner. Last week, he was in the mood for the Chinese street snacks that Ba Shan is known for serving, so off we went.
Let’s start with the Good: Of the five dishes we ordered, the only one I found delicious was the kung pao chicken. In case that previous sentence sounds overly negative, let me clarify that this kung pao chicken was so tasty that I’d go back to Ba Shan just to order it again. Actually, to be more specific: I’d go back to Ba Shan just for the peanuts in it. They were huge, crunchy and beautifully roasted.
Moving on to the Bad: The pork jia mo (unleavened flatbread sandwiches) were bland and dry, even with the marinated pork filling. Just barely a step up from matzoh, really. [If you’ve ever had matzoh, you know that’s no compliment.]
Pork and chive guo tie (aka pot stickers that are lightly boiled and then pan fried), usually a crowd pleaser, arrived at our table with the dumplings glued to a flat dough sheet. Thinking it looked better with the dough sheet down, we flipped over the guo tie to take the above photo. And then we dug in and found that the pork and chive filling was dry. Good thing there was soy sauce nearby, but guo tie that are saved by soy sauce are like cupcakes whose only saving grace is the frosting: No Good At All.
Recalling that most reviewers of Ba Shan were happy with the restaurant’s dumpling dishes, we also tried these won tons in a chili soy sauce. Unfortunately, the sauce wasn’t spicy at all, which meant it was just a plate of won tons in soy sauce. Not very exciting, especially for £5 or £6.
And wrapping up with the Ugly: Because the one dish I enjoyed at Baozi Inn (also a sibling restaurant) were the dan dan noodles, and because Ba Shan’s menu is heavy on Szechuan dishes, Jon and I tried the dan dan noodles at Ba Shan, too. Sadly, these turned out to be the low point of the evening, by far. It was just spaghetti with soy sauce pooled at the bottom of a bowl. No heat from any chilis; no meatiness from the dried-out minced pork topping; and definitely no complexity from any other ingredient, preserved or otherwise.
Most dishes at Ba Shan fell into either a £5-6 bucket or an £8-10 one (the portions, being “snacks” are generally small). Our bill arrived in Chinese and un-itemized, totaling about £50 for five dishes and three beers. Although our server was efficient, she looked pretty unhappy to be there. Overall, £50 for two people was too much money for a generally eh meal. I wouldn’t go back. (Well, except to try that kung pao chicken again).
Ba Shan, 24 Romilly Street, W1D 5AH; 0207 287 3266; closest Tube station: Leicester Square
It’s such a shame, it was really quite good when it first opened. The menu seems to have changed to mimic what’s on offer at Bar Shu and the overally standard has taken a nosedive. I wouldn’t rush back after an unsatisfying meal there recently but I hope things improve. Glad you enjoyed the kung pao chicken at least!
I know you know your Chinese food but I wonder how many people are fooled by the nice tableware and pretty presentation. It’s bad enough that they ballsed up most of the meal but how exactly do you get dan dan noodles wrong?
I’ve not made it here yet but I’ve been to both sister restaurants – Bar Shu was decent albeit it was a long time ago when it was sparkly & new but I didn’t rate Baozi Inn cos of their insipid dan dan noodles – perhaps the chef’s now at Ba Shan!
Well at least I won’t have any high expectations if I do come here (kung pao aside).
At last – someone who agrees with me. I thought it was really ‘eh’. It was like it was too scared to do proper Sichuan. I shant be returning.
Kate – I just read your relatively-recent review about Ba Shan and it seemed like you still had a pretty good meal there.
Mr. Noodles – I must confess that I remember the dan dan noodles at Baozi Inn being the only good dish there (esp. in comparison with those baozi they sell across the street outside the Chinese market are wonderfully hot and oozing with pork juice and fat). In any event, I am sure that the dan dan noodles at Baozi Inn were *a million* times better than what we were served at Ba Shan.
Lizzie – I did see your review of Ba Shan and saw that you didn’t enjoy your meal there (esp for 80 pounds!), and I was going to cite you as someone I agreed with, but then when I read your post, it seemed like at least you liked the dumplings (but that you thought they were expensive – which they are). In other words, not only did I find the food pricey for a bunch of dumplings, but also I didn’t even like my dumplings.
How sad. I can see from the photos alone that the restaurant seems to have dropped massively in standards. It’s incredible because there seems to be a trend with Ba Shan and Baozi Inn in that they start out amazing then quickly lose their touch. It makes me wonder if the chefs that started out in the beginning stay after the first 1-2 months. The food certainly doesn’t seem to suggest that they have. I haven’t been back for a few months, though I’ve been 5 times and the last two were noticeably not as great as my first 3 visits in the first two months of opening.
Well, I never got around to going and I am very glad about it now! Crossing off the list…
I went a few months ago and although pricy for what it is, had a fairly decent meal. As Charmaine mentions above, you can see from the pictures alone that the standards have dropped. Is there even any filling in the Jia Mo?
We reviewed Ba Shan back in April – did you mean the recent review of BarShu? (We liked it there but found it over-priced).
I think Charmaine may be right – maybe the chefs move on. Our first visit was a real winner but the quality declined steadily over our next few visits. Very sad.
Charmaine – An interesting point about chefs moving on after 1-2 months. Where do they move to after such short periods?
Helen – I can’t say I disagree with your conclusion.
tehbus – I’ll bet that there are enough good dishes at Ba Shan that you could construct a good meal if you chose carefully.
Kate – I’m not sure what you mean by “did you mean the recent review of BarShu”?
What a shame! I really liked it when I went with Jenius visiting from Sydney. Now you’ve put me off a repeat visit. I have heard from others though that it’s not that great anymore…
It could well be that they’ve returned to China after setting down the foundations, so to speak. A Japanese food writer I know tells me it’s the same kind of story with Japanese chefs, which is sad.
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